Any Air Ride Opinions Out There?

I am contemplating putting air ride technologies bags on the front of my 39 coupe. I have mustang II suspension now but was wanting it lower. My problem is I have heard a few things about air ride in general I was hoping some of you might clear up for me. One, it's basically a pain in the arse, two, the ride is not near the comfort I'll have with my coil springs and shocks, and three, if your compressor goes out 800 miles from home, you're basically flat bedding it home.

Any first hand opinions will be appreciated.

warm regards,
Jeff

One of Don's sons use to install air bags I believe. Here is a link showing one setup
http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38675
Post number 9.
Maybe Dan or Don will see this and chime in.

For the stuck when the compressor goes out deal, I add an air valve to the tank so I can fill it at most any gas station should the need arise. Another thing, do you already have the 2" lowering spindles on your MII??? The ride IMO is a bit more harsh then with coils, but the right shock will compensate for a lot of it....

Dave, I have stock spindles. I was either going with the bags or the Heidts
2" drop spindles. Then I might cut a coil if I had to. I just didnt know if the air ride bags would be worth the trouble. I have never drove a car with the bags, but have always heard the ride is not as good as coils and shocks. Thanks for the reply!

I'd do the spindles first. If you want to be a bit lower then you could also consider the coilover conversion for the MII--- Bags are nice, but certainly not the only option you have....

Dave, what about the drop spindles and the coil over conv. Too low, or are the coil overs adjustable to suit? How would the ride be with the coil overs?

thanks!

If you get the correct spring on the coilovers, the ride will be a bit more harsh. There's a lot of adjustment for the ride height on the coilovers, too.... If the drop spindles give you what you want, think I'd stop there. The OEM style spring and shock is going to be the best ride IMO.....

Dave, thanks for your opinions and expertise. It means alot.

cheers!

Jeff

You're certainly welcome... Just hate to see a guy spend a bunch of $$$$$ and not get the desired results....

just sent you a pm back .

bags work great if installed correct , ride is as good or better if installed correct .
#1 most common problem is improper installation .
#2 most common problem is a cheap kit

kenny d i have a question for you. how much air pressure do you run front to back, side to side. i have installed bags on my 36 i am building. jonathan

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Originally Posted by OHMY34

kenny d i have a question for you. how much air pressure do you run front to back, side to side. i have installed bags on my 36 i am building. jonathan

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airbags are made to run at a " installed height " not pressure . i know it sounds odd, but it dont matter if it has 60 psi of 120 psi . its all about the height of the bag . example if you use a firestone bag f6957 ( typical on a mustang 2 ) with the car on the ground and the suspension at ride height it should be 4.5- 5 in tall , that will get the best ride quality , if it has 50 psi or 100 psi it will ride the same if the installed height is the same .

now some cars take more pressure to get the bag to the installed height , example my 57 with a 505 ci bigblock takes 95 psi in the front and 80 in the rear .
but my 33 with a alluminum head smallblock takes 40 in the front and 40 in the rear .
my camaro with a all alluminum ZL1 takes 70 front and 85 rear

hope this helps

kenny the reason i ask is because i have not bought a air mangment system for the car but do have the bags where i can air them up manually. the front will raise up to ride hieght with less than 10 lbs. and the back is the same so i am hoping that i get some more weight from some where to need more air. jonathan

od you have the front sheetmetal and engine in the car ? and what bag are you using ? do you have a photo of your set up ?

Kenny, I got this big old tank of a '54 Buick and considering air for it...as with most of my stuff I'll get things mocked up to ride weight then scale it and make the rest of the suspension purchases---Question being, how much "fine tuning" can you do on the air ride system if you have all the idividual wheel weights, front/rear split, etc. on record when you start buying bags?????

dave ,
if its set up correct " installed height " then you will not have to fine tune it , because ride height will already be set and ride quality will be at its best . unlike a coilover where you set ride height then spring change or crank on the spring to get ride quality .
but there is some tuning you can do with the shocks .

kenny i was just wandering, i have never been around a car that had it. was just checking to see if i was in the ballpark. heres what i have.Attachment 33407

Attachment 33408

Attachment 33409

Attachment 33410

Attachment 33411

Hey guys,
Dan and I have installed many air bag set ups in the past (mostly on mini trucks or full size trucks) All very simular to what you are proposing. As said we have always installed a "fill valve" at the tank so a compressor failure was not even an issue. That way any seven eleven could get you home with 50 cents of air. I carried a 12 volt cheapie comressor with the cigarette lighter plug in just in case of compressor failure away from an air source and it worked great. As far as ride goes, I love the way bags ride and regardless of manufacturers recommendations air pressure is different with every car or truck. We would tweak the Air Pressure as we drove to get max comfort. Shocks become an extra important part of the set up. Air bags do not react like a regular spring and with lower air pressure the ride can get spongy and we found a stiffer shock worked best on the trucks we did. The companies that specialize in air ride have great products and were valved properly for an adjustable suspension. We had horrible ride issues with "over the counter" shocks (not enough dampening)
One word of caution on the compressors, you get what you pay for. The economy compressors can not take running continuously and will let you down every time. Viair makes a great product (after many failed other brands). We had even installed a set up in a full size truck with an engine driven air compressor (looked like an a/c compressor) It filled the tank quickly and was very reliable, but was a liability as it would only pump air when the engine was running. I am going to run shockwaves on the front of my tbird project as they offer the adjustable shock (three settings I believe). Awesome looking project:D

jeff , you system look to be installed correct , i dont see any problems .

mr blue brought up a great point . YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR . i also recomend a upgrade to a viair compressor . the compressor you get in a standard kit has a low duty cycle and not alot of cfm . so it will run and run and run to refill the tank after raising the car up . if you up grade to a larger compressor it will refill in a short amount of time .
dont buy a cheap managment system you will hate it ! only buy AIR RIDE technologies managment system .

and you car looks great should turn alot of heads !

