Hooked up the 9" Ford LTD axle. The frame is kicked 4" and C`d 1". I used the OEM LTD trailing arms on top. And used some other tubular arms on the bottom. Fabbed new mounts on the frame. Made a new combi mount for the lower arms/ airbag bracket. I use quite large Firestone 20C bags in the rear. My theory is that I will get a smoother ride with lower preassure with bigger bags. I now have a stroke of about 8". The bags have internal bump stop so I dont think I will need one on the frame as well.
The fabrication work looks top notch! The only problem with that setup is that with the bags behind the axle you aren't going to get much in the way of lift and the suspension is going to be very stiff. The conviluted bags were made to be used in a 2:1 ratio in relation to weight and lift. That's why you see so many people running their air bags up in front of the axle on top of a trailing arm. Just food for thought.
Thanks for the kind remark. I do get enough lift tho, 8 inches is enough for me. And I really dont think the ride will be that stiff from the way it reacts when I jump on the frame. I believe I will get full lift on the complete car at only 40 psi.As far as I know, the spring rate increases with pressure. That is the reason I used bigger diameter bags. But then again I am no expert with air suspension, so frankly its a bit of a trial and error experiment. So any advice is appreciated
[ QUOTE ] The fabrication work looks top notch! The only problem with that setup is that with the bags behind the axle you aren't going to get much in the way of lift and the suspension is going to be very stiff. The conviluted bags were made to be used in a 2:1 ratio in relation to weight and lift. That's why you see so many people running their air bags up in front of the axle on top of a trailing arm. Just food for thought. [/ QUOTE ] Not exactly- though I do agree with you partly. I have my bags up on top of the axle and I do have restricted lift like you said- but it somehow rides very well. I still have 6 inches of lift. The advantage of the bags mounted off of the trailing arms is more lift due to the leverage, depending on exactly where you mount the bags in relation to the axle, but the leverage also makes the vehicle bottom out, or drop more during acceleration at a stoplight as opposed to the bags being mounted above the axle, thus not allowing you to be able to drive the vehicle low. I knew that I would be driving my 50 Ford coupe low, so I left the bags above the axle, and fortunately came out with a good ride. However, I did have leaf springs before I rebagged it on trailing arms, and it rode horrible then. The bags are still in the same location though.
[ QUOTE ] With the air out how high are your running boards brackets from the shop floor? [/ QUOTE ] With tall bias ply 670x15, its About 1 1/2 to 2 inches.
OGNC has a good point, You can run the bag back there but you need the tapered style bag for that application, sometimes called "pop cans" That style bag needs to be ran up here like this, it creates more leverage and more of a spring feel.
[ QUOTE ] Not exactly- though I do agree with you partly. I have my bags up on top of the axle and I do have restricted lift like you said- but it somehow rides very well. I still have 6 inches of lift. The advantage of the bags mounted off of the trailing arms is more lift due to the leverage, depending on exactly where you mount the bags in relation to the axle, but the leverage also makes the vehicle bottom out, or drop more during acceleration at a stoplight as opposed to the bags being mounted above the axle, thus not allowing you to be able to drive the vehicle low. I knew that I would be driving my 50 Ford coupe low, so I left the bags above the axle, and fortunately came out with a good ride. However, I did have leaf springs before I rebagged it on trailing arms, and it rode horrible then. The bags are still in the same location though. [/ QUOTE ] Ain't the internet great?!?! Only here can you find someone arguing with one of the EDITORS from Street Trucks magazine about air ride suspension! And unlike other automotive editors, this one really knows what he's talking about!
[ QUOTE ] OGNC has a good point, You can run the bag back there but you need the tapered style bag for that application, sometimes called "pop cans" That style bag needs to be ran up here like this, it creates more leverage and more of a spring feel. [/ QUOTE ] But that is not a 4 link setup. I checked out the Air Ride Tech pages before I made the brackets. They have a step by step instructions for one of their 4link F100 kits. They used rolled sleeve bags tho, but they are behind the axle. Does anyone have more pics of 4link with bags? Isnt air pressure vs spring rate a factor to consider?
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