anyone here run air springs on their offroad vehicle?

I've searched around a bit and can't find much. Does it flex more? better ride?

Probably out of my price range, but I want to put my OBA to good use

I was thinking about doing radius arms/coils on the rear axel.. maybe air springs? I also read over on pirate that radius arms for the rear aren't that good of an idea.

Just bored and decided to make a new thread. I need to back to school or find a project to work on

still waiting for my new center section to come in, but thats another story.

ok, i'm done rambling.

 

i have air lift brand hd bags on the rear of my 79 250' i keep about 40psi in em and they seem alright. they also have a kit to add if you have a susp. lift so you can keep your bags. dunno if they made a huge differance in offroading since they were on it when i bought it.

but they may help for tire hop at 100psi???

 

THere are benefits to air suspensions. You get a better ride, can level the back end when you have a heavy load. They should do great off-road.

I had a '98 Range Rover which has an air suspension. The wheel travel (articulation) was greater with the air springs. I could compare because I coverted the rangie to coils. Just have to remember that unless you put high end air springs with a lifetime warranty, you have to pay attention to the bags just like you do your tires. The rubber will deteriorate and eventually leak - or blow out like what happened to me (the reason for the conversion).

GY

 

Captian:
Still waitin on that 3rd member? That sucks.
The reason most guys do not like the radius arm conversion in the rear, is because they limit travel in the rear, because the arms are too short for a rear application, and the mount for the arm at the frame always gets hung up on stuff. It has to hang too low for lifted applications. That is like a bik square edge just sittin there waiting for a rock to show up, so they can get together. The second biggest reason, is that given the lenght of the arm, it does not allow enough articulation for the rear axle. With the diff in the center, the rear axle can articulate more than a front one could, with less risk of pulling the shaft out of the splines. It is also difficult to install a coil long enough in the rear to obtain full extension, without cutting a hole in the body, for the spring to extend into. Just makes more sense to multi - link the rear with some sort of coilover.
We have been involved ih this air bag conversation before, and you know that I am not fond of them. Too many variables with different air pressures, makes shock valving very difficult, and many compromises have to be made, especially for lifted vehicles. See they require more air in the bags to keep them from getting too squishy, and allowing body roll. This can be a problem with off-camber hills that may promote a roll over. Semi - eliptical springs have a bad reputation for this too. By "airing up" you have limited the amount of flex that the bag has, and unfortunately limited articulation at the same time.
An all bag system also has a bad rep for brake dive, and weight transfer, so sway bars have to be added to maintain control, another factor that limits flex. Adjusting the air pressure helps, but now we are back to shock valving again. It is a brutal cycle.
The final item is the multi - link system. These should be weel thought out, and many poorly designed ones can limit off road travel, or cause a "flop" (roll - over). I have seen some ill designes that actually compressed the rear suspension under load from the engine. At the other end, I have seen some lift under the same load. Both can be problem in a twisted up situation, since the "CG" is always changing in a rig that is set up this way.
Most of em flop pretty easily. Most of the guys you will talk to will tell you positive thing about bags, because they have run them as an addition to a leaf spring, for towing and not a stand alone bag system.
Hope that Bronco is back on the road soon, That has gotta be killin ya.

 

Remember that I said I had air under a truck designed (mechanically and brainwise) to have air. The Range Rover is made for that stuff, but it breaks all of the time. That's why I don't have the rangie anymore.

I have seen airbag systems put under heavier trucks with success, but mainly for heavy pulling or carrying. That's why I mentioned the leveling capabilities.

I don't think that I would go to an air ride vehicle again if I didn't have a serious need for it.

GY

 

Yeah, I kind of figured it would mostly be for hauling heavy loads.. which my bronco does not do.

What kind of setup do Jeeps run for the rear axle? They're coiled all the way around, right?

I'll have to do some reading up on 4links, don't know much about them.

 

yeah 4 coils alot cheaper to lift as well