thnikkamax

iTrader: (2)

From what I've heard, you can't relly drive too fast if you're equipped with air ride...but cylinders area a different story. I gathered some info from posts about Alex's car... any info on cylinders on a 4th gen or any other car in general?

RR95SE

I have a 4th gen with strut bags on front and cylinders in back. Rides like crap. From everything I've read, with cylinders you really need an accumulator, which I have, but not installed yet. Please do your research. Got my kit from Alex and it is a good quality kit, but I have to be honest here, the ride sucks.

RR

euromaxima

iTrader: (1)

im ordering a airride kit from alex today and wondering what the ride will be like...
Brandon

hockeyghst

hmmm i have air ride from alex...air struts in front and cylinders in the back...i have 2 cylinders that i am gonna put in the front in place of the air struts....what is an accumulator??? will i be running into more problems with cylinders in the front instead of the air struts??? thanx.....Tom

RR95SE

I will get a picture of my accumulator and post tomorrow. Basically, it is a two-chambered metal cylinder that you tie into the airlines in the rear and holds air between the cylinders and the air tank and acts as a shock or dampener. When you hit a bump, the air pressure in the accumulator keeps the cylinder from compressing as much. I hope that makes sense.

Tom, that's funny, cause I was thinking about getting rid of the cylinders and get strut bags for the rear. Does your rear slam down and then bounce? The first time it did that, I was like WTF? I have the wireless remote with no switches inside (yet) and it is hard to get the rear to do anything but all the way down or all the way up. Not real crazy about the popping sound the front strut bag makes when raising it. Does yours do that?

RR

The following is from Chassis Tech's web page:

Typical Cylinder Installation Instructions
Cylinders are used on passenger cars where there is not enough clearance for an airbag. ACCUMULATES must be added to
soften the ride

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

Okay let's clear some stuff up.

Rhonda- your car rides like crap because you have a 4 way air kit, it is 99.9% impossible to get all of your 4 corners of your car to sit evenly, therefore when driving you feel wobbly and awkward.. I have the 2 valve kit now and I was doing 100 today to get to my dentist appointment and it felt fine. Granted I don't recommend it, nor do I recommend taking turns very quickly but I have no uncomfortably with driving fast on air.

Another thing is that you car isnt aligned, if you get an alignment at your driving height that will help to put your wheels back in place and get you back on track somewhat.. you want to do a 4 way kit you are going to have wobble and whatnot, why do you think cars that are 4 way or 6 way arent daily drivers.. talk to blake, he knows.

I looked up the accumulators, and be careful with those, if you hit a big enough bump they can blow out and you will lose all air.. anytime you break the line with something in it you are making your chances greater of blowing out a line.. That's why i don't have metering valves or water valves in line from compressor to tank.

And the rear is fast because the air lines are like 3 feet long and the air gets there really quickly, put your tank up front and run 3-4 foot air lines and see how fast the front becomes.. and do not put bags on the rear, trust me, you think your ride is bad now..

"Popping" noise you hear is the strut bag opening and closing, usually happens when it is cold or completely empty of air, welcome to brand new strut bags, needs breaking in time.

Air ride is fun stuff, and alex sells a great kit, if you want to get a good deal from him tell him Jason Sadler sent you, and he will hook you up.

Jason Sadler
jason@evolution-autodesign.com

RR95SE

I'm not trying to argue with you Jason, but I have to disagree about the 4-way. Yeah, I have 4-way, but I don't have to use it. From pancake I can raise the front and then raise the back, thus utilizing the same set up you have. Gauges show both L front and R front same pressure and same for rear. My ride is not wobbly, it is bouncy. I also have to disagree about the alignment. Yeah, you can get it aligned at ride height, but what are the chances you are ALWAYS going to ride at that height. Like you told me, different roads require different ride heights. And about the accumulators, yeah you could blow a line with the accumulator in, but you could also blow a line without it. Air suspension aside, you could blow a strut taking a big enough bump. It's the chances you have to take.

RR

hockeyghst

my rear makes a loud noise when i let all the air out....thats all i can remember...i dont think it bounces back up...yeah my front pops as well...but jason basically explained that popping noise.....do i need accumitators????please post a pic whenever u can...and ar they expensive???

RR95SE

Well, I don't know. We've installed many an air bag, not strut bag, but air bag on lots of trucks and I've never heard one pop like these strut bags. We're talking 2600lb air bags...heavy duty, with 1" lines...the only thing you hear is the air. I don't know, maybe that's the difference. This is my first experience with air suspension on a car.

Hockeyghst, when I lower the rear, it slams down so hard and then bounces a few times...you do not want to be in the car.

As far as accumulators go, I'm putting them in my car. Do some research and decide for yourself. They are not expensive...$59.00 each.

RR

hockeyghst

i know exactly what ur talkign about....when u say bounce i thought u meant like a big *** bounce....i just see a "little" movemtn up and donw in the abck when i slam it down.....

by the way...check for stress cracks....cuz im sure u have them and its best to get those fixed ASAP.

RR95SE

Yikes, stress cracks?!? where? So, yours does "slam" down then, right? BTW, YGM.

RR

thnikkamax

iTrader: (2)

how's the ride with all cylinders?

hockeyghst

i havent put the front cylinders on yet....i still need to order some brackets...but im gonna so soo muhc lower in the front....

hockeyghst

yeha i got the mail....YGM too....n e way...the stress cracks will show up near ur rear strut mounts....if u take of ur back seats then remove the metal sheld...u will see where teh cylinder bolts down to the car....the stress cracks are around there....u should take ur car to a shop and have them weld the stress cracks so they dont spread...then get some thick metal plates welded on ur strut tower so u can make the strut tower a lil bit more sturdier...if that makes sense....i took a pic of my stress cracks ill send u an email of wha *** looks like.....

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

i know you arent arguing with me

alignment would hold true and help anywhere but when the car is slammed.. and i know what you are saying about the pancake, and the pressure you at should be around 40-60 in the front and 80-110 in the rear, that's where i have found it most comfortable..

get some switches inside the car and you wont have the rear SLAM down... tom you need to learn how to feather the switch, it took me awhile, but i can put the rear down real smooth.

no one this board has all cylinders.. its hard to figure out what it would be like..

hockeyghst

yeah im working on getting the rear to lower slowly....i cant wait to get my front cylinders in..then ill tell u guys how it rides for sure....

Dave Holmes

Good info. Not trying to be smart, but do you realize in your sig pic you are parked in a handicap parking spot? In Shreveport LA, that is a $275 first offense fine if you don't have a placard. $500 for second or more offense.

Question about your air ride. How do you get it to level totally out at driving position? Is there a switch to do it auto, or do you have to even it out manually?

Dave

RR95SE

Hi, Dave. There's a switch that controls the front and one that controls the rear - up or down...so when you hit the up switch, the entire front raises evenly. Same for the rear. With the four-way, you can raise or lower each corner individually...but I don't do that if I'm going to drive it. I do have two dual needle gauges that tell you what pressure each corner is at. Hope that helps.

RR