you should always prepare for the worst which is why you should have bumpstops. ART makes their kits so that even if something did go wrong in the worst case senario and the car completely lost a bag at legal speeds you could safely control your car off the road.

 

again, if it is installed properly your springs will outlast your car... or should come damn close. if you had to change bags as much as you had to change tires i wouldn't use them.

 

whats thier web site?

 

www.ridetech.com

 

What kind of bumps stops did you use kandied and if you used the stock ones did you trim them down.

 

for those who are interested i can always work some sponsorship and see if i can get a group buy setup so you guys dont have to pay full price for the product. but i need a handfull of guys that are interested and i mean no tire kickers and nobody who thinks they might get it down the road i mean within this month. that way i can use that as fire power for airride when i call them to set things up.

 

for those who are interested i can always work some sponsorship and see if i can get a group buy setup so you guys dont have to pay full price for the product. but i need a handfull of guys that are interested and i mean no tire kickers and nobody who thinks they might get it down the road i mean within this month. that way i can use that as fire power for airride when i call them to set things up.

 

I am sure im going to get it but would be stupid for me to get it this month as my car wont be rdy for it till months later.

 

thats cool i totaly understand that. theres been many of times where i have bought something and later downt the road i completely did a 180 and wanted to do soemthing else. although theres also been times where i have bought something and kept with my plan which made me actually save quite a bit of cash in the long run

 

i would do the group buy...but can we order exactly what we all want..like i said earlier i want 2 tanks..so can i get that while everyone else still gets just 1?

 

well that would be something i'd have to work out with Air ride but i dont see why not. if we can get enough people interested we can get the ball rolling.

 

So you're saying that an 82-04 S10 2wd Front A-Arm is the same as an 82-92 Camaro A-Arm?

If this is true couldn't we just buy their Lower StrongArm LCA1011 for the S10 and use it with our application?

 

Or would we need the Cool Ride Strong Arm for the S10, pn LCA5000?

I'm confused guys!

 

I guess the one on the top is for the shockwave bags, which I can't tell what the difference is between them and the coolride ones. Which is better?
Will they interchange?
Which arms will we need?
Alot cheaper than spohn arms!
Look sturdy.

 

I'd be interested in a gp....though I'd want a 5 gallon tank with the ride pro e, and the rear kit minus the shocks.......I was gonna wait until my boyds came in so I could make sure the rear's fit and woudlnt obstruct air lines.....but I could make do with it now...sign me up

 

i too would want to substitute my 3 gallon for a 5 gallon , and fyi the rear bags dont come with shocks , i dont know who told you that but i asked darren just to be sure and he confirmed the rears dont come with shocks.

 

it said it there, and in all the pics it shows their shocks in them....sorry but I had assumed that they were included in the package

 

I can't believe the interest in these things is continuing.

I guess its like everything else the rest of the country is behind the fads. So Calif has a fad, and then it takes 5-10-15 years for the rest of the country to jump on the bandwagon, by that time its ancient history around here. That the obvious conclusion to whats going on here. Obviously most of you have never seen car upon truck upon streetrod upon lowrider that had and some still suffer with air"spring" (bag is so outdated) suspesions bobbling all around So. calif for years on every street corner.

They suck. Most of you okkies must have never seen the likes of them yet alone experience actually riding in a vehicle equiped with them. G()d help you all.

This thread is like listening to a bunch of disco wantabees that just got wind of the 70's.

 

Matter of fact, I think it must be all these TV shows on now like Boyds, Overhaulin, pimp my ride, etc that keep shoing all this crap.

They are great on a butchered Boyd custom classic that is a trailer queen to car shows and those notalgic 10mph cruise night events- thats right, cars that are hardly driven, and when driven they are built for cruising- really hammered to the ground. They'd go through a set of tires in 5000 mile other than the fact that these cars will maybe be drive at most 500 miles for the rest of there life- they sit in garages. Its like thise damn motorcycles the guys make on TV also. great looking, but try and actually ride on for a length of time over 10mins.

