Tips for installing air bags in a '67 GTO/Chevelle/GM A-body?

[elitecustombody]

northcoast, did you drain the tank regularly? I'd probably invest in aluminum tank to minimize corrosion and drain tank as often as possible

[wmhjr]

Just a quick comment. I've never ended up buying anything from RideTech but I have talked to Bret and some of the guys there plenty of times. Nothing against their products whatsoever - just timing and a different direction on my part. What I will say that in each and every case, Bret and the folks at Ridetech were patient and helpful - even when it was pretty darned clear that the conversation would not lead to a sale. Everyone has their own experiences but I did want to step up and acknowledge that this is a vendor that IMHO isn't just looking for the next sale or the fast buck. Not contradicting any issue that may exist in this thread but I thought that Ridetech deserved a positive comment here as well.

Bret, I hope you're bringing the chevelle to RTTH. I've made a few tweaks to the Pontiac and am hoping to see how the changes stack up now.

[marolf101x]

As Bret pays me to break every part we sell I thought I'd jump back in the ring here, give a little explanation, and see if we cannot resolve some issues:

Nikwho:
I apologize for jacking your thread. If you need any information you can contact me through the typical channels (private message, e-mail, phone).

I should start by stating that every product on the market is in constant evolution, the latest version replacing the previous one in an attempt to make the product better in some manner. Just as your desktop from 10 years ago can't surf near as much porn in an hour as your current computer, our latest offerings have much more capability and a longer life expectancy than the early stuff.

Northcoastnova:
Let me break this down a bit. . .

Debris:
There's only a couple of ways to get debris into the system; it has to be "let in" or it has to already reside inside. So both you and Bret hit separate nails on the head.
A compressor with no filter, or a compressor placed directly behind a tire (ingesting whatever water, dirt, etc. the tire kicks up) will allow debris into the system.
An uncoated tank will rust, thereby causing scaling which will play hell with sealing valves.

Tanks:
You may have noticed that we switched a few years back to aluminum tanks. This served a few purposes: lighter weight, better appearance, and of course lack of rust.
Our steel tanks were coated inside and outside, so as to mitigate the creation of rust. However, water has a way of finding a path to bare steel and can create rust even with the best coating.

Valves:
About the same time we changed tanks we were finally able to purchase "rebuild" kits for our valves. There was a time when the valve manufacturer would not supply rebuild parts as the valves were supplied to us as a complete unit, and taking the valve apart negated the warranty supplied by the manufacturer.

Moisture in the system:
It seems I have explained this a million times, so here goes one more. . . The amount of moisture created in a compressor system is relative to the humidity of the air ingested, downstream demand and the size of the compressor.
The compressor system on your vehicle is not the same as the air compressor in your garage.
The compressor in your garage uses a lot of air and can run a dozen times in one evening. Each time compressing very large volumes of air into very small volumes of air (150psi is 10 bar, or 10 times atmosphere pressure)
The compressor system in your car will run a maximum of 57 minutes per week (if you raise and lower the car 3 times each weekday, and 3 times that often on the weekend).

Moisture is not accumulated in the tank in huge amounts. Think about it. . .a typical compressor, filling a 3-gallon tank from 130-150psi takes about one minute. The flow of the compressor is about 0.50cfm (cubic feet per minute). So that compressor just put one half a cubic foot of air into the tank. In order to create moisture we need to exceed a relative humidity level of near 100% (when rain happens), which the compressor will do when it puts that volume in the tank. However, just how much water do you think that .5 cubic foot can hold?
Let’s try an example: a very hot day in the middle of summer (100-degrees F) with a high relative humidity (90%). Run those numbers through a condensate calculator and you get 0.03 liters per hour. Convert that to ounces per minute (as our compressor runs for one minute from 130-150psi) and you get 0.017 ounce.


Bottom Line:
We are much smarter than we were in the past and we get better everyday. Do we have everything figured out to the point that every single part we sell will live for a hundred years? Not yet.

We have made huge strides in recent years to make our product better, our people better, and ultimately our customers happy and satisfied.

If there is anything we can do to help, please let us know and we’ll do whatever we can, within reason of course.

[Northcoastnovas]

marolf101x,
Your response pretty much sums it up.Thanks for your time spent explaining.
I like the way you "break it down a bit". Let me start by saying,I get it,The issues I have had I understand and the service I received coupled with these issues is why I feel the way I do about air ride systems.This is not held to just ride tech.I personally would not do it over again in a daily driven vehicle.Front tire wear comes in to play as well.Now that being said,changing to aluminum tanks and the ability to get rebuild kits for the valves has resolved or minimized some of the issues I have dealt with.Maybe the system operates for a longer period of time trouble free.
I have enjoyed my air ride suspension and people comment on the ride height of the vehicle.I liked the system until more and more I had issues with leaking valves and the car being my daily driver meant at 5:30 in the morning headed to work it was an issue dealing with a valve that stuck open and would not reseal.
So the topics at hand.
1.Debris/Tanks:This is the first I've heard of ridetech switching to aluminum tanks.Like I mentioned I never allowed my compressor to run with out the provided filter.Nor did I mount the compressor in an area that it would be exposed to moisture or road debris.The system is not cheap and to allow it to be exposed to adverse environments is asking for trouble from day one.
2.Valves:At this point mine are worn out.I have one set completely removed and hoses capped off because I could not resolve the continual leak.This falls on my shoulders 1.Because I'm too lazy to send them back and 2 I'm pissed I will probably have to buy new valves(they're not cheap) at this stage in the game and refuse to,and 2.This car is my daily driver so I would have to take it out of service or buy parts to cap and be able to fill the bags individually while I have the valves repaired or replaced.
Ultimately to get my system to work properly again,trouble free,I would need to remove my old steel tank and replace/repair my valves.So basically I have ended up buying 2 compressors 2 sets of valves and an aluminum tank to replace my rusted steel tank.
I hope you can understand where I'm coming from.
It bothers me that it is assumed the system has been installed wrong.I will call today to speak with Darren.In the end I appreciate ridetech and it's employees doing there best to resolve the issues I have had.This may have been an isolated incident and possibly a timing issue (no rebuild kits,steel tank versus aluminum)that caused me to have an undesirable experience with air ride suspensions.Thanks again for your more than professional response.