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Originally Posted by kennyd

dave ,
if its set up correct " installed height " then you will not have to fine tune it , because ride height will already be set and ride quality will be at its best . unlike a coilover where you set ride height then spring change or crank on the spring to get ride quality .
but there is some tuning you can do with the shocks .

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Thanks Kenny. Hopefully when I get Tom's coupe ready for him I'll have time to work on the Buick a couple weeks, at least long enough to straighten out the mess the frame is in now.... When I get to it, I'll get with you on the bags to use, etc... Can't imagine a '54 Buick NOT having bags!!!!!! Think it's probably a law or something!!!!!!!:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

anytime dave .
and yes it is law ! kennys law !

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Originally Posted by kennyd

anytime dave .
and yes it is law ! kennys law !

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yup, knew it would show up in that law book!!!!!! The old Buick has such gorgeous lines, gotta do something with it! I'll have to get with you then and get some installed height and find out some of the good stuff to use!

What ya got going on down there that's new and exciting Kenny????

The main reason for me wanting to go with air ride is, having my 39 get in and out of parking lots and driveways without having to replace my grill every 6 months. Will be nice to have one setting at hwy cruise height, and another at driveway clearance, not to mention the "parked height" which is almost nil. Cool look. But like Dave said $$$$. And it is $$$$.

where did you buy your air bag equipment, is a kit ? thanks for the information. Ed I want to do this for my 85 S10 frame and for my 50 F1 pu with a mustangII suspension.

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Originally Posted by OHMY34

kenny i was just wandering, i have never been around a car that had it. was just checking to see if i was in the ballpark. heres what i have.Attachment 33407

Attachment 33408

Attachment 33409

Attachment 33410

Attachment 33411

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Hey Ed good to see you on here again, sorry for the highjacked thread, how's the F1's?

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Originally Posted by stovens

Hey Ed good to see you on here again, sorry for the highjacked thread, how's the F1's?

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I am always watching any F1 topic. Since the install of the mustang II in my 50 F1 several years back the springs have collapsed to the point of not being able to drive the truck down out rutted out road. I have set aside money for bagging the front and adding relocated shock mounts. I also have a 53 chevy that is going to be put on an 85 s10 with bags hopefully this summer can get some work done on it also. I do know I could just replace the springs but this would serve to keep it low when I want and give a good ride and also allow me to go up the dirt road and drive ways without rubbing. The photo of the frame above was very helpful and sure was a clean install. May even find time to improve the rear with 4 bar or triangulated 4 link. Time and money and my son got married and moved out so some of the heavy work has to be postponed till he is around. Good hearing from you as well ED

I want to jump in here. I install and build trucks with air ride. That is my main business here. I have problems with firestone bags always have always will. We sell two other bags one is the slam specialty bags that are thre ply bags not the single ply. Man those ride the best in everybodys opinion. We also carry the Dominator bags. These bags accually have a better ride because of the nature of the bag height. I know on the mustang II setups that everybody runs for the street rods there is alot of miss conception on how they should be mounted. I my self have my own opinion also. I have countless trucks and chassis that utilize these bags and have a standard of only the best parts that we sell. Air ride is only as good as what you buy. We have our dually on air and still retains all towing capacity (its on the website) Plus a 34 2 door on air also mostly for the ride and the ability to drive it into the clients driveway (lol). I have come to love the ride quality of air, you just cant beat it if it is done right.

Our dually will take 110 pounds to lift to ride height then we can adjust for quality. We also have a one button setup from air ride tech that the ride height will never change due to weight or cornering. It adjusts for all angles of control for the driver. Nice setup. I would like to be able to help anyone or just give another opinion if neccessary. Also I would like to say that i am not plugging the website either. Just to let you know moderators. :LOL:

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Originally Posted by OHMY34

kenny i was just wandering, i have never been around a car that had it. was just checking to see if i was in the ballpark. heres what i have.Attachment 33407

Attachment 33408

Attachment 33409

Attachment 33410

Attachment 33411

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Just one thing OHMY I noticed that the rear bags are located in the rear of the axle that has a ton to do with the ride, Plus how much air you will use to lift the car. Plus you are useing a sleeve bag. Those are not able to let the bag flex for ride quality. For ride quality use a double convoluted bag in front of the axle preferably on the lower link bar with proper gusseting. The ride will be considerably increased with less air pressure. Here are a few examples

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...linkview-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...s/MVC-015S.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...apinframe2.jpg

storm styles this was the first install, i have done with bags. i think it works pretty good. i wound up running 36 lbs of air on front and 54 lbs on the back,the bags and sleeves were a deal for the price. for what i have in this system, i went with air lift easy street managment system. it would of took me another year to figure out your install. i set it up the way i knew worked with coil over shocks. it would be nice to see you do some threads on different installs so everybody could learn what to do and what not to do. heres the way the car turned out. first picture is layed out second is at ride height.Attachment 36338

Attachment 36339 . we wil be in your area the first of may. joanthan

Oh my
Thank you for the interest in me doing some threads but i just jump in when necessary really. Lets just say that if you want good product at good price please just contact me even if its replacement equiptment. Our setup is easy and most can be installed by the average guy at home in the garage in a couple of hours. Here is a few I have built
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...sstruck004.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...bystruck-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...erstruck-1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...s/CIMG2203.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...joeystruck.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7.../PICT00053.jpg