as far as all of the reliability concerns....look at how many millions of miles are put on by semi trucks each year that all have airride suspensions and the same pushlock lines and fittings that most aftermarket airride systems use. If the lines are routed correctly there should be no problems

An improperly installed suspension is just that.... regardless of type. Ensure the installation is done w/safety in mind.

Loss of air @ speed? When you set the car up, make sure it has bumpstops that limit suspension compression so the vehicle can steer & roll safely to a stop.

Most fittings are secured w/thread sealer so losing (breaking) a fitting is rare. Fittings are also common among components in an air-ride system & are small enough to fit next to that spare tire you carry (they're cheap enough to grab 1-extra of each for the extreme doubters).

Lines melting? See the bump-stop guidline above & route lines away from heat. It is popular these days to run hard-line w/short sections of flex where required.

Getting under it w/a jack? Oddly enough, this requires some consideration. They make 'jacks' that are simple air bags. You can compress them to almost nothing & air them up to raise the car (using your on-board comp/tank). The better idea is to set the car up so it has a jacking point @ every corner that would allow enough lift to put the jack in a 'typical' jacking position.

If you have no intention of trying to win a track event, air suspensions can offer great handling, ride, & adjustability when planned that way.

My buddy has a wrx with some type or air suspension. I don't think its airridetech, but not sure. anyways I got to ride in his car when it was new and after. He didnt tell me he did an air ride. All I have to say is I'm a believer of air suspensions.

Air Bar and coil overs
 

Paul,
An option to consider is using the Air Bar tiangulated four link bracketry with coil overs. This what I have put in my car with mini-tubs. I like this set-up for several reasons:

Plenty of room for exhaust without heat worries
No need to narrow gas tank to clear relocated leaf springs
No additonal alterations to the trunk/floor pan required
Any concerns associated with air bags are eliminated
Clean and asthetically appealing look
Lots of adjustability


Now the car is still under construction, so I cannot definitively speak to how it will ride or handle, however with all the adjustability that I will have at hand, I cannot imagine not coming up with a setup that will make me happy.

Thanks,
BT

Well....It has been done....We mini-tubed it and four linked it up. Im going to pull it outside tomorrow and get some pictures if its nice out. Its been pretty craping up in Michigan....But I will post them tomorrow so you guys can take a look.

Paul

Holy **** is the a site for hot rods or professional race teams......dam I must have logged into the wrong place....

Wow. I never saw this thread before today. Too damn busy I guess. Check the post dates: 08-17-06, then yesterday and then today. Somewhere in between these dates, we ran the Autocross from Hell in Pigeon Forge (Sept 17th 2006) AxH is run not on your typical flat, dusty parking lot. We ran a 3/4 mile course set up on an actual track surface with hard transitions from apron to banked turns.

The Air Ride issue can be argued back and forth indefinitely. But in the end, many people watched my 68 Camaro--with traditional springs--run a 63. Then we watched Bret's big A-body Buick run a 63 with Air Ride. Both cars were run by the same driver, on the same track, and on the same day.

And yes a 63 or 64 was fast for a street tired P-T car. Not only did we watch the Air Ride cars run a number, we watched the Air Ride guys whip it out and lay it on the table. They put their reputation on the line. We hung out with them and learned that they are real car guys and real drivers. If it somehow turned out that their cars were not competitive (they were), Bret and his crew would have gone home and figured out how to make them fast--just like any other handling car enthusiast.

Didn't Bret have the fastest (by a fraction) time of any car on non-r-compound tires at the event?

I swear.. an Air Ride car could win every race for a solid year and still some would go.. "yea, but on paper it doesn't work" ... lol

I liked how the DSE car looked going around the bank.. so squished down and flat.. it was sweet.

Well I think Im going to be happy in the long run not doing air ride
the car has killer stance with the bigger tire back with the dished wheel
and looking at it from the back looks really sweet too.

:ttiwop:

I swear.. an Air Ride car could win every race for a solid year and still some would go.. "yea, but on paper it doesn't work" ... lol

You know...if it was easy, success would not be as tasty. I look back at how long it took electronic ignition to catch on....and electronic fuel injection...and radial tires... and so on.

I am not offended by all of this...I am encouraged. It motivates us to continue hardcore product development and gives us a reason to go to the track. That HAS to be a good thing...right?

I car truly sympathize with the guys who, at this point, are not sure if air suspension is the next electronic ignition...or the next "Spintech" wheel.
For me...its all good!

I would like to point out one thing about the Pigeon Forge event. The track used for AutoX H was unlike anything we had encountered to that point. The severe transition from the flat to the banked portion of the track caused many cars that had been normally well set up to bottom out or become otherwise "upset". The tunability of the air suspension allowed us to adapt to that situation fairly quickly with a minumum of effort [and no changed components].
On paper, this situation could have been accommodated with a traditional suspension. In the real world...score one for air ride.

Ive been running this car for 2 years handles good and i drive it pretty hard has 10 thousand miles and not 1 bag problem.We broke a shock in Fla. on power tour not a bag and Air Ride give me a new shock in gainsville at the next stop no charge .Thanks for steppin up Air Ride .Were using Air Ride in 4 other projects right now. Its nice to set the cars at any hieght you wanthttp://www.competition-specialties.c...ro/burnout.jpg

:ttiwop:

Its going down to interior next week then it will be all done....Then Maybe Ill show some pics!!!!LOL

Thank you to all that have helped me with what to
do. I ended up mini-tubing it. So their is no going back.

