Jereguy

So I'm debating going with the air ride system for my suspension i have some questions in regards to it.. Currently I have the Tein S Techs which give me a low drop. I'm using the rear camber kit as well but unfortunately my front was out even after I got it aligned so my tires only lasted around 10k KM..

So this is my question. Do I need the camber kit at all with the air ride? Because I'm debating just fixing my front end with a front camber kit. Or will i be fine without it?
I don't want to chew up 800 bucks worth of tires every 10 months so whatever help you guys can give would be great.

LightningG37

I wouldn't do it. I installed air-ride on a mustang I used to have and while it was pretty trick, it wasn't good for a daily driver. For one thing, the ride height will not always be the same for the same pressure setting on the four corners since the car is not 100% perfectly balanced so to get the ride height consistent, you have to run the springs at slightly different rates. Sway bars and such can also throw it off. As for as the camber goes, camber changes every time you change the ride height, so this will never be consistent if you change the height of your car, and you will have to sometimes b/c (like tires) even the tightest systems slowly leak over time and change with outside temp changes. Again, really trick but not a daily-drive, performance oriented suspension choice IMHO. Hope this helps.

Jereguy

I'm just more worried about chewing through another set of tires. This is my daily driver for summer but not for winter I usually store it as the first snow hits. Since my car is so low i have to get a different exhaust(roughly$1000) New tires due to the front ones being worn. and a front camber kit to ensure that my next ones last longer than 8 months. If i need to get a camber kit and air ride then i may just wait on it or get a different suspension. I also cant put any kit on it without fear of it ripping off, our roads aren't the greatest in Ontario. So i figure air ride would fix all those problems plus have the flash factor.

LightningG37

thing is, whether or not you need a camber kit will be primarily based on how low the car is and has nothing to do with the type of springs (air bag v. coil v. coilover), so if you use air ride but don't lower the car too much, no camber kit would be needed.....but...who gets air ride so they can ride stock height? While some of their top of the line kits may keep the ride more consistent, the air ride will never give your tires as even a wear as steel springs. Air ride is totally trick but I wouldn't do it again on a daily driver. Here's a link to a youtube of my old car with the airride...
YouTube - 1994 Mustang Air Ride

SOLISIMO

iTrader: (7)

Im gonna wait till rider replies to this, bc he knows. but if you cheap out on the kit you will have problems. The uneven sides can be fixed w a computer. im looking into air myself and will pull the trigger soon.

lightning37 im not stating u cheaped out by the way....

G37Sam

I beg to differ lightning, but many cars have air rides from the dealer, are you saying all of them face camber/uneven wear issues?

You can have it preset to certain height and align based on that, it's not like their height keeps varying every second, again I'm referring to quality ones.

LightningG37

Firstly, I'm not claiming to be right, its just one opinion (also keep in mind that my experience was with a vehicle with solid rear axle, upper and sway bar mounted to lower control arms)...

Short answer:
I think if you keep air springs at a static pressure and have the vehicle aligned and maintain that air pressure with no changes, that no, you will not have more uneven tire wear with an air ride system.

Long answer:
1. I am not saying that all air ride systems face uneven wear..I AM saying that riding at different ride heights will cause more uneven wear than a fixed height with proper alignment..that's common sense. I know of no cars that come with a full air ride system OEM, though some have air bags to supplement conventional suspensions like leaf spring on a truck; I don't pretend to be an expert though and if you can give examples of what cars have full air ride from the dealer, I'd love to broaden my horizons.

2. I am under the impression the more expensive systems use leveling devices (sensors if you will) to maintain a level height but level height does not always = even suspension. For example, lets say someone had the compressor and their battery trunk mounted (hypothetical) on the drive's side of the car. The weight on the driver's side of the car would then be greater than on the passenger side, thus to stay at level ride height, the air ride system would have to increase the pressure more on the driver's side. So you might have 45# of pressure on the passenger side and 60# in the driver's side to maintain equal height. I believe when I had my system they said that bags (on corresponding axle) should be within 5# of each other for safe operation. Believe me, if you try driving with them greater than this, no matter how level the car appears, scary things can happen.

In closing, I really like air ride but think it is not as consistent as steel and for a daily driver I prefer consistent. I would put it on a show car in a heart beat though.

SOLISIMO

iTrader: (7)

You wont have an even car all around with coils or springs either....

LightningG37

No offense taken..I did cheap out BTW, wanted to try it before I upgraded to the leveling system, but while that system would have kept my car level, it would not have solved the inconsistency between level and uneven pressure.

SOLISIMO

iTrader: (7)

could it have been the brand

LightningG37

It was something in the suspension mainly. When I removed the sway bar, it was within limits. When the rear sway was back on there it transferred burden to one side and was about 2" off on ride height. With coils this was not a problem. I'm not saying that will be an issue with all cars but I do think air bags can be more sensitive.