To further expand my exposure to vehicles, I have seen in person 4 different Overhaulin cars at different places in my travels even. I am around this kind of stuff weekly and I am probably the only one on this website that actually drives a vehicle daily with a version of an air bag system. I am probably the only person on this website that has easilydriven or ridden in over 200 diferent vehicles equipped with airbags. I would bet, I also have more experience than this so called salesperson Tony that works at airride. Its his job to sale this crap, so he has worked on perfecting his sales pitch..... Daily... because of all the crap he gets from it. His response to me above about my truck is that "maybe its under shocked" after I had already explained to him it is if anything, over kill with Koni's and Adjustable on the fly rancho 9000's to assit in rebound dampering.

Lastly, Ever see these "Select Comfort Matresses"? Same crap. Its a fad that will die. Nothing replaces a good old matress with GOOD springs inside it like a Dux matress. The air select matresses are a throwback to waterbed technology- and we all know how that came and went- or maybe most of you are too young.

 

maybe you do have some good points...but in some cases not everyones car on here is a daily driver,so you cant say its all crap and there wasting there time...cause air ride is a big point thing at most car shows..and some like the lowered look but when its so low they cant get it on any trailers they need air lift...so for some ppl you cant say its dumb...my car is a daily driver..and ive road in an air ride truck and i didnt find it that bad..i find it had the same amount of bounce as my car does already...so to me i dont mind doing it..im not trying to start an arguement with you..im just saying for some cases you gotta be alil open minded..i.e stickly car show cars

 

Like Merle Haggard sang: "I'm proud to be an Okiee from Muskogee!"
Thanks Dean, I can just taste a Miller Lite now.

Thank G0d I haven't welded on the weight jack setup yet! This is way better for what I'm wanting to do. Now I won't have to worry as much on ripping out my $$$ custom exhaust on some entrance to a parking lot or speedbump!
Who cares if I won't be able to go win the A-sedan,ITE, AI, or CMC title this year with it! I wouldn't have with my weight jacks and tokico illumina's either. Even if I had sprang for the Koni Yellow's modded to double adjustable by thier shop (which I almost did)...I wouln't even be a contender.

Although my car isn't a daily driver...it won't be a trailer queen. And going from the feedback I hear of people using these...The Power Tour trip will be alot more comfortable with these than my current alternative.

I doubt you'll ever see an air spring win an SCCA title...but being able to perform noticeably better than stock while offering it's other advantages makes sense to many of us.

Alot of people "think" they can drive. Just like alot of people think they're tough, smart, charming, or good looking. I'm smart enough to know that I can't drive near as well as I'd like to. Putting a full tilt setup for handling would be stupid. Why...when I don't have the skills to take full advantage of it?
I can see it now:
"Dammit...all this money and I still can't drive and my car rides like ****!"
Yeah, where do I sign up?

If I ever truly get the bug to compete in AX or SCCA, I know where to buy the parts to give me the tools to do that. And after taking the time and efforts to develop the true ability then I'll research linear springs and weight jacks and double-adjustables etc.
Right now....I'll take one of these please!

 

Slammed..Z,
Did you miss where I stated above that they are for trailer queens? you repeated the same thing I said. FOt getting them on and off trailers, yet the ability to sit and cruise low.

Drain, you have a good sense of humor, rare to find these days with most I guess. Thank you for not taking offence from a white wetback.
I guess most are missing my opoint bucuause my Camaro does in fact corner very well. I am not trying to compare these to a car like mine that handles, I am talking about an everyday comuter car bouncing down the road. Your stock suspension is much better and safer.

It is so hard to put into words how airbags ride. when You hit a harder bump (lets say something along the lines of potholish, but not a severe like a deep one, maybe like 1" deep) that is enough to compress and then reless the suspension a little higher than ride height then back down. On that back down as it compresses again, the bad just kindof stops like it somewhat hits a wall. It kindof but not exactly feels like the car is hitting a bumpstop and the travel is abrutly limited and bounces back up to recoil again, but of course softer each time like a normal springed car would. Its that lowest possible travel imoact that is harsh and bobbles the car. Its is just like if you had overfiled your tires with 45psi instead of 32psi. it hits a down travel hard at the bag expansion limit.

