Air ride reviews

[Shugalou]

Originally Posted by bluex

Yes they are, my ride height is equivelant to about a 4/6 maybe slightly lower.

Looks great!

Guys you make me jealous with your setups. Keeping me motivated!

[loujizzel]

motivated is an understatement I so want an air ride and it's crazy to think how much ingenuity these guys have taking nothing and turning it into something I'm not looking for the body drop but just seeing some of the jobs on this site. And without any modification is most likely what I'm looking for maybe there's someone out there that did a budget air ride and if not then maybe we should start a thread about that the budget air ride build

The thing that's expensive is labor there are some of you guys who can weld and do all that stuff yourself which is great but for common folk like me which I do not know how to weld I have to pay for example I just called to see for an estimate of how much it would be to install a 4 Link on my truck.... to install the 4 link requires that they take the bed off it requires it take the leaf springs off and the man the labor for it is going to cost way more then the parts.... and bolt on are more.... ugh

[SCOTI]

While some guys will diss the bolt-on parts from manufacturers like Ride Tech, they're the way to go if you don't have the tools, space, or skills to build your own.

I knew a guy that was an out of state contractor/welder @ my work.... He wanted to do a 4-bar & bags for his extended cab 88-98 truck. He knew about the work I was doing to my dually so he asked for suggestions. I recommended the Ride Tech bolt-on 4-bar suspension based on the easy bolt-on configuration & engineered quality of the parts. He decided to pay a local shop close to 5k to do the work. All the parts they used were fabbed from various suppliers off the net or steelyard angle & plate. It was definitely a 'one-off' custom set-up. The name of the shop was called 'the Hack Shack' & the work looked exactly like the shops name implied. Less than 1-month of driving around he sheared brackets off twice. Each time it required a flat-bed tow back to the shop for repair @ his expense (the shop did the repairs @ no charge). Several months later it happened again but that failure caused him to lose control of the truck & he curbed it. The cause? A poorly routed 1/2" airline chaffed a hole where they had plumbed it against metal but didn't use grommets or a sheathe for protection. Now the truck was damaged @ the front from the loss of control as well as the damage from dropping @ speed w/no travel limiter.

In the end, he wound up selling the damaged truck for less than the money he spent paying that shop for the custom air ride set-up. If he would have spent the same amount of money for a engineered Ride Tech set-up he wouldn't have broken brackets & the resulting expenses.

Can it be done for cheaper than a bolt-on kit? Sure. But what would the quality be? Not all shops (or fabricators) are created equal.

When you say 'budget air ride', what is your budget?
How low are you really trying to go?

[loujizzel]

I thought maybe piece by piece. Maybe do the front first since its the easiest and most likely the cheapest then hit the rear... i know some you guys have done this so the question is how long did it take after the front was done before you hit the rear

[bbbc10]

Took me years to get my parts at the prices i did....now i just gotta find someone to install which is hard part

[loujizzel]

I hear you brother the struggle is real I know that the installation is going to cost more than the parts and that's the sucky part..... unless you cant do it yourself or you get a complete bolt on kit....me I'm trying to do a bolt on kit up front and a 4 link weld on in the rear ....hey does anybody know if you have a triangulated 4 Link do you need a panhard bar the guy trying to sell me a 4link said i dont need one if i go with the 4link or would it make it even better if you did have a panhard bar

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by loujizzel

I hear you brother the struggle is real I know that the installation is going to cost more than the parts and that's the sucky part..... unless you cant do it yourself or you get a complete bolt on kit....me I'm trying to do a bolt on kit up front and a 4 link weld on in the rear ....hey does anybody know if you have a triangulated 4 Link do you need a panhard bar the guy trying to sell me a 4link said i dont need one if i go with the 4link or would it make it even better if you did have a panhard bar

A Triangulated 4-bar does not need a Panhard bar. Look into KP Components rear parallel 4-bar kit (a Chris Alston company) or Ekstensive Metal Works for their rear 2-link set-up.

[loujizzel]

Thax i will

[bbbc10]

My rear ekstensive 2 link came with a panhard bar but ima putt a watts link on it to really hold from shifting side to side

[loujizzel]

I just got off the phone had a real long conversation with Steve from EZ Air Ride and let me tell you something this guy is the truth he's not trying to sell you on his product.... he took his time and answer all my questions I feel real confident with going ahead and buying his product I'm probably going to pull the trigger the beginning of April if you have any questions just give him a call.... he talked to me for about an hour it was a good talk and I learned a lot.... he was not pushy at all

[69heavychevy]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I knew a guy that was an out of state contractor/welder @ my work.... He wanted to do a 4-bar & bags for his extended cab 88-98 truck. He knew about the work I was doing to my dually so he asked for suggestions. I recommended the Ride Tech bolt-on 4-bar suspension based on the easy bolt-on configuration & engineered quality of the parts. He decided to pay a local shop close to 5k to do the work. All the parts they used were fabbed from various suppliers off the net or steelyard angle & plate. It was definitely a 'one-off' custom set-up. The name of the shop was called 'the Hack Shack' & the work looked exactly like the shops name implied. Less than 1-month of driving around he sheared brackets off twice. Each time it required a flat-bed tow back to the shop for repair @ his expense (the shop did the repairs @ no charge). Several months later it happened again

Thats why the hack shack is no longer in business LOL!

