Air ride vs full suspension
06-26-2011, 04:43 PM
#1
Staging Lane
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Air ride vs full suspension So one of my friends didn't research this topic so im doing it for him. He is looking at either getting a Kit from air ride technologies or hotchkis tvs full suspension. He drives a 67 chevelle and wants performance and drivebility.
Correct me if im wrong, but my understanding is that air bags wont give you the performance handling that a full suspension set-up with coil overs would. Like i said im new aswell to suspension world so my facts may be way off in left field...
Thank you to all those that answer.
Correct me if im wrong, but my understanding is that air bags wont give you the performance handling that a full suspension set-up with coil overs would. Like i said im new aswell to suspension world so my facts may be way off in left field...
Thank you to all those that answer.
06-26-2011, 07:54 PM
#2
TECH Apprentice
You may want to have your friend check out Pro-Touring.com or Lateral-g.net. They have lots of A-body cars over there that handle quite well. I've never driven a car that had air-bags, but as far as handling goes, the fastest cars on those sites I mentioned all have coil-over type suspensions. Ride Tech has cars there to but they aren't as fast. IMO, air-bags are for show or cruising. If air-bags were the wave of the future (like Ride Tech wants you to believe) then there suspensions would be on alot more faster cars. Just my opinion...
06-27-2011, 08:36 AM
#3
Staging Lane
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You may want to have your friend check out Pro-Touring.com or Lateral-g.net. They have lots of A-body cars over there that handle quite well. I've never driven a car that had air-bags, but as far as handling goes, the fastest cars on those sites I mentioned all have coil-over type suspensions. Ride Tech has cars there to but they aren't as fast. IMO, air-bags are for show or cruising. If air-bags were the wave of the future (like Ride Tech wants you to believe) then there suspensions would be on alot more faster cars. Just my opinion...
06-28-2011, 04:44 PM
#4
just because air bags are not on more cars doesn't mean that they don't or can't handle good. quite the opposite, a properly set up air bag system can handle just as good or better than "conventional" suspension setups.
the main reason air bags aren't on more cars? it's the same reason GM didn't put 12-bolts in f-bodies instead of these shitty 10-bolts: price.
it costs a lot more for an air bag system & proper setup than it does for a standard suspension setup, so naturally, not as many people are going to opt for that setup.
the main reason air bags aren't on more cars? it's the same reason GM didn't put 12-bolts in f-bodies instead of these shitty 10-bolts: price.
it costs a lot more for an air bag system & proper setup than it does for a standard suspension setup, so naturally, not as many people are going to opt for that setup.
06-28-2011, 06:26 PM
#5
TECH Apprentice
the main reason air bags aren't on more cars? it's the same reason GM didn't put 12-bolts in f-bodies instead of these shitty 10-bolts: price.
it costs a lot more for an air bag system & proper setup than it does for a standard suspension setup, so naturally, not as many people are going to opt for that setup.
07-01-2011, 01:04 AM
#6
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just because air bags are not on more cars doesn't mean that they don't or can't handle good. quite the opposite, a properly set up air bag system can handle just as good or better than "conventional" suspension setups.
the main reason air bags aren't on more cars? it's the same reason GM didn't put 12-bolts in f-bodies instead of these shitty 10-bolts: price.
it costs a lot more for an air bag system & proper setup than it does for a standard suspension setup, so naturally, not as many people are going to opt for that setup.
the main reason air bags aren't on more cars? it's the same reason GM didn't put 12-bolts in f-bodies instead of these shitty 10-bolts: price.
it costs a lot more for an air bag system & proper setup than it does for a standard suspension setup, so naturally, not as many people are going to opt for that setup.
07-01-2011, 12:07 PM
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Hi guys...I work for RideTech and can help answer some of your questions...
First, addressing the handling of a 67 Chevelle...check out our 66:
http://www.ridetech.com/garage/1966-chevelle/
We beat on it HARD, and it's consistently one of the best-performing cars in our fleet. Here's another relevant link:
http://www.ridetech.com/info/street-challenge-archive/
where we took a stock-suspension Chevelle and our blue one and let some professional drivers put them through their paces. Some good reading there
And I agree; Pro-Touring and Lateral-G also have some great info. Post there (Pro-T is usually a little busier) and you'll get an equal amount of opinions of those who like air and those who don't, so don't think I'm suggesting it because I'm biased. There are already quite a few good compare/contrast threads there to check out too.
