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Air ride: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Ok I am posting this because I have been through the research, buying, installing, and daily driving of air ride suspension system. I want people to know exactly what they need to know when it comes to buying an air suspension system. I went through some hassels and I don't want other people to go through the same thing if they don't need to. At the bottom of this write up there are pictures that showt the heights and set up that i have. I also got a request from Josh(opi) to write this up so here it goes.

Price:
I personally bought my kit used. I wouldnt reccomend you doing this. It wasn't the sellers fault in my deal and I have no hard feelings. But when I got the kit the tank was already rusty becuase of the previous owner not using water traps and/or draining the tank every once in a while. Also the struts ended up taking a crap and leaving me stranded. I'm not going to list off everything becuse it wouldn't matter.

Here are the prices for the Easystreet Air ride kit. LINKYS below

1. Easystreet.com (2,780.00)
http://207.97.200.166/index.asp?PageAct ... ProdID=309
2. AirBagsource.com (1,946.99)
http://www.aplusperformance.com/airbags ... ts_id=3946
3. Suicidedoors.com (2,145.00)
http://suicidedoors.com/00-05DodgeNeonComboKit.php

All three are the same exact kit. Basically bolt on and go. OR

You can build your own kit and probably end up saving in the end and have a better system.
Basic items you will need for a kit.
-4 air struts
-tank
-8 valves
-air line
-compressor/s
-switches/switch box
-fittings
-telphlon tape
-pressure switch
-drain fitting

All of these parts you can get at http://suicidedoors.com. It is a very trusted site and is run by guys who are minitruckers and bagged themsleves. The customer service is amazing and you will always be happy with your purchase. I have only bought from them and have made many purchases and they have great service and come through for me everytime.

Here is a link to the Air management page...
http://suicidedoors.com/AirManagement.php

Things that i would highly recommend you get for a better and longer lasting system
-Water traps (These are ussually put after the compressor to catch the water that the compressor puts out when the warm air condenses. This is a very nice thing to have. Because you will get water in your tank and it can/will rust your tank and get crap in your valves and cause them to stick/rip)
-Fill control valves (not a nessesity but nice to have. It controls how fast or slow your car rises or falls.)
More than one compressor: once again not a neccesity but very nice to have if you like to hit switches alot like I do. If you are just need the air to get above speed bumbs and get that low stance at shows then one is def. enough. But if you like to hit switches at stop lights all the time and jump the car around every 5-10secs at shows then you will def. want to get two compressors and/or a bigger tank.

The Ride:
The ride with an air suspension is not as good as stock. It is a little bit bumpier and a little boucier. But if you have lowering springs then this is very common to you. With good new air struts the rides is almost as good as my 1st gen r/t springs were when i am at 40 PSI. As you raise the psi in you bags and raise the car the struts get alot stiffer and alot boucier and will have a rougher ride. But when at 35-50 psi which is where i drive the ride is definitaly bearable. Very easy to get used to. I personally love it. It rides like my old springs and i can jump the car around at shows and get alot of attention. I know that Sammy(dblsg) loves his air. But there are people that dont like it. I would highly suggest riding in a car with air before you purchase a kit. It may be hard to find one but i would HIGHLY recommend it. If you live near my I would be more than willing to give you a ride and play at the stop lights for you.

NOW The good, the bad, and the ugly of air ride......

THE GOOD: Air ride gets me soo much attention at shows that I have won shows becuase of it. It is sooo much fun pullin up at a stop light and droppin the car down adn watchin the people next to me stair and point and watch their jaws drop. Best feeling in the world for me. Another plus is getting over those killer speed bumps/curbs/hills. People with body kits like me have an issue with curbs and speed bumps but yet we still want a nice low stance. As you know you cant get that with normal springs or even coilovers. With the air, just flick the switch and your at about stock height and get over those speed bump and curbs and all the other stuff you will find driving your car. And then at shows...Slam that baby to the ground. Give your car that nice super low stance that no one else at that show will have. Another thing that is really nice about the easystreet kit is the dampening struts. Each strut is a 9 way adjustable strut. You can have that super tight suspension or a nice soft one untill aired up. And at shows dance the car around get a nice crowd around you and at that moment you realize at a show with 100 crazy cars there is everyone standin around your little neon watchin it do its thang. The feeling I get when i see this is amazing. It has happened at a couple shows.....A bunch of crazy cars and everyone is watching your little neon. Amazing...