[loujizzel]

Wow small world i now am back at square 1..... but thanks thats good to know

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by loujizzel

Wow small world i now am back at square 1..... but thanks thats good to know

Why are you back at square 1?

[loujizzel]

Maybe not I'm going to go ahead and pull the trigger on this kit from EZ Air Ride sometimes you gotta take a chance everything I've seen on YouTube and read online good quality products and he guarantees them so you can't beat that

[loujizzel]

Originally Posted by bluex

I just finished mine with porterbuilt stuff, click the trailing arm swap link in my signature.

In my opinion though go with a cup an plate set up in the front, buy the cpp trailing arm kit, 4 dominator 2600 bags an your choice on the air management.

I have probably close to 3000 in mine an porters prices have gone up a good bit since I got my kits. They make a great product but your gonna pay and wait for it.

This is aired out....

Here is my question can you roll all the way aired out... lets say on the freeway.... im sure you need to be lifted a bit driving around town...

[andrewmp6]

No aired out you have basicly no springs and sitting on bump stops if you have them.And could damage the air bags driving like that.With kits like a dropmember you could have a ride height that low but it cost a lot of money to get that.When it comes to a air bag the spring rate changes with psi so the more air the stiffer it is and the less the softer it is.And picking the right size air bag for the job matters and if i remember right most run 60% of the max psi for the bag as their goal ride height.But stuff like that is why i rather buy a bolt in or weld in kit off a big company,I paid more for it but they did all the guess work for it and i spend less time trying to figure out if i screwed something up.

[andrewmp6]

Take a look at these pictures http://pbfab.com/1973-87-version7-dropmember level 1 is ride height and deflated thats probably gonna be close to what you get maybe a little lower depending wheel size.Level 2 is lower ride height and will lay frame.And here is a ride tech install http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=345024

[bluex]

Originally Posted by loujizzel

Here is my question can you roll all the way aired out... lets say on the freeway.... im sure you need to be lifted a bit driving around town...

In an emergency situation I could roll/drive it out of the road aired out. I would not drive it down the highway like that. As mentioned the air bags need a certian psi to operate properly. I've put about 100 miles on it and it rides good anywhere from 60psi front 30 rear to 75 front 45 rear. The picture below is from before i bagged it but the ride height is about 1/2" lower than this. The fender is right at the wheel lip height wise. I also have a shorter front tire now than in this picture. I need to get another one with it at ride height now I guess.



This is with it all the way up, around 100 psi front and 80ish rear, very stiff an bouncy ride here.

[loujizzel]

Originally Posted by bluex

In an emergency situation I could roll/drive it out of the road aired out. I would not drive it down the highway like that. As mentioned the air bags need a certian psi to operate properly. I've put about 100 miles on it and it rides good anywhere from 60psi front 30 rear to 75 front 45 rear. The picture below is from before i bagged it but the ride height is about 1/2" lower than this. The fender is right at the wheel lip height wise. I also have a shorter front tire now than in this picture. I need to get another one with it at ride height now I guess.



This is with it all the way up, around 100 psi front and 80ish rear, very stiff an bouncy ride here.

Thanks so you had a static drop before the air ride? upfront I have 2 inch drop spindles And 1 inch drop coil and Outback the owner of the truck that had it before me had some of the Leafs removed and it's axle over Leafs right now with shock extenders and a c-notch in the rear..... so what all of that that I already have from what you're telling me with no mods to the back or the front end that's as low as I'm going to go

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by 69heavychevy

Thats why the hack shack is no longer in business LOL!

Technically they're just like AIM/Chassis Tech/AirBagIt.com..... They're still around & still in the same building, they just re-named themselves (Branded Customs).

[bluex]

Originally Posted by loujizzel

Thanks so you had a static drop before the air ride? upfront I have 2 inch drop spindles And 1 inch drop coil and Outback the owner of the truck that had it before me had some of the Leafs removed and it's axle over Leafs right now with shock extenders and a c-notch in the rear..... so what all of that that I already have from what you're telling me with no mods to the back or the front end that's as low as I'm going to go

Yes the before picture of mine is 2.5" drop spindles (still on it) and one coil cut from the stock springs (replaced with bags) on the front. The rear was a flip kit with no notch and shock extenders, all that has been compeltely removed and replaced and it now has a small notch.

I'm not sure I totally understand your question but from how i understand it yes your ride height on air with just cups/plates/bags in the front will be almost the same as it is now maybe 1" or so lower. The difference is once parked you can air it out even lower for the slammed look. If you want a really low ride height you need a sectioned factory crossmember, or a drop crossmember from porterbuilt, thorbeck bros, GSI, or I think choppin block has on to.

[andrewmp6]

One tip i can give you is buy a air line cutter its 20 bucks and can save a lot of headaches.If you don't cut the line 100% straight it will never seal fully on the fittings causing leaks.And watch where you run the air lines heat can melt them and the air bags can't rub on anything they will rub a hole in it over time.And all that is mostly the case of a lose of air problem.And if you have a air valve that leaks try cycling it open and close a few times fast its probably got dirt in it.And its a good idea every so often to drain the air tank out and get any water out it might have in it.

[loujizzel]

I found this for linked by BC fabrication a hundred percent on 4 Link still on the pricey side but if you consider paying for a welder and how much your going to pay for the labor it kind of balance itself out

[andrewmp6]

Have you looked at http://www.cachassisworks.com/p-2523...on-system.aspx