Air Ride Suspension?

347tt · September 28th, 2006, 09:16 AM

Has anyone installed air ride on thier fox?

MSO · September 28th, 2006, 03:30 PM

wut is an air ride?

99mustang232 · September 28th, 2006, 10:10 PM

Originally Posted by My'StangOpens

wut is an air ride?

www.ridetech.com

88BlueGT · September 28th, 2006, 10:44 PM

Right now I am setting up my car with a coil over suspension but sometime in the future I do plan on going with a A.R.T. kit from them. From what I hear they are great! They can be used on the street for a daily driver and than adjusted with a controller and be taken on the track with great performance. Its all about how you set it up and your possibilities are endless. Just watch out because they are not that easy to install if you are doing it by yourself or a friend... they are pretty complicated. From what I have gathered looking into them there are only two downsides to the kits... one is the weight of the compressor, etc. and the other is tearing the bags. If one of them gets a rip or tear in them you are screwed. But they are supposed to be pretty durable so unless you are driving down the road and a butcher knife decides to jump at your car and slice your airbag I dont think you should have any problems lol

347tt · September 29th, 2006, 08:57 AM

[quote]wut is an air ride?

Air ride is an air spring to replace the coil spring.... they're also adjustable for street and strip.

ChrisJ · September 29th, 2006, 09:19 AM

Air Ride is most usually an air bag...

But the Air Shock has been around for a long time and is an old school drag racer toy...on mustangs you can put an Air Shock in the passenger side rear tire and inflate and deflate it to give you better traction...

Air Ride Can also be done with Air Struts as well...

It is a pretty simple install...It is just very time consuming...I used to deal with Air Ride alot (Install and such)...

88BlueGT · September 29th, 2006, 09:46 AM

^^ So it sounds like you have been running them for a while. Have you ever used A.R.T.'s setup? How did you like it for the street/strip? I have never got an opinion from anyone who has delt with it first hand... just hear say.

ChrisJ · September 29th, 2006, 09:51 AM

I am not running a air set-up on my car...I have ran an air set-up on a thunderbird and few other vehicles...And have installed them oon alot of customer's cars...

I love A.R.T's stuff...they are a great company and they have done their research...They put an air ride set-up on a 60's fast-back and it worked great...

I would definately recommend them...

Their products really do fit really nicely...I have found it actually alittle cheaper and alot less stressful to buy their kits then to try and build your own...I have built a few from scratch and it is a pain...

You cant go wrong with Air Ride Technologies...

88BlueGT · September 29th, 2006, 09:55 AM

^^ That exactally what I heard from other people. I already have alot of my suspension for my 93 GT and my 88 GT is going to be a strictly track car so thats going to get a drag suspension. But maybe a year or two from now after I buy everything for my 93 I would LOVE to convert it.

ChrisJ · September 29th, 2006, 09:58 AM

It makes everything better...

The car will ride alot better and will handle like a beast on or off the track...

I might put a A.R.T set-up on my car one day...

When I put Air Ride on a Dodge Avenger I built my own kit...I wont do that again...It was not worth it...

Plus A.R.T is a great company with a large backing of old and new customers...I have used their parts for a long time...Highly recommend them...

99mustang232 · September 29th, 2006, 02:03 PM

i have been contemplating an air ride setup for sometime now, my problem is i want the tubular k-member and a-arms but the bags wont work with those up front, so i was trying to look into the airstruts up front and the shockwave bags in the rear... but there will probably be a lot of custom work involved since i also want to shorten the axle tubes on an 8.8

not sure about the durability of the air struts, but from my understand with the bags the related hardware will rust out long before the bags go. the one downside is that you can only have 1 optimum rideheight in which you set your desired caster/camber for, because once you lower or raise it the settings will change, now don't get me wrong it's not like you are changing the height while driving, but if i was to lower for the strip i would have to realize that my c/c may be not optimum, so it takes a little planning in advance. also to take into consideration is the noise generated from the compressor

88BlueGT · September 29th, 2006, 03:12 PM

^^ I never really thought about the c/c... That definetly changes my mind about using them. I guess they are not all cracked up as they seem to be lol

Also, I have heard that the compressor is not that loud.

ChrisJ · September 30th, 2006, 01:13 AM

It really depends on the compressor on how loud it will be...

You can set the switches at a certain height and when you get back from the track or wherever you are using the air ride at just hit the switch and then it will return back to the ride height that you have it alighnment for...

Air Struts are fine...It really depends on what brand you go with...You buy cheap air struts then they are going to prolly be crap and not last long...

Most people will throw the air on the rear of the car and use coil-overs up front if they are going to use it for racing...That way you can drop the rear and get better ET's...

Its all about what you want to do with your car...

MSO · September 30th, 2006, 01:34 AM

so u dont feel bumps or anything? isnt this like hydraulics? im confused wit this whole thing.

ChrisJ · September 30th, 2006, 01:49 AM

Originally Posted by My'StangOpens

so u dont feel bumps or anything? isnt this like hydraulics? im confused wit this whole thing.