As the bags age, that becomes slightly less apparent. But then more air is then needed to do the same job of keeping the car from bottoming because the rubber shape starts to break down like an aged tires sidewall gets weaker and will not support the car as well in a corner as a newer tire.

 

just a fad

 

Why doesnt Dean just give it up and stop trying cause were still going to buy it. I also couldnt pass up a gb if they got 1 going now. The s10 a arms would be sweet also if they would work.

 

sorry i double posted so delete this

 

sorry RTFC i probably missed that part i skimmed over afew posted i didnt read all of them fully....i know your not really trying to be an ***,your just trying to save us money and time to get these installed..which i say is nice of you for letting us know..but sometimes ppl just gotta learn from experience or just wanna do it anyway...so if ppl are gonna buy it there gonna buy it..and thats that..like i am gonna buy it..who knows maybe i will be really happy with it...maybe i wont and say i shoulda listened to that guy..but most of us are willing to take the chance...so you might as well let it be i guess...im going on personal experience with it..im impressed with it,all my close friends are impressed with it..and people like kandiedz who has it on a camaro and says its a nice ride..so thats enough for me to say ok

 

the west side has always hung that over our heads for years... if it wasn't for us having snow 7 months out of the year we wouldn't have to send our vehicles your way to have things built/tested which wouldn't keep us at the rate your describing. damn the snow.



in hindsight it's really all too funny, are you pleading or voicing opinions now? for the record it sounds like what was set up on your truck dean is no where near what would be setup on a better handling vehicle as load leveling systems are completely different which sounds like what your running but even if your not you can't compare a truck's suspension to a car like a mustang or camaro as they are obviously different. reguardless having as much seat time and so called apparent physical use of vast vehicles with air ride you should have a much more technical experience with them similar to what you seem to have in other areas. i've seen my share of system failures on vehicles and i've heard all the stories. many of them were installation errors or improperly used parts. either way things happen this is true and air suspension in general is not the end all/be all of suspension offereings. however when it's setup it works and works well, had you been around so many vehicles you should know this already, that or as much luck as i have had finding good riding systems you have had finding bad systems.

who's to say, it's all an opinion right... at least i had it on my thirdgen and will have it on the next, i like it. sorry to hear you don't. in my experience the heavier the car the better it works too, i'd like to see the setup on your vehicle because if my car acted anywhere near the things you described i'd rip it off and put it up on ebay in a heartbeat.

 

What exactly do you think I meant by “no external wear.” The ones that I’ve seen that failed didn’t have any marks from contact on the outside and all seemed to fail the same way, roughly a 1.5” square hole/tear right in the middle of the side of one of the 2 bulges on a front air spring.



the last one for sure was an airride setup on an S10 truck, so unless you’re suggesting an issue with their kit…



No, when people like myself see these pieces with problems it is because the owners are coming to me for new parts, solutions to the problems or for repairs.

yes, there are always issues whenever you make major changes to a car, even with the best designed kits. OTOH, if you really expect someone to believe that air bags will be as reliable as a standard sprung suspension then you’re nuts.

 

wow you must have been pretty upset to quote all of that.



so what caused a 1.5" whole in the bag then? it had to have failed some how and typically they blow at the seam unless it's over streesed or punctured. as far as kits, just because there is a "kit" out doesn't make it seamless. still has to be installed right. reguardless s10 bodies are some of the most versatile setups available with so many options for air ride. again anything can happen but chances are if something failed it was due to impropper install.

as far as the people remark, it's basically saying those who are in a position to run across such things. when people such as yourself that come face to face with those that have problems chances are you'll get to see alot of how these setups may or may not work. if they are coming to you for parts either you install or at least sell the parts so someone must have some experience with it. the great air ride debate is like anything else on here taboo. there aren't enough thirdgens with it to truly back up the numbers but there are enough vehicles on the road to give those who are interested an idea. for future reference if your going to quote me don't pull out the one thing that offends you as it's out of context.