You're correct in that air suspension used to be too expensive to use for stock, although there are more vehicles out there with stock air than you'd guess, and more in the works. Constant design and manufacturing improvements are making it cheaper and better all the time. We're working on it. And if price is a sticking point for your friend, have him call our sales guys; there are several different setups and levels he could go with to be a little more budget friendly. The Black Series Shockwave might be his thing...http://www.ridetech.com/info/shock-series-overview/
If you want to see an Air Ride car vs a non-stock-suspension car, come to any GoodGuys autocross and watch us compete in the vendors class against DSE's cars, or whichever other manufacturers come up (if you come to one of these events, just come on up and ask, we'll usually let you jump in with the guys and feel the ride firsthand). Almost every weekend we're out somewhere proving our stuff against other cars...whether it's autocross or road course.
Here's a good article on the weight issue:
http://www.pro-touring.com/showthrea...r-ride-vs.-DSE
short version:
"Keep in mind that our baseline weight already included dearched leaf springs, lighter control arms, lowering springs, and high-performance shocks--so your weight may vary. The starting weight came in at 3,510 lbs with 2,010 lbs on the front axle and 1,490 lbs on the rear axle. After the install, we weighed the Camaro again and came up with a surprising result. The Air Ride system was not heavier, in fact, it knocked a lot of weight off the car. The results were 1,970 lbs on the front axle, 1,450 for the rear axle, and only 3,420 as a total for the whole car. The new exhaust system is a bit smaller, so of the 90 lbs saved, we figure 80 lbs of it was a direct result of the air bag suspension install."
I don't log in to LS1Tech much, I'm mainly just a browser in the Midwestern section, but feel free to post up on Lat-G, Pro-T, or our own forum at ridetech.com if there's any other questions we can answer for you
First, addressing the handling of a 67 Chevelle...check out our 66:
http://www.ridetech.com/garage/1966-chevelle/
We beat on it HARD, and it's consistently one of the best-performing cars in our fleet. Here's another relevant link:
http://www.ridetech.com/info/street-challenge-archive/
where we took a stock-suspension Chevelle and our blue one and let some professional drivers put them through their paces. Some good reading there
And I agree; Pro-Touring and Lateral-G also have some great info. Post there (Pro-T is usually a little busier) and you'll get an equal amount of opinions of those who like air and those who don't, so don't think I'm suggesting it because I'm biased. There are already quite a few good compare/contrast threads there to check out too.
You're correct in that air suspension used to be too expensive to use for stock, although there are more vehicles out there with stock air than you'd guess, and more in the works. Constant design and manufacturing improvements are making it cheaper and better all the time. We're working on it
. And if price is a sticking point for your friend, have him call our sales guys; there are several different setups and levels he could go with to be a little more budget friendly. The Black Series Shockwave might be his thing...http://www.ridetech.com/info/shock-series-overview/If you want to see an Air Ride car vs a non-stock-suspension car, come to any GoodGuys autocross and watch us compete in the vendors class against DSE's cars, or whichever other manufacturers come up (if you come to one of these events, just come on up and ask, we'll usually let you jump in with the guys and feel the ride firsthand). Almost every weekend we're out somewhere proving our stuff against other cars...whether it's autocross or road course.
Here's a good article on the weight issue:
http://www.pro-touring.com/showthrea...r-ride-vs.-DSE
short version:
"Keep in mind that our baseline weight already included dearched leaf springs, lighter control arms, lowering springs, and high-performance shocks--so your weight may vary. The starting weight came in at 3,510 lbs with 2,010 lbs on the front axle and 1,490 lbs on the rear axle. After the install, we weighed the Camaro again and came up with a surprising result. The Air Ride system was not heavier, in fact, it knocked a lot of weight off the car. The results were 1,970 lbs on the front axle, 1,450 for the rear axle, and only 3,420 as a total for the whole car. The new exhaust system is a bit smaller, so of the 90 lbs saved, we figure 80 lbs of it was a direct result of the air bag suspension install."
I don't log in to LS1Tech much, I'm mainly just a browser in the Midwestern section, but feel free to post up on Lat-G, Pro-T, or our own forum at ridetech.com if there's any other questions we can answer for you
