Air Bags?

[chuy2002]

Does anyone have air bags on their car? I was wondering if they really are worth it? Are they complicated to put on or would I be able to put them on myself....

 

[Domeskilla]

you are going to get yelled at by a bunch of ppl who have NO experience with bags or cylinders. So ignore their flames.

Okay, it depends, if you in for handling, they aren't worth it b/c they are a pain to get the right psi to handle well.

If you just want something that is low, then yes, get bags, cylinders suck, they stick and without accumulators, they ride rough.

Bags do not ride rough, they just take 500 miles to "break in".

They make bolt on kits that you'll just have to do some minor trimming up front to get them to work. Running the hose, fittings, valve hook up, its not hard, if you read up on it.

btw, stay away from aim, blow jax, chassis tech.. its essentually the same pos company. Get EAI if you're going to get them.

 

[chuy2002]

thanks for the info Domeskilla, but who is EAI? So in youre opinion my car shouldnt run rough with the air bags unless I were to go with cylinders right?Oh by the way whats a reasonable amount of $ to spend on the bags?

 

[Tonyd0821]

thats weird....i used the "fast reply" and it quoted half of what i was going to say.....

anyways i do got experience with airbags, my buddies shop installs them and i worked on many a car....

air cylendars (sp?) suck. had a set on my buddies 00 si coupe and it rode like shit. i tried to "race" the car and i got no traction whatsoever in first and second gear....

air bags imo are better.

i believe my buddy sells custom "bolt on" air bag kits.

pm me fore more info if interested, of you can call the shop

310-677-6599 and ask for Sal or Dave.


and ya, EAI is one of the better ones out there imo

 

[Domeskilla]

Originally posted by chuy2002@Jul 5 2003, 12:09 PM
thanks for the info Domeskilla, but who is EAI? So in youre opinion my car shouldnt run rough with the air bags unless I were to go with cylinders right?Oh by the way whats a reasonable amount of $ to spend on the bags?

EAI = Excentrix Automotive Innovations

You can ride nice with cylinders, but you need accumulators also. Bags, imo, are just a better way of going.

You should expect to pay a good 2K for a good setup. Now you can go cheap and get small compressor, small tank, etc. but you'll 1) always hear the comp running b/c the tanks doesn't last long.. 2) burn your shit up quicker.. 3) always be out of air.

Here is a margin to go on.. 5 gallons of air at 150psi, will lift the front of a 2.2L 4 banger s-10 up 3 times and the rear up 5 times, on average, you're out of air.

So.. EAI front strut setup = around 250
Slam Specialties rear bags (go with something small like the RS 6" bags) 90 each
not sure what size the front strut/bags come in, but i'm going to guess 3/8".. so you'll need around 60+ feet of 3/8" hose (around 90 bucks)
Brass DOT ptc (push to connect) fittings (can get them from a local home depot, expect to pay a good 160 on fittings.. its an expense ppl dont think costs a lot). Plastic fittings will blows out, they suck and the threats just come out.
Valves. What movements do you want?

for ... front up and down and back up and down only. You'll need 4 valves (1 to fill the front, 1 to dump, same for the rear)
all up at once and all down at once. You'll need 2 valves.. 1 to fill all and 1 to dump all
if you want all the tricks, like front, back, side to side, individual wheel, etc. You'll need 8 valves.

goto www.suicidedoors.com, Jason has SMC 3/8" valves for only 25 or 35 each, a lot cheaper then everyone else.

Now you need switches, do not get the aim box, chassis tech box, or whatever they call it. Try and find a REAL CCE box, or buy individual switches and wire them up yourself. (not easy for all the movements)

Need a tank or 2. If you are NOT switch happy.. i'd say go with 2 3 gallon tanks for around 50 or so a tank from EAI or someone reputable. I would also suggest to use 1 ViAIR 550 comp (i think they are 350), the 450 might not be enough for 2 3 gallon tanks, might take a little while to fill.

That is a quick run down, i've bagged 1 civic, but we used cylinders and so no cutting was done, it rode like shit, but the guy didnt care, he just wanted to be able to play. He also bought all the cheap junk and has called numerous times about blown fittings, cylinders sticking down or up. I told him i wouldn't replace anything that didnt fuck up b/c of me.. which this stuff isin't, its b/c it is cheap equipment.

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

also from what i gather about cylinders is that they tend to lock up alot. see if you can find a good strut-bag assembly and take Domeskilla's advice. hes knows his shit about air ride.

 

[hcivic.com]

rather than run comps ron a c02 set up but the only prob is filling the tank way to often

 

[BigJ]

Yeah, my buddy had a scuba tank on his s10 for his air ride and had to fill up every single day. Later he changed to a big compressor and and a big tank and yeah, hasn't had a problem since, but he is also running only 3/8 valves and fast bags wired to standard switches bought from scmucks.

 

[hcivic.com]

ya but that shit is cheaper than a big comp and tanks

 

[Domeskilla]

Originally posted by hcivic.com@Jul 5 2003, 11:55 PM
rather than run comps ron a c02 set up but the only prob is filling the tank way to often

you can run a reserve. Like a regular tank and the scuba tank or nitro tank, whatever compressed air you want. Now you wont run out as often, b/c its compressed to like 2000psi, where as a normal tank is between 145-170. So you get that much more play in it.

If you plan to run the same psi as you would on a normal tank with the scuba tank, then the setup i said, will work. If you want to run 400psi or so (that is the reason ppl use compressed air).. then you'll need the hose, fittings, valves and bags to support it (not cheap, trust me )

Jordan.. your friend must have only got the bottle filled to a normal 145-170 psi load. B/c scuba tanks can go as high as 2000psi.. and if you only have it setup to allow 145psi of air into the lines (you need a check valve).. then you'll last a lot longer then you would with a tank and comp setup.

If you go with compressed air.. you'll need a permit in some areas. Also if you get in a wreck, its a shooting bullet if not in the right brackets. Also beware that some setups can explode if hit.