i don't make any money off of this, it takes time to respond to rediculous claims. i'm one of the few who can speak from actual experience so i throw my two cents in. if you knew as much about the setups as you are implying you wouldn't say the things you have. in all reality as far as your last comment, call me nuts!



as far as everything i'm through with it, my point is not to convince anyone of anything just to let others know a different side. air ride on a thirdgen isn't a new thing even though it is here. those of you who are against it, stick to your guns. if you don't think the setup will work, that's fine... if you have experience with a setup that didn't work that's fine too. mine works, deal with it as i don't know what more i can say. if i could offer you a drive i would.

 

i would personally like to thank the usual arguers for scaring away Tony from AirRide before he answered my question.

 

i've told you the answer to that before, he will answer it the same... you will probably never get an honest answer with that question. i too wish someone would answer it the right way.

 

No, it saves me typing to just quote and comment and allows people to see exactly what I’m commenting about.



From what I’ve seen they usually fail where the straight bags fold to allow them to compress and they just get a small pinhole leak in them there. On OEM systems that automatically maintain pressure this is usually not that bad a deal, since you get some warning before you’re stuck… your compressor starts running more and more until the bag fails altogether or until you blow the compressor.

The 2 bags that I was describing literally look like someone forced a 1.5” chunk of angle iron through them from the _inside_. I actually suspect a manufacturer’s defect, but find it odd that I’ve seen more then one bag do something similar in a similar location with no signs of other damage.



Ok, that's settled, you’re nuts…

 

Dont worry man........ I dont scare... I have other duties that I had to attend to. I have been out of the office since last Tuesday up at the Hot Rod Trade Show and Lincoln Technical Inst. Sorry, but I dont remember the question you had.

Now onto the whole "failure" part.... In my time of being here, I can probably count on one hand the total number of "legitimate" airspring failures I have seen. All of which were caught before anything happened and were noticed by a slow leaking system. Fact is .... airspring just do not simply fail. There is a reason behind the failure. Either they were improperly installed, or they were not operated within their correct parameters... period...... Typically on the sleeve type airsprings mentioned above, when you find that has happened to them, they have been bottomed out and the endplates have punctured them or they were run under designed ride height and they have chaffed themselves internally. on a double convoluted airspring... if there is a puncture in them, it came from the outside and is typically caused from not trimming enough out of a the coil spring pocket. When a Firestone double convoluted airspring is completely deflated, it is all rubber against rubber internally and actually acts as a bump stop.

 

for the rest of us, we realize that your setup with good struts/shocks will handle much better then stock, and give the ride height on demand adjustment we want... he'll never be happy with it, so dont bother..


anyway heres what bugs me:
ive been waiting for the bag over QA1 strut setup like kandids car.....



whats the deal?

i know QA1 hates us and never wants to make a 3rdgen strut...... so what do we have to do to get one made? modify a mustang strut?

mostly i want a shock with the HUGE dragracing launch -> street -> performance adjustment that the QA1 provides... your airbag system over it would just be the icing on the cake.



whats the deal with the QA1 strut with a airbag over it.


both you and i know, a nice stiff modern shock/strut is what makes airbags a usable choice nowdays.... and we both know why you use the QA1/HAL dampeners.... that adjustible strut is my goal... whats the deal?

we all know you made one for Kandied91z. what are we looking at to get them made?
what about on a custom basis?
heck you're a QA1 reseller.. if it wont work with the airbag for whatever reason, how about reselling the strut to me.
or atleast, if you're never going to do that, tell me how you did it to his. what strut did you start with? what was the problem? ect.

if you cant sell it, i understand, im after technical details.

 

Nope.... I can do the airspring on the struts all day long... the problem is that with original set we did on Kandied's car was a completely custom install and it was installed on a modified car so we did not pattern it. Actually, I can set you up with the same exact strut/ airspring assembly it is just that you will need to take and fabricate the lower mount that captures the strut and bolts to the spindle assembly. We typically try to steer most people away from that because most people are not capable of that kind of work.

