Just wondering thoughts on air ride? Good or bad. Anyone install it and hate it? Who makes the best system?
I have it installed in my Chevy, Still playing with the settings. I'm using Air ride technologies bag over shocks on the back and just bags in the front. Tends to bounce about a bit at the moment. I'm running through an air manifold and can adjust preasures on each corner. Hopefully I'll have everything sorted by the Round Up.
I drive the shit out of my car and want to make sure it's not going to be a mistake. It's a 59 olds so he's big to.
Have air on a 41 Packard convert. +#3500 lb and one on a 38 Chev 2 dr, both run great, nice to have the rake at a show but up and on the road with out a new pan like I use to do more often than I liked.
I have airbags on my 50 F-2 and I like it. It rides better than my daily driver S10. I pieced together my setup with parts lying around from when I wanted to bag my S10 and never did. What I didn't have I got at suicidedoors.com valves, tank, and other little stuff. I am only running four valves right now but I am gonna switch it over to eight this spring because I have a lot of body roll when turning. It has it's issues that I haven't addressed yet. It has a leak somewhere but I haven't chased down yet. The truck has only been driven maybe five times since last April when I got it back on the road.
Air suspension can be great, I've had it on a few things. It can be setup to ride better than factory and be totally reliable in any weather; it just comes down to the quality of the install and engineering, and using the right quality parts. But, on the flip-side, to be fair you have to judge it against like kind. If you've got the skills to do a top notch air install - in my experience hydraulics are much nicer to own. Depends on skill level though.
ive always had bags on most of my vehicles and they ride fine....depends whos going to install if for you some people cut coners just to save a buck or two ends up costing you more ...im all for air ride suspensions....but stock cars ride nice as well
Love air ride. It is the only way to go super low and still ride like an old mans luxo ride. We use Air Ride Pro and have never ever had any problems. You have to properly plan and install your air ride to make it dependable. Air ride has been around for over 70years and is used on almost every semi truck around and those guys have to have a dependable ride so that they can feed their families.
As was posted Air can be a better ride then 90+% of the factory suspensions out there. It is all dependant on how it is installed and where you set it. Heavier cars like to have a higher air pressure then lighter cars. You should run shocks to help smooth out the ride, but there are people who will only put shocks on the back axles and drive them just fine for many years. It also makes a difference as to the suspension design. Air over Leaf tends to ride alittle stiffer then a link style in back. there is really no fair way to say that Air is better then Hydro or stock, just as there is no way to say Hydro's are better then the others. Its all personal prefernce and you should find some people who have different setups and ride with them to see what they each do and then make your own educated judgement.
Above and beyond the adjustability the great thing about air is that it's a rising-rate spring medium. That can be extremely useful if you want to combine relatively little suspension travel with a soft spring rate at ride height. I don't think most set-ups make the most of that characteristic, though.
Had airride on my Impala about ten years ago, the first one I did, loved the ride and the adjustabilty. One night driving home I had a airline go bad on me and had to drive it back deflated. From then on we always hardline plumb them.
This happened to my freind on the highway in his truck So i used galvanized pipe and ball valves on my car. No worries about the breaking a hose and the only electronics is the compressor.
Thats a great way to do it, but Semis dont run hard lines on their air brake systems right?? I bought air brake lines and fittings for my system, Absolutley no leaks, zero, and the lines are incredibly thick, i cant see them bursting! No way! Expensive but worth it!!!
i have air ride on my 40 merc convert..did it myself,never done it before,never even considered it untill a setup for my car ended up online....a divorce situation,and got it for 1/3 the price.it is a triangulated 4-link in the rear with sleeved bags in the back,and shocks.the front is mustang two with regular bags and shocks.each line is individual,in plastic,with quick disconnect fittings.as overkill,i also ran them in hard but flexibleelectric conduit,so they would not rub on anything.the lines run thru grommetts where they run thru steel.last thing is,permatex makes a hydraulic thread sealer,and i have had no leaks.the car is heavy...3400lbs and it glides down the road.