Actually finishing up an Air Ride/Mini tub, 69 camaro now...I'll post pics soon and let you know how the test drive works out.....

this thread is OLD........the car is already done.

Thanks Travis, I think I posted a couple times that the car was done...

Do we need a picture?lol




Paul

Build it.

Ok my imput for what its worth!. when contacking one of the big 3 major a arm manufacters and haveing a one on one conversation(of the record) i askt them about air ride and coil over and four link system for my ride. AWNSER was:QUOTE just get the ""traditional"" lowering coils and good shocks like koni ore bieltstein lowerd leaf springs in the rear with eather call tracks ore slide alink bars set very mild. and you will not go slower then, set ups with a 3 ore4 link ecetera ecetera. he said in the end its a money makeing bisenis thing. and there are more roads to Rome!!!!. and the beter driver with same performance will usaly always win!!!!.....so i stuck and stik with lowering coils shocks and leaf springs forget about air rides ecetera..........ps dont bash my spelling im dislectic

"Ok my imput for what its worth!. when contacking one of the big 3 major a arm manufacters. . . he said in the end its a money makeing bisenis thing"

Did any of these manufacturers happen to sell air suspension parts? If I were them I'd persuade my customer that air is no good, and that you should buy my parts instead.

Was budget the first thing on the list, or was performance?

I don't want to knock a good coil-over/leaf spring suspension, (hell, we ran them in our stock cars for years with great success, but have since moved on to 4-links as technology has surpassed the leaf in our racing application). The coil/leaf set-up is a good, economical option. However, I'm still an air fan as I know first hand I can cruise to the track in plush comfort, make a couple quick changes and out-run most anything on the track. Then quickly change back to "cruise" mode.

Overall, the adaptability of a pneumatic suspension system is hard to beat!

WOW! I just re read this entire 1 1/2 year old thread, and I feel like I just looked at my 25 Y/O homecoming pictures and wonder what the hell was I thinking with that hair cut and baby blue leasure suit! And now I am so much smarter!

Bret, you were 100% correct your quote from over a year ago when you said YET!

You converted a few bigtime nay sayers at RTHs. Converted some of us enough for some (like ourselves) to go from nay sayers to becoming advocates, Air Ride dealers and product users on our highest end builds. It is actually pretty damn impressive how you have changed attitudes in just that short 1 1/2 year period.

actualy one of these companys is selling the new aftermarket subframes . . and budged is not a isuew..............

so does this new aftermarket subframe manufacturer offer air suspension as an option? Or do they only offer coil overs?

". . . and the beter driver with same performance will usaly always win!!!!.....so i stuck and stik with lowering coils shocks and leaf springs forget about air rides ecetera"
I agree with this statement, the better drive should always win when competing against equal opposition. At last years RTH autocross the local "hot shoe" drove a bunch of cars, both air ride and "traditional". Maybe he'll see this post his thoughts.

I can appreciate your desire to build a car as inexpensively as you can (I do the same with all my projects). Not all projects require a race-car-like suspension complete with cage, and not all require a "Cadillac" demeanor and ride quality. Though putting a vehicle on air is more complicated in regards to parts (plumbing, etc.) I enjoy the adaptability of the system. It may never out maneuver a C6R, or be as sedate as a Lexus, but It'll get closer to both extremes than any other option out there.

A question to those on this forum: Are there any competitive "race cars" utilizing rear leaf springs in current motorsports racing? (this can be any form of "flat ground" racing vehicle; dirt, road course, oval, etc. excluding vintage racing or classes that require the use of leafs) My feeling is that when given design freedom, the chassis manufacturer has moved away from leafs and into 3 or 4 link cars.

hell yeah there is Brit.... when was the last time you were at the mud bog races :wow:

Well since this thread is really old, I guess I should post some pics.

I ended up doing a mini-tub and 4-link with no air-ride.

These pictures are taken last summer, and since then the car has settled even more.

Also now those wheels are on another Chevy II in Florida! lol

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...I/DSCF0339.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...I/DSCF0411.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...I/DSCF0414.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...I/DSCF0431.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...I/DSCF0433.jpg

Airride is nothing like this and if you have been in a proper airride car you would now this. Airride is nice smooth and handles great. You could not ask for a better ride and it performs. If you saw the green blazer on the autocross you know you can actually drive it. Airride all the way much nicer than coil-overs.

WOW! the post you just replied to is 6 years old

fesler has the right to do that. ;) i learned some good stuff. i may do air ride on the 1000 pieces of a 65 chevelle in my garage. i got only a ton of questions though of course. haha

keep up the good work fesler. and try to make some 65 chevelle stuff. its like a custom part red headed step child. haha

WOW! the post you just replied to is 4 years old

now that is comedy. i did not notice that either.

When I made that reply, the post showed up as a recent post of the year 2012. Its a conspiracy I tell you:willy:

its because some goof voted on the poll and it brings it back to the top, dont worry i only know because i did exactly what you did before!:lol:

I vote Airbar with coilovers. I didn't see that option so I just voted airbar. My vote may change but thats is the plan for now:)
And then noticed that its an old post...LOL

Mini tub and custom composite truck arm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=San17XlQCGM