THE BAD: Air give you a little stiffer ride as I told you earlier. No biggie for me tho. One thing that could be good or bad for you is all the stuff you need. Air tank, compressors, valves, line. Basically you will have no trunk left lol. Now i love showing off everything in my trunk and i have it all displayed and set up nice. Some want a cleaner set up with all that out of site. Well you wont have that. I have an 8 gal tank, 2 compressors, and 2 12in woofers...I have absolutly no trunk left. I have my sub box all the way to the front. Then i have my tank about .5 inches from my subs and the valves mounted directly on the tank which are about .5 inches from the back of the trunk. There are ways to get around this by getting a smaller tank and mounting the valves somewhere else besides on the tank. One other thing is that you only have so much air. Once your out..you're gunna have to wait till your compressors fill the tank back up. Depending on tank size/compressor/s that could take anywhere from 30 secs to 10 min. It all depends on your system. If you play with the air for while and only have so much air your only getting so high. With no air you ain't goin anywhere. One more thing is that the compressors get very hot when running. Hot enough to burn you infact. So be careful.

THE UGLY: OK the things that are ugly about air ride. The maintenance. It isnt really all that bad but i would suggest always having a little kit with you for repairs if they happen. Things like an adjustable wrench, tephlon tape, extra fittings, extra quick connect air line connects. But some stuff is unrepair able when it happens. I was cruisin one day and i realized i had no air in my passenger front. Well the stut blew and the strut rod went through the actual strut casing. This was partially my fault and partially just and old strut. It came loose and just couldnt take it anymore. This left me stranded with a car about an inch from the ground. I couldnt move the car because when your that low the pinch welds rest on the tire. IF you move it bye bye tire. Then 3 days later the other front blew. I think they were just old and bad struts. But both times it left me stranded and i had to get a ride home and come back and install my old lowering springs in a parking lot..NOT FUN. I know have brand new fronts and the ride is MUCH better than it was with the old ones. And the struts are much more solid feeling and i dont worry at all about them failing like the old ones.

Pictures: All of these pictures are taken with a 2000 stock front and rear with no side skirts. I will have pictures with my body kit on once it is done being painted.

Here is a picture of my trunk set up. The tank/compressors/valves can be set up a million different ways. The valves can be mounted off the tank it self if you want. This to me is the easiest way but it takes up alot of room but that dont bother me. As you can see i have NO trunk space. The tank is about 1/2in from my subs and the valves are almost touching my back. This isnt the best way as if i got rearended things can easily get bend. I will be moving the valves off the tank and under the flase floor when i get some spare cash for fittings.


Here is a close up of the compressor, water trap, and fill control valve.


A picture of my switchbox. There are many different styles to chose from. The box i have is a little expensive...about $120 but i use to have the "brick" style and it is big. I love this one alot more. ALOT smaller and easy to control and understand. You can use any switchbox. You can even make your own. For switchbox styles that you can buy go here. http://suicidedoors.com/AirManagementSwitchBoxes.php


Here is the heights that air can get you at. These pics are taken at the maximum height and the minimum height. You can set the height anywhere inbetween this.
All the way up:
Here is the front of the car at full height..I think i was at about 120 psi here. This is the highest it will go. As you can see it is about 8.5in off the ground


Here is the front side and pinchweld. As you can see you are about 7in off the ground body wise and about 6.5 from the pinchweld.


