Air ride hard line or soft?

[itsmike2k]

Whats everyones opinion on air lines, is it better to run mostly hardline or just run everything soft? it would seem like hard would be the way to go, alot more work but you would never have to worry about it. Soft is easy to run but you have to watch rubbing and heat... My truck is completely apart so that makes it even easier to run which ever.. Lets see some pics... Thanks

[jimmydean]

I ran all soft lines and didn't have issues. As long as you secure it and route it well away from stuff, you are fine. I used nylon cable clamps secured to the frame and used a few zip ties to secure it other places like to the fuel lines or break lines along the frame.

Hard lines would be great, but I would worry about flow. 1/2 line proved to be much too fast, but 1/4 line might be too slow. So unless you are running a 3/8" hard line, you might not like the inflation speed.

I think Porterbuilt used (or has used) hard lines.

[PBFAB.COM]

You can have good results with hard or soft lines. The soft lines are much more economical and are easily repaired/replaced/modified. If you have the time and budget to go hard lines... why not? It looks cleaner, and there is not as much worry about the line getting too hot, or rubbing (both these issues can be avoided with soft line when installed properly). IMO the hard lines are a much cleaner looking installation. If you go this route use stainless line and AN fittings into a braided stainless to the bags, valves, and tank (leaving room for a little flex for vibration).

[jimmydean]

Hey Nate, what would a hard line install like you said run (ballpark)?

I used DOT (of course) lines with all brass push connect fittings. The fittings made the install go very quickly and when I decided to re-route the rear lines, I just had to discharged the system.

When I go to do my friends '77, he has a very nice flare kit setup that he bought when we did new fuel lines last year. A custom hard line setup would be rather cool with braided connections.

[itsmike2k]

Do you just buy 3/8 stainless coiled? Or would it be -6 AN? I have a snap-on double flare kit i might just give it a try..

[jimmydean]

If you could get the coiled to look good. I would run straight sections as long as I could find. The way I had my valves set up, I think my longest line was only about 5' before it connected to something.

I haven't done a whole lot with coiled stainless, but it might be tough to make straight.

[PBFAB.COM]

If you can get the coiled line to look straight I would be extremely impressed! I have never been able to get a coiled line to look straight enough for me! Get the straight lengths as long as you can get them (5' lengths are the longest you can get... I believe). Use some AN adapters/fittings to go from the hard line to the braided stainless line. You could run the braided all the way... but I wouldn't!

[itsmike2k]

3/8" tube matches up to -6 hose right?

[itsmike2k]

i can get 6' 304 3/8 hard line for 21.60ea or 314 for 24.00ea. Have to lay it out and see how many sticks it would take...

[cajundragger]

Originally Posted by porterbuilt

If you can get the coiled line to look straight I would be extremely impressed! I have never been able to get a coiled line to look straight enough for me! Get the straight lengths as long as you can get them (5' lengths are the longest you can get... I believe). Use some AN adapters/fittings to go from the hard line to the braided stainless line. You could run the braided all the way... but I wouldn't!

I got some 3/8 by 25ft peices in my garage for my truck

[Shane]

Originally Posted by itsmike2k

3/8" tube matches up to -6 hose right?

3/8" = -6 AN ... easy way to remember, take the AN size and divide by 16:

2AN ... 2/16 = 1/8"
4AN ... 4/16 = 1/4"
6AN ... 6/16 = 3/8"
8AN ... 8/16 = 1/2"
10AN ... 10/16 = 5/8"
12AN ... 12/16 = 3/4"

[itsmike2k]

Yea i know that but that's OD and i was just wondering if -6 hose ID matces up to 3/8 tube ID..

[Britain Smith]

When I did the fuel lines on my car, I went to a metal shop (like metalsupermarkets) and bought a 20' stick of 3/8" stainless steel line.

-Britain

[hotrodhomi]

Are there any concerns about using .25" SS tubing and using compression fittings.

[itsmike2k]

i think just the fill time, if you wanna wait to fill i'm sure you can use it.. About 10 years ago i did a system w/ 1/4" lines on a 76 suburban we converted to a dually. It was very slow going up and down, no solinoids it all ran through the gauge, fill and dump..