Air Suspension

[72burban]

DOES ANYONE ON HERE HAVE FULL AIR RIDE SUSPENSION ON THEIR BURBAN. THAT'S WHAT IM SHOOTING FOR AND I WANT TO SEE WHAT ROAD OTHER PEOPLE TOOK ON THEIRS... THANKS!

ALSO... IF ANYBODY CAN PHOTOSHOP THIS AND SLAM IT TO THE GROUND TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE...THAT IT'LL BE COOL

[BigSky71]

Chopped...



I slammed that Corolla? too, because it was necessary.

[72burban]

thanks a lot man... that looks crazy!!!!

[BigSky71]

I agree, its a great look. So get started on that big drop!

[Hart_Rod]

Here are some links to the Air Ride I did on my 69 Burb:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=162718

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=174330

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=1431695

Rob

[-Greg72]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rob

Here are some links to the Air Ride I did on my 69 Burb:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=162718

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=174330

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=1431695

Rob

Hey Rob,

Dumb question....but do you have any profile pics of the Burb with the suspension as HIGH as it goes with that ART/ECE setup??

You are my newest hero, BTW. I've been lusting after the ECE/ART setup on my own '72 Burb, but have been fearful that I won't be able to use it as a tow rig afterwards (7500Lb trailer)... your photos have given me new hope.

I need to preserve the load carrying capacity out back and also be able to run it down the road at some reasonably "stock" height when pulling the loads...

[SCOTI]

I use the air-ride type kit on the rear of my 68 beater & have pulled my 74 on my 18ft steel floor trailer w/o a problem.

I would say use the bags they recommend for the front on the rear of your burb as a minimum. I have the 224c Firestones on the rear of my truck & ART said they would be more than adequate. They actually said the smaller 255c bags would handle the weight, but I wanted margin for error.

Use a 1.5" or 2" lowering block w/the bags & for normal driving run the air pressure between 35~40psi. When you add a load, bump the pressure up to 60~65psi to keep the vehicle level.

[-Greg72]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I use the air-ride type kit on the rear of my 68 beater & have pulled my 74 on my 18ft steel floor trailer w/o a problem.

I would say use the bags they recommend for the front on the rear of your burb as a minimum. I have the 224c Firestones on the rear of my truck & ART said they would be more than adequate. They actually said the smaller 255c bags would handle the weight, but I wanted margin for error.

Use a 1.5" or 2" lowering block w/the bags & for normal driving run the air pressure between 35~40psi. When you add a load, bump the pressure up to 60~65psi to keep the vehicle level.

SCOTI.

Is your truck leafsprung or coilsprung in the rear? I'm guessing leafs since you mentioned a lowering block??

Are the Firestone bags part of the ART kits (just relabeled as AirRide)...? A rep from RideTech suggested a model F6873 bag for the rear....


I'm not really looking to "lay frame" with mine. Just get rid of the stinkbug stance (unloaded) and still maintain the utility of being able to tow my K5 from time to time.....

Like this:

[SCOTI]

It's a coil frame. The lowering blocks fit between the trailing arms & rear end similar to how the leaf spring blocks work.

If you don't want to lower it.... just even out the stance when unloaded, you don't need the blocks. As you can see from the pic, I have mine pretty low but have no problems towing a loaded trailer.

Are the Firestone bags part of the ART kits (just relabeled as AirRide)...? A rep from RideTech suggested a model F6873 bag for the rear....

Yes, the Firestones are what ART uses in their kits.
Yes, those are the same bags I'm using on the rear of my truck.

[bs25j]

Scoti, I was thinking about going with the firestone bags on my 3/4 ton front and rear and was wonderin how you liked the ride and if you would recommend them.

[SCOTI]

They ride as good or better than stock coils & are adjustable to boot.

I helped a guy w/his 3/4 ton 70-lwb a while back. He had the same 'stink-bug' a$$ in the air stance & wanted to level it out for normal day to day stuff but still handle a load when required. We mounted the 224c/6873's in place of the original coils & ran 50 ~55psi IIRC unloaded & 70 ~80psi loaded. It brought the rear down 2 ~3" whick leveled the truck like he wanted.

As long as you keep the pressures constant (especially the front to maintain alignment), I would recommend them for a daily ride. If monitoring psi levels isn't your thing, keep the coils in the front & do the bags in the rear.

[carrzy4]

any of you suburban guys ever done suicide doors? I think that would be wicked!

[-Greg72]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

They ride as good or better than stock coils & are adjustable to boot.

I helped a guy w/his 3/4 ton 70-lwb a while back. He had the same 'stink-bug' a$$ in the air stance & wanted to level it out for normal day to day stuff but still handle a load when required. We mounted the 224c/6873's in place of the original coils & ran 50 ~55psi IIRC unloaded & 70 ~80psi loaded. It brought the rear down 2 ~3" whick leveled the truck like he wanted.

As long as you keep the pressures constant (especially the front to maintain alignment), I would recommend them for a daily ride. If monitoring psi levels isn't your thing, keep the coils in the front & do the bags in the rear.

SCOTI and ALL,

Thanks for your help.....it feels kind of funny being a "newbie" in this 2WD Chevy world If this were almost any 4WD/Offroad thread, I'd be the one probably giving the answers!!

Do the ART tubular "Strongarms" really do anything other than look cool/different? Supposedly, they are built with slightly different geometry to allow for easier alignment at lower stances... maybe the balljoints aren't so likely to bind??


My thinking at this point based on my limited knowledge is to try to break this project down into a few affordable phases:

Phase 1: Keep the 8-Lug wheels I have and lower the rear using the ART front and rear setup. Add rear lowering blocks if needed for stance. I'm strongly considering the RideProE controller so that I can have easily selectable pressures and ride height....though due to costs, this might be Phase 1A

Phase 2: Add front ART Strongarms (again, if there is a demonstrated value or need)

Phase 3: Convert to 5-Lug (1/2ton) all the way around, and maybe also add the ECE dropped front spindles if that will improve the balljoint angles or give some additional benefit I'm not yet aware of. This is an expensive step, because it also implies the purchase of all new wheels/tires...



.

[SCOTI]

8-lugs are cool too.... you don't have to go to 1/2ton/5-lug suspension.

The ART arms offer revised (better) geometry when lowering more than a couple of inches. They look nice too .

[bs25j]

Do you remember what the ride height was with 50-55 psi on the 70 3/4 ton? I'd like to keep a ride height of like a 3/5 or 2/4 drop, still be able to haul a load if i needed to and be able to drop it down low if i wanted. Im also thinkin about drop spindles and a c notch if neccesary.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by bs25j

Do you remember what the ride height was with 50-55 psi on the 70 3/4 ton? I'd like to keep a ride height of like a 3/5 or 2/4 drop, still be able to haul a load if i needed to and be able to drop it down low if i wanted. Im also thinkin about drop spindles and a c notch if neccesary.

IIRC, it was the equivalent of a 3" drop. The cool thing is you can vary the height of the adapters to get the height you want (you can bolt the air-springs directly in or use adapters). His used a home-made 1" adapter for the top; mine are bolted directly in.

[Hart_Rod]

I don't have any pics with it all "aired up". When it is all the way up it looks as high as the factory height. I would highly recommend doing a c-notch and 1 1/2 lowering blocks. If you don't, you will not be able to get the rear as low as the front.

[jimmydean]

So I understand correctly SCOTI, you have bags AND drop spindles up front? I want my truck to sit low with air out, but be able to sit up high enough to tow with.

So drop spindles with bags up front, drop blocks with bags rear? Thanks.