With hydrolics you are using fluid/pressure to keep the cylinders up...There is no give on that...With the air bags it uses bags that are filled with air and it gives alittle and makes it ride pretty nice...Now with air struts you get about the same ride as hydrolic's because it uses air to push a rod up or down whcih controls the ride height...The rod does not ahve much give so it will be extremely stiff...Air Ride has been used on Cadillac's since at least 1988 that I know of...And have been used on Lincolns since about that time as well...They actually will give you a nice ride...

Also hydrolics requires very extensive work...With air ride it basicly about the same ammount of work as running a nitrous kit pretty much...Not really that much to it...

MSO · September 30th, 2006, 06:49 PM

so wut wud b the most comfortable ride in a fox?

the bags, or the struts or w/e

ChrisJ · October 1st, 2006, 12:54 AM

The bags would give you the best ride...

He bags would be my choice if I was you...

88BlueGT · October 1st, 2006, 03:41 PM

+1 If you have the cash to dish out...

ChrisJ · October 2nd, 2006, 01:43 AM

Also if the project looks like it is too much for you take it to someone that really knows what they are doing...

Do it right the first time...

If you do have someone do it...Stick around and watch how they install it so you can learn something from them that you can use in the future...Also knowing how the system works together can help you alot...

347tt · October 2nd, 2006, 09:22 AM

Im not going to stick with the foxbody because its not my main body style choice (03-04 Cobra or stage 3) but I need something cheap to get me by for now. if i put the air ride on my fox, can I take it off later and put it on a newer body style if thats what my little heart so desired? Most of the parts that I 'l be buying now are going to be put on my future stang (rims, tires, air ride, maybe engine [351w], etc.) so should I wait for that or could I go ahead and do it?

September 28th, 2006, 09:16 AM	#1
347tt Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 58 iTrader: 0 reviews	Air Ride Suspension? Has anyone installed air ride on thier fox?

September 28th, 2006, 03:30 PM	#2
MSO Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: アメリカ Posts: 5,933 iTrader: 0 reviews	wut is an air ride? __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] [SIZE="5"][FONT="Arial Black"]OBEY THE FACE![/FONT][/SIZE] Edited By Moderator. Next time will be a ban.

September 28th, 2006, 10:44 PM	#4
88BlueGT Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hamilton, NJ Posts: 202 iTrader: 0 reviews	Right now I am setting up my car with a coil over suspension but sometime in the future I do plan on going with a A.R.T. kit from them. From what I hear they are great! They can be used on the street for a daily driver and than adjusted with a controller and be taken on the track with great performance. Its all about how you set it up and your possibilities are endless. Just watch out because they are not that easy to install if you are doing it by yourself or a friend... they are pretty complicated. From what I have gathered looking into them there are only two downsides to the kits... one is the weight of the compressor, etc. and the other is tearing the bags. If one of them gets a rip or tear in them you are screwed. But they are supposed to be pretty durable so unless you are driving down the road and a butcher knife decides to jump at your car and slice your airbag I dont think you should have any problems lol __________________ 93 GT - Full Exhaust, 3.90's, Front Tubular Suspension, etc. 88 GT "Big Blue" - Body work & primer!

September 29th, 2006, 09:19 AM	#6
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	Air Ride is most usually an air bag... But the Air Shock has been around for a long time and is an old school drag racer toy...on mustangs you can put an Air Shock in the passenger side rear tire and inflate and deflate it to give you better traction... Air Ride Can also be done with Air Struts as well... It is a pretty simple install...It is just very time consuming...I used to deal with Air Ride alot (Install and such)... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

September 29th, 2006, 09:46 AM	#7
88BlueGT Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hamilton, NJ Posts: 202 iTrader: 0 reviews	^^ So it sounds like you have been running them for a while. Have you ever used A.R.T.'s setup? How did you like it for the street/strip? I have never got an opinion from anyone who has delt with it first hand... just hear say. __________________ 93 GT - Full Exhaust, 3.90's, Front Tubular Suspension, etc. 88 GT "Big Blue" - Body work & primer!

September 29th, 2006, 09:51 AM	#8
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	I am not running a air set-up on my car...I have ran an air set-up on a thunderbird and few other vehicles...And have installed them oon alot of customer's cars... I love A.R.T's stuff...they are a great company and they have done their research...They put an air ride set-up on a 60's fast-back and it worked great... I would definately recommend them... Their products really do fit really nicely...I have found it actually alittle cheaper and alot less stressful to buy their kits then to try and build your own...I have built a few from scratch and it is a pain... You cant go wrong with Air Ride Technologies... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

September 29th, 2006, 09:55 AM	#9
88BlueGT Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hamilton, NJ Posts: 202 iTrader: 0 reviews	^^ That exactally what I heard from other people. I already have alot of my suspension for my 93 GT and my 88 GT is going to be a strictly track car so thats going to get a drag suspension. But maybe a year or two from now after I buy everything for my 93 I would LOVE to convert it. __________________ 93 GT - Full Exhaust, 3.90's, Front Tubular Suspension, etc. 88 GT "Big Blue" - Body work & primer!

