Ride quality with air bags?????

[Rigo's 70 C10]

I want to bag my 70 C10, however i recently heard someone at a car show say that trucks on bags had a horrible ride. He works for Scoggin Dickey as a mechanic and gets to test drive many vehicles.

Is this guy right about the ride being horrible (bouncy)?

Please comment! I dont want to sacrifice ride quality for looks.

[Longhorn Man]

workin at a dealer, there are very few cars he would be driving with bags... a modified one or two, and then the caddys with bags, and expiditions, and lincolns....
I think that guy is full of something or only driven an improper assembled one.
Bags have been put in luxo cars since the 70's, and they give the best ride of ANY type suspention if done right.

[IvelDesigns]

i'll chime in here. when i got my truck, it had cut coils and was super bouncy going down the road.

i bagged it in all 4 corners, and the ride is MUCH better. the only time it's bouncy is if the bags are nearly empty, or full extended. for normal driving, it's great

[Shane]

No to be a smarty, but it is like riding on air.

[jimmydean]

Good shocks and proper ride inflation make for an awesome ride. Good shocks will take the bounce out and having just the right amount of air.

[Number98]

Originally Posted by Shane

No to be a smarty, but it is like riding on air.

[special-K]

It depends on how much air you`re running.I do know that Greyhound buses and moving vans use air suspension solely for the "better" ride.

[Rigo's 70 C10]

I will bag it and let it lay low! I was sure that poor soul had no idea what he was talking about.

Thanks for the insight.

[hotrodhomi]

smooth like butter.

[MrGoodpliers]

I have bags on the rear of my suburban and have found that the ride quality is better when it's loaded or towing and the pressures are higher.

[bowtieboy93]

they are great
But like others have said
higher or lower pressures will cause some bounce but if you fill it at normal pressure you will be fine

[ostncoln]

here is an example of when airbags dont ride so well

zero psi you can really feel it in your back
other than that they are smooth , better than stock in most cases

[kamikazekyle05]

Not to hijack, but what psi do most of yall run?

[Rigo's 70 C10]

Can i get some expamples of drops? I want to get mine low! Will the kit from air ride technologies work? They sell the kit with the cnotch and crossmember with bags. CPP also has one, any thoughts on either. They are about 1600.00. Will it give me enough rear drop? If it wont give me the drop i want, who makes a good notch? I am guessing it is not going to be a bolt on.

Thanks in advance for your words of wisdom!

[HoupPhotography]

How low do you want it to be? There are also other factors to consider when your talkin "low", what size wheel & tire combo are you going to run? Mine is on 20's and is as low as it will go without relocating the hood hinge mounts and doing some fab work to the inner fenders, with the steelies and fat whites it will sit about 2.5 inches lower.
Just to get to this point the inner fender wells on the front and back had to be removed and if you have a decent size wheel and tire combo, you'll have problems getting the hood to fit properly (without the wheel hitting it)

It also depends on the look your after, if it's the rat rod style then it will be much easier than a "boyd" type of build.


Here are some photos of mine......



This is a lightened photo of the front end so you can see the minimal clearance...



This is good photo to show how it sits when it's deflated, the front sits up a little higher...

[IvelDesigns]

i personally wouldn't go with a kit. i got everything i needed from ***************** . I would suggest a c-notch for a decent, drivable drop in the rear, and drop spindles up front. as houp said, a fender mod will be needed to get real low up front. IMO, doing the frizzle fry fender mod is a great way to go to get an extra inch clearance w/o moving your hood hinge. again, a drivable height.

i highly suggest you build your truck so that it can be driven with no air if there is a need. not at highway speeds, but "i just need to get home" speeds. it's more of a safety factor than anything.

if you want to go extreem and lay frame, you have your work cut out for you. plan on a step notch, if not a complete rear suspension setup. the drop member from porterbuilt will help a ton up front, but there are other, cheaper, but time consuming ways to get real low up front.

what are your fab skills? do you feel comfortable cutting the back half of your frame off and building it new? do you understand suspension geometry? if not, i would suggest you go the route i initally suggested. c-notch and drop spindles. or, if you're up to the task, jump in head first and learn as you go. the suspension forums will answer just about any question you have no matter how complicated of a build you have.

all of this is said assuming you have a coil setup, not leaf.

oh, and post lots of pics during your build!!

[70GMCer]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

workin at a dealer, there are very few cars he would be driving with bags... a modified one or two, and then the caddys with bags, and expiditions, and lincolns....
I think that guy is full of something or only driven an improper assembled one.
Bags have been put in luxo cars since the 70's, and they give the best ride of ANY type suspention if done right.

Bags go back further than 70s. My 59 Caddie had factory bagged shocks. They were filled with freon.

[Rigo's 70 C10]

What kind of notch would you suggest? My truck has leaf springs and i am in the process of finding a coil set up so i can convert it. That is why i was considering the cpp or air ride system, it comes with the crossmember, triailing arms, cnotch, panhard bar and bags. I am not going to go with the rat rod look, i am probably going to go solid black with all chrome, or pewter with chrome. I love the stance on HoupPhotographys truck. What drop is that? Ball park, that is what i am looking for. My doors dont need to lay on the ground. I have wanted a short bed 67-72 truck since i was 12. I am now 34 and finally found one. this is my dream ride so you can understand why i have so many questions. It has to be perfect!


You guys are truly masters of your craft.

[HoupPhotography]

Originally Posted by Rigo's 70 C10

What kind of notch would you suggest? My truck has leaf springs and i am in the process of finding a coil set up so i can convert it. That is why i was considering the cpp or air ride system, it comes with the crossmember, triailing arms, cnotch, panhard bar and bags. I am not going to go with the rat rod look, i am probably going to go solid black with all chrome, or pewter with chrome. I love the stance on HoupPhotographys truck. What drop is that? Ball park, that is what i am looking for. My doors dont need to lay on the ground. I have wanted a short bed 67-72 truck since i was 12. I am now 34 and finally found one. this is my dream ride so you can understand why i have so many questions. It has to be perfect!


You guys are truly masters of your craft.

I returned your pm... I dug up everything I could, but can't remember the specific drop #.

[hotrodhomi]

Originally Posted by Rigo's 70 C10

What kind of notch would you suggest? My truck has leaf springs and i am in the process of finding a coil set up so i can convert it. That is why i was considering the cpp or air ride system, it comes with the crossmember, triailing arms, cnotch, panhard bar and bags. I am not going to go with the rat rod look, i am probably going to go solid black with all chrome, or pewter with chrome. I love the stance on HoupPhotographys truck. What drop is that? Ball park, that is what i am looking for. My doors dont need to lay on the ground. I have wanted a short bed 67-72 truck since i was 12. I am now 34 and finally found one. this is my dream ride so you can understand why i have so many questions. It has to be perfect!


You guys are truly masters of your craft.

I would look into a triangulated four link.

[72BlckButy]

Can I say... like a Caddy!