I Installed an Air-Ride Technologies system on my '40 Merc..airbags in the front and rear with separate shocks. I used their plastic lines, connections, etc. I could not be happier with the setup. It gives an unbelievable ride under all weight conditions. The key to a trouble free system is good clearance on your bags and lines and not mixing or experimenting with connections. I can't speak for other companies , but Air-Ride Technologies has it all figured out. The car rides like a Cadillac but decapitates ants when air it out !
What about tire wear? The only car I have been involved with that had air ride wears the front tires unevenly.
If you can, mount the bags in front of the rear end(on the link bars) instead of on top of the rear end, and you will get a much smoother ride.
have airride tech stuff installed on my shoebox. i cannot believe how nice my car drives. im all for air ride. the only thing i can say that sucks about any air ride setup is the lame noise from the compressors and when deflating. gay! listen to an aircraft hydraulic setup, sick!!
i love air ride. been installing it on lowered vehicles for about a dozen years. i can get you a killer deal on an Airlift kit too! the lines that Airlift uses (and all companies should be using) are DOT approved, same stuff they were using on semi trucks when i worked at the suspension shop 15 years ago. typically the biggest problems i've seen come from installer error. i have RE-done more hacked and poorly designed and build air ride kits than i can even count. had a nice little side business doing it for a while there. some basic rules for a reliable system: 1) make sure to run all lines far away from any heat source (they will melt and burst). 2) make sure not to bend the line at too sharp of an angle. it could kink. 3) make sure to route or somehow protect lines from sharp edges. it might take a while but a plastic line rubbing ever so gently against a sharp edge will eventually blow. i've NEVER seen a DOT line spontaneously blow. 4) kinda the same deal with the bags as above. the bag can NEVER at any point in it's travel rub against ANYTHING. if so it will eventually rub a hole in the bag. not good. 5) USE SHOCKS! it will ride like a car with no shocks if you don't install shocks. i don't care what pressure you have it at. there is no "magic pressure" where your car won't bounce. it is a dangerous situation running with no shocks. you have less control of your vehicle over bumps and in a panic situation (say on a rough road in heavy traffic) things could go south in a big hurry. 6) this should go without saying but, use quality parts. i've seen some garbage pieced together from ball valves, plastic water line and misc. fittings that look like throw aways from the 40s. these people are never happy truly with their systems.
Kustombuilder NAILED it. Most everything you hear about air ride sucking is all because of the installer. Every time I hear someone say you don't need shocks with Slam Specialties bags I want to rip my hair out.
I have had air ride and installed it on lots of my vehicles. The ride is dependent on bag placement. Bag on bar is gonna ride nicer then bag over axle. Plus you'll get more lift. Compressors are annoying and pull a lot of amps. Try running an old york AC compressor that's engine drivin. almost zero amp draw and minimal power loss. I've riden in hydraulic setups with accumulators that i think ride way better then most air setups. It cost a little more up front but I think it's worth it in the end.
I'm running air ride on my '37 and love it. I tow my Scotty camper behind the car, so it's nice having the adjustability to keep the stance and clearance even with that extra weight. Hard piping the system is the only way to go and not worry about a line popping.
Dude bags are the only way to go, only issues ive has is if you lift too high when driving the cross plys "Trac" a little, ride is great and far better than the original caddy set up which before bags i thought fantastic.. i used air ride technologies bags with new shock positioning behind the trailing arm. Uploaded with ImageShack.us Uploaded with ImageShack.us
My car was awfull to drive on stock springs ... it was floating like a boat and was dangerous in the small turns ... with two coils cutted it was not very better and with the bags it's like night and day ... the car handles like a dream, and it's way more comfortable. I've bought a Digital Airlift kit from Kustombuiler some years ago. The kit is perfect for my car ... and trust me this big mama is heavy. With 1/2 lines it goes up and down pretty fast. Bags are the best way to go for lowering cars and keeping it safe an confortable, if you ask me.
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