Laid Out:
Front Laid out you are about 4 in off the ground


Side you are about 2in off the ground


Fender gap..................or lack there of :
Front:


Back:


I will have pictures of the fender gap when fully aired up later tonight.


All in all I love my air ride. Was one of the best mods i did to my car. But at times I felt it as one of the worste. Now with the new equipment I have I love it again. I want to put bags on everything I own lol. Playing with my suspension is amazing and having full control of my suspension is something that only a few get to experiance. I have some minitrucker in me and I always will. Air ride is deffinatly a must for full out show cars. It can also be used for a daily like mine. Just make sure you get quality and new equipment. Trust me....it is worth the extra money in the long run.

I would like to thank everyone for helping me with my air ride. I would like to thank Josh(Opi) for all the time, energy, and help with this. He has helped me soo many times that I can't say thank you enough. I would also like to thank Laidneon, Dblsg, Krackstar, Sullygully, and anyone else that has helped me along the way. I would also like to thank all the people at suicidedoors.com for all of their help and customer service.


If there is anything you would like to add to this please do. If you would like to stickie this please do. If the people with air ride would like me to add something I left out or have a suggestion and would like me to change something just say so.

Thank you for reading this and I hope it helps you make your decision on if air ride suspension is right for you and you car or not.


Thanks again,


Dan Ratzburg
Neon Enthusiest and Air ride user.
7/07

Amen brother

The only thing i can think to add in "THE GOOD" section, would be to let those know that the EasyStreet air struts also have 9 way externally adjustable dampening, allowing you to fine tune the ride even more. This is the same concept as the Koni Sports, Tokico Illuminas, and other high end struts.

making my decision to go air easier.
Thanks for the informative information

sullygully wrote:

Amen brother

The only thing i can think to add in "THE GOOD" section, would be to let those know that the EasyStreet air struts also have 9 way externally adjustable dampening, allowing you to fine tune the ride even more. This is the same concept as the Koni Sports, Tokico Illuminas, and other high end struts.

Added thanks for the suggestion

Great write-up. You did an excellent job with so many details. It does however confirm my earlier comments that these are NOT ideal for racing.

Thank you. Yes there are def. other and better optionions out there for racing. But Air ride technology did a test with a bunch of different race cars with air on them adn the people said that the air performed much better than they thought. But you can still get a great race set up for cheaper. To me air is mostly a show mod and also almost a neccesity for people with low body kits. But i can still take the corners pretty nicely when i air up the car and i hug the roads with my very stiff suspension...thans for the complements everyone......keep them comming

Ya but if your worried about it running out so fast you can always upgrade your hose from that plastic DOT shit to 500 psi rubber and run compressed nitrogen with a regulator. Few of my friends have this and it lasts a long time. Most of them only use it for shows and still have a compressor for daily driving.

And i have seen that done on some minitrucks. It is a good idea but i heard the fittings cost alot more. And then you have to hide that big tank. Dont get me wrong it would be nice to have but to me this is just a easy better way to go. But everyone has their own opinions on what they think is best. It is definatly a good idea becuase you would have ALOT more switch time. I just decided not to go that route because of cost and simplicity...thanks for sharing

When I built my Cougar I had the fittings and lines to do it but never ended up installing it. The fittings can cost up to $3 a piece and the 1/2" hose I bought was 500 psi and cost $2 a foot. Also if you dont want a huge tank most people use a scuba tank since they are rated to hold 3,000 psi and are smaller then most peoples tanks. I ran a 12 gallon with 3 Viair 380's


I also helped bag this one. We ran 500 psi 1/2" hose and used all compression fittings with a 12 gallon tank.




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I know this is an old topic but is anyone still using an air suspension? i'm curious because i'm doing some research on possible future upgrades to my car and going air was one of the ideas i had, but i dont want or need a tank that is in this op car. i dont intend on using it for shows or to jump the car, just for more on the fly ride height adjustment and suspension stiffening.

I have air ride and love it!!!!!!!!!!