September 29th, 2006, 09:58 AM	#10
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	It makes everything better... The car will ride alot better and will handle like a beast on or off the track... I might put a A.R.T set-up on my car one day... When I put Air Ride on a Dodge Avenger I built my own kit...I wont do that again...It was not worth it... Plus A.R.T is a great company with a large backing of old and new customers...I have used their parts for a long time...Highly recommend them... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

September 29th, 2006, 02:03 PM	#11
99mustang232 MM Fanatic 1999 Ford Mustang V6 Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: newport news, va Posts: 3,745 iTrader: 0 reviews	i have been contemplating an air ride setup for sometime now, my problem is i want the tubular k-member and a-arms but the bags wont work with those up front, so i was trying to look into the airstruts up front and the shockwave bags in the rear... but there will probably be a lot of custom work involved since i also want to shorten the axle tubes on an 8.8 not sure about the durability of the air struts, but from my understand with the bags the related hardware will rust out long before the bags go. the one downside is that you can only have 1 optimum rideheight in which you set your desired caster/camber for, because once you lower or raise it the settings will change, now don't get me wrong it's not like you are changing the height while driving, but if i was to lower for the strip i would have to realize that my c/c may be not optimum, so it takes a little planning in advance. also to take into consideration is the noise generated from the compressor __________________ ...even fire and single cammin 1986 Ford F-150 5.0L 2WD 1994 Toyota Pickup 2.4L 4WD 1999 Ford Mustang 3.8L V6 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0L 2WD 2008 GMC Sierra Denali 6.2L AWD

September 29th, 2006, 03:12 PM	#12
88BlueGT Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hamilton, NJ Posts: 202 iTrader: 0 reviews	^^ I never really thought about the c/c... That definetly changes my mind about using them. I guess they are not all cracked up as they seem to be lol Also, I have heard that the compressor is not that loud. __________________ 93 GT - Full Exhaust, 3.90's, Front Tubular Suspension, etc. 88 GT "Big Blue" - Body work & primer!

September 30th, 2006, 01:13 AM	#13
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	It really depends on the compressor on how loud it will be... You can set the switches at a certain height and when you get back from the track or wherever you are using the air ride at just hit the switch and then it will return back to the ride height that you have it alighnment for... Air Struts are fine...It really depends on what brand you go with...You buy cheap air struts then they are going to prolly be crap and not last long... Most people will throw the air on the rear of the car and use coil-overs up front if they are going to use it for racing...That way you can drop the rear and get better ET's... Its all about what you want to do with your car... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

September 30th, 2006, 01:34 AM	#14
MSO Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: アメリカ Posts: 5,933 iTrader: 0 reviews	so u dont feel bumps or anything? isnt this like hydraulics? im confused wit this whole thing. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] [SIZE="5"][FONT="Arial Black"]OBEY THE FACE![/FONT][/SIZE] Edited By Moderator. Next time will be a ban.

September 30th, 2006, 06:49 PM	#16
MSO Banned Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: アメリカ Posts: 5,933 iTrader: 0 reviews	so wut wud b the most comfortable ride in a fox? the bags, or the struts or w/e __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] [SIZE="5"][FONT="Arial Black"]OBEY THE FACE![/FONT][/SIZE] Edited By Moderator. Next time will be a ban.

October 1st, 2006, 12:54 AM	#17
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	The bags would give you the best ride... He bags would be my choice if I was you... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

October 1st, 2006, 03:41 PM	#18
88BlueGT Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Hamilton, NJ Posts: 202 iTrader: 0 reviews	+1 If you have the cash to dish out... __________________ 93 GT - Full Exhaust, 3.90's, Front Tubular Suspension, etc. 88 GT "Big Blue" - Body work & primer!

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October 2nd, 2006, 01:43 AM	#19
ChrisJ RLY SRS Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Ft. Meade, MD Posts: 38,220 Blog Entries: 4 iTrader: 10 reviews	Also if the project looks like it is too much for you take it to someone that really knows what they are doing... Do it right the first time... If you do have someone do it...Stick around and watch how they install it so you can learn something from them that you can use in the future...Also knowing how the system works together can help you alot... __________________ 2008 Acura TL Type-S - 2008 EB Ford Expedition - 2002 Boosted GT - Sold Facebook Google+

October 2nd, 2006, 09:22 AM	#20
347tt Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Virginia Beach Posts: 58 iTrader: 0 reviews	Im not going to stick with the foxbody because its not my main body style choice (03-04 Cobra or stage 3) but I need something cheap to get me by for now. if i put the air ride on my fox, can I take it off later and put it on a newer body style if thats what my little heart so desired? Most of the parts that I 'l be buying now are going to be put on my future stang (rims, tires, air ride, maybe engine [351w], etc.) so should I wait for that or could I go ahead and do it?

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