one of my friends at school was telling me that air ride suspension contorts the frame of the vehicle it's on... i want to know just how true this statement is... if it is true {i know it's a long term effect} how long would it take for noticable contortment?? any input would we well appreciated...

 

moved

 

i've heard things from some people who do work on air. Some say FBSS can cause the xB to contort it after time, but my guess is cuz of the unibody. But hell, even FB could probably do the same, but I am not sure. Its something that is normally common on a unibody.

 

On a unibody, if the"frame" twisted or warped it would show in the body work, starting in suttle ways like body seems getting closer together or further apart. In a car like the xb with tin foil thin sheet metal I'd bet it would start to get wavy and warp. I've had air ride for a year and noticed nothing. If you had a setup that could 3 wheel, or left it parked a for a long time in some twisted way it may bend something, but its like anything, if your not abusive, it'll be ok.

 

i dont think im gonna be 3 wheelin it... haha sounds fun but all i want is front back and side to side... basic, fun setup... besides its a front wheel drive car... if i three wheel it, it would have to be one of the rear tires tucked in right?

 

Spider13 is dead on. A lot of what happens to your xB will depend on what "bag" components you install and how you treat your car after installation.

If you want to keep your unibody in tact, and not have the screwed up body lines and wavy tins that Spider13 describes, read the following.

1. Do not install anything more than 3/8" air valves and air line.

2. Do not run pressures exceeding 200 psi.

3. Do not leave your vehicle in abnormal positions (3 wheel, one corner dumped, etc.) for extended periods of time.

4. Do not attempt to "hop" our car.

If you install a reliable reasonable system, and are sensible in how you use it, I doubt you will ever see any problems with flexing or stressing of the car. It all boils down to common sense. Use it, and you'll be pretty safe. Yes, even with a Front/Back/Side/Side setup.

 

i have a couple more questions.... how is the ride on air bags?? can we set a "default" drop??

 

Bags ride as well as the system is designed and the install is performed. They can ride smoother than a Cadillac or worse than a buckboard wagon. And to be honest, I still have yet to ride in a "bagged" xB. I am sure my wife's will be the first bagged xB I ride in when I am test driving it.

The ride on the xB can easily be tuned using the dampening adjustment available in the front struts. (I am not sure if all systems available have the dampening adjustment ability. Air Lift struts do.) In the rear a set of Koni adjustable shocks can provide the same type of fine tuning in the rear. You should be able to hook up a pretty "sweet" riding suspension that way.

With some control systems you can preset "default" drops. The "Auto Pilot Digital Controller" from Air Lift / Easystreet can do this. http://www.easystreetair.com/index.a...S&Category=206 They even have an option to control the dampening of their struts from the inside of the car. The system is called the "Select-a-Ride Digital Damper Controller.

Air Ride Technologies also offers systems called the "Ride Pro E." You can find out more about it at http://www.ridetech.com/productinfo/rideproe.asp

There are other systems out there as well. But these are the two most popular "integrated" designs. Others have additional height positioning equipment that has to be added. They can be more accurate as they rely on suspension position and not air pressure.

 

Nice info/post. RTon, when you park you should have it evenly up or down right? (at all corners and F/B) What i meant is, don't park with the front up and back dumped, or would it only cause stress if your dealing with 1 corner down/up and the rest opposite? Or one side up and the other down?

 

I personally wouldn't worry too much about parking or leaving the vehicle with the front or rear higher. And I really wouldn't worry about side to side either. My only real concern would be prolonged loads that aren't very evenly distributed. That would occur in instances where, like you said, you leave the vehicle with only a single wheel "dumped."

 

My car rides best on air, I've always thought they car rode bad, Even on stock springs w/ stock 15's I hated the ride. When I went to 35 series tires on 18's and then lowered it, I thought I was going to need a kidney belt. But after installing the airride i was really suprised at how comfortable it was. Its a little on the bouncy side, but i have my front struts set to the softest setting, its never been bad enough to tighten it up. I run the shorter Monroe shocks on the back, that also made a big difference when I switched to them. All and all about mid-lift it rides better then it ever has.

 

I've park mine with the nose dumped on a regular basis....never really had a problem.....just becareful, because depending on your setup, and how level the surface is, you can really dig the front lip into the ground doing it, never had that problem on the back since the front doesn't lift near as high as the back.

 

cool, glad to hear it's nice and comfy. I can't wait to get my bags in ^_^