 

i'm sure he could handle it if you guys can set him up with one... definately works very well. there are quite a few people who have the exact same front end as my own with similar weight characteristics. as i told darren, while it may not be something that you'd want to mass produce there is enough interest to make more then one set. there are quite a few people chomping at the bit waiting for one of the strut setups so if it's possible you should let them know what to do as i'm sure many would do whatever it takes. i know i did and it was worth it.

 

when you say fabricate the lower mount, exactly what do you mean?

will i have to TIG a bracket to the strut body so i can mount it to the spindle? is that all the work i'll have to do? what about mounting the top part of the strut?

is the strut body alum still?
exactly what strut is it? does it still have the full range of adjustment, similar to what the QA1 "Generation F" series of struts have?

basicly i want to know if i can crank it down to zero, do my drag race launches, then crank it back up and drive on the street, then turn it up some more, and go autoX.. just like the "Generation F" QA1s the 4thgens have.

or is the valving diffrent?



also, ive never taken apart a shock before.. id assume id have to disassemble it to attach the spindle bracket.. how does that effect my warrenty? i still would like to be able to send them off to be revalved/rebuilt if i ever have to.

 

Tony - any possibility on having some people going in on a gp like posted above?

 

the strut body is still aluminum and it is adjustable. The mount is really going to determine how high the strut sits in the car. Struts, like most shocks only vary by the stroke and the valving.

On a GP is what I would do is get you in touch with one of our dealers that I think would be appropriate or would even want to participate and get a deal set up .... so yes

 

Ide be down for a group buy.

 

Tony,

Glad to see you givin people the answers they are lookin for.
I spoke with you and Darren and a few others this past weekend at the 2005 Hot Rod & Restoration Trade Show over in Indianapolis. (on diff matters non related to 3rdGens) anyways, Good to see ya helpin out here.


Jeff,

any chace you have pic's of this bracket that needs to be made? Thats the Easy part. befor the Problem was Getting the QA1. Fabrication is the least of my worries.

 

i don't have any but i will shortly when i go to assemble everything back together. email or pm me in a week to remind me and i'll get something together as i'm sure it would help those of you looking.

 

I agree. Now that I know the strut is available, I'm ready.

Also, I haven't seen anybody ask this... how much are the QA1 struts? I'm not expecting them to be cheap, so don't worry, post up. TPI383 and I have deep pockets and shiny plastic.

 

E-mail will be headed your way. I'll upload em to the same spot I have all your photos.

Thanks..

 

I dono about DEEP. but the $$ is there just no time to spend it.

 

they "were" $750 for the pair... have no idea what they run now.

 

$750-1000 isnt bad. Thats about what Spons QA1 rear coil over setup cost... What 795ish??

 

I know guys that have had square holes blown out of their bags. All of them were running huge line systems, high pressure nitrogen, and they were all into jumping their trucks. I think thats why the bags break like that, they are abusing the bejesus out of the bags by jumping the car/truck.

Damn it would be nice to have a setup like Jeff, but It'll never happen to me. I'm just too cheap. For the price of the QA1's themselves I was able to complete my suspension, adjustabe height and dampening. Just not on the fly .....

MrDude, if you wanna get crazy you should fabricate a device that will adjust the dampening on the QA1's on the fly. Tein makes something like that called the EDFC. You can push buttons from the drivers seat and it'll adjust the dampening f/b s/s. Its just little motors that attach to the ***** on the dampeners with brackets that hold them in place. I'm sure someone could fab up something similar. Imagine, you could adjust the ride height and dampening without even getting out of the car!!

 

not worried about that... turning the wheel to the side and clicking the ***** on the strut are no big deal....

its that adjustibility im after... letting you be better at everything then your average street/strip car....

 

Tony and Kandied:

could you email me any pics you have?

MrDude_1@excite.com
(theres a _ between dude and 1... like my username here)