Airbag Suspension

[RustyH]

Originally Posted by japantuner

maybe a quesion already answered in the past but is it legal? i plan to add airbag this spring and found a guy a airbag company who fit m 5 inch of range for 3500$ install....

not really expensive but really legal?

could you drop only one side?

what's clean-up and maintenance cost?

thanks for answer

josué

very cool the ride

I don't know why it wouldn't be legal, unless you were planning on driving down the street dragging the rear end to send up a bunch of sparks, then I could see the police taking a quick interest in you. My airbags are hooked up front and back, not side to side and I'm not sure why you would do it any other way. I don't understand the clean-up question, and as for maintenance, I'm not sure. Visually inspect the airbags for cracks and wear when you have your tires rotated, just like you would your tires and other rubber related motor items like belts and hoses. If your airbags are firestone bags (and from what I understand, if they're not, don't bother) they're the same ones used on semi trucks, so they should be good for the long haul.


Hope this helps.

[meanmachine19]

Like X-Brawn, I look forward to seeing your truck in person some day! 'Rocky' usually puts on a Phx/Scottsdale meet in late fall, but if anyone does anything sooner, a trip to the valley would be well worth it.

Nice truck Rusty

[japantuner]

thanks for the answer

the question you are not sure is about the maintenance, do you have vale to change, some cup who broken some hose out scrap out ?

do you drive the winter?

me in Québec, I think we have to put more bigger jet valve for making work in -0 celsius... is it real?

In last , the reason to put a side down is for park, like lowrider or somwere else with sick looking

thanks

Josué

[RustyH]

Originally Posted by japantuner

thanks for the answer

the question you are not sure is about the maintenance, do you have vale to change, some cup who broken some hose out scrap out ?

do you drive the winter?

me in Québec, I think we have to put more bigger jet valve for making work in -0 celsius... is it real?

In last , the reason to put a side down is for park, like lowrider or somwere else with sick looking

thanks

Josué

Woooo!

Okay, still not sure about the first question, but here goes.

I was able to contact the company that installed the airbag suspension on my Ridgeline. Heres their link

http://www.ekstensive.com/index.html.

I talked to Bill Carlton, the owner of the company who bagged my truck. He told me this was the first ridgeline ever bagged and it was a full on custom install. Since it was two years ago and he's literally done hundreds of rigs since then, he doesn't remember much about my install, except to say despite being customized, it was a pretty solid install.

I asked him about maintenance and he says they design their systems to be maintenance free. Visually inspect the airbags when you rotate the tires and that's about it. They always install two compressors, so you have a built-in failsafe so you won't be stranded if a compressor fails while the truck is lowered.

He did say I shouldn't try to "bounce" the truck (Something I wouldn't do anyway" and give the compressors a chance to cool down between use. I can park it, drop it, then raise it up right away, but don't drop it again then try to raise it up again. The compressors could burn out and they cost about 200 bucks a pop. Just in case, I'll be buying a spare compressor and converting the airline connections over to quick disconnects so I can pop in a new compressor without losing any air.

Yes I drive in the winter, but it's winter in Arizona As for driving an airbagged suspension in zero degree or less, check with the experts.

As for the last question, again my rigde is set up front and back, paired up. I suppose you could get two airtanks, four compressors, four soleniods, four valves and four switches and then drop one tire at a time, but I don't think you'd ever be able to maintain a proper alignment.

[japantuner]

ok thank you for the info

Josué

[Bigjer]

Let me start off my saying that Rusty you have one mean ass Ridgeline. I have a couple of questions to ask of you. I was thinking of putting my RTL on airbags its just that I want to keep my trunk space. So is there anywhere else that I can mount the air tank? Also where do you suggest where and what kind of airbags that I should look into? Thank you for all your help... (oops I finally read though all the posts... Sorry to ask a question that you already answered)