AirRide (updated 1-17-09)

[Finn]

Just got about half the parts delivered yesterday!
The only way I can describe my mood is giddy; this stuff is so cool!
Has anyone installed a full setup before and if so any tips?
Id post more pics but Ive got to get to class in a bit lol.

*Edit: As I was walking out the door more boxes came :




Not all the parts are pictured and there's still the sway bar box to open. Hopefully it will have the other set of bags in it or Ill be expecting another box.

[Rolling_Thunder]

tips: just follow the instructions - relatively simple and you'll have fun doing it   

[markstealth91]

That looks awesome, do you mind if I ask how much it set you back?

[Finn]

Thanks guys, I ordered directly through AirRide which was actually cheaper than year one (on there they're all discount exempt items) so the total was with a couple bucks of 5,400. It replaces pretty much everything minus the lower control arms. I've been piecing it all together on the floor and it looks like its going to be a lot of fun to put in.

[charger2fast4u]

what kit did you go with? is it the one that has a 4 link rear? i'll be buying a airride system with 4 link within the next year i plan to anyway depending on how much money i have after i put mine together. what vehicle will it be going on?

[Finn]

Thats the one. I needed new...well new everything... anyway plus this is a bolt in kit. Its going in my 68 charger and Ill be sure to try and get picture (maybe videos) to post up in here. Im still stuck in limbo waiting for the rest of the paint to be put on . Its so ridiculously close that Im beginning to feel violated that its not done yet.

[charger2fast4u]

yea my 68 charger needs all new suspension to. if you dont mind taking some pictures as your doing it so i can use them as reference when i go to install the kit when i get it.

[markstealth91]

Any updates??

[Finn]

Now that schools out I was planning to take it up this week to my friends shop to put it on but my truck cracked a manifold so it might be next week unless I can convince my other friend with a truck to help move all the parts.
Its amazing what "Ill buy you lunch/pay for gas" merits you amongst friends haha.

[CFMopar]

Wonder how that would handle... Keep us updated!

[Finn]

Alright guys, sorry for the delay. Car is coming home tomorrow (for realzzz this time; I saw the trailer with my own two eyes ) and though most of my day will probably be spent getting it back, re-setting up my work area, taking photos, etc, I will definitely being starting work on the rear suspension by Saturday.

[Finn]

Well Ive been making some progress after an initial scare upon discovering my "bolt-in" kit was more like "kit with bolts".
Those that aren't as mechanically naive as me would have probably expected this haha. Anyway I started with the rear setup since my plan is to get the back half on wheels then simply roll the entire car up and over the engine/trans.
First up are the two main braces that go between the frame rails. You have to drill a ton of holes and then use the self-tapping bolts to hold it in place. The fitment on these was good but I used a jack and some 2x4 to press each side tight against the rail rather than risk stripping the bolts. The second brace (or "bridge" as they call it) required c-clamps in addition to the 2x4 to pull it tight on all sides. Granted I wouldn't be surprised if my rails are tweaked but still it was a bit of a hassle...not bad though. The secondary bars that go from the first bridge (towards the front of the car) required two brackets on each side to be welded to the axle housing...again another surprise that would have been nice to know about before I powder-coated and rebuilt it. Because of that welding I decided to test fit the whole setup first before possibly taking apart the axle...again. From what I heard you can weld on an assembled axle as long as the clamp is right next to the area you are welding so you don't cook your bearings; if anyone has any thoughts on this I'm listening.
Alright so the rest was fairly smooth sailing after sorting out the bolt/nut/washer combos. There were two nuts missing that hold the the air shock at the top shock mount but apart from that everything was there.
This is when the first issue arises.
Once everything was in place, I grabbed one of the wheels just to see how everything was fitting. After putting it on I discovered that it seemed to look offset in the wheel well towards the front of the car. I checked the axle and its centered both sides when measuring from the rail.  At the current 20 inch wheel size I have room for a 3" side wall and that's cutting it VERY close in the front though the back and top would be much better. I plan on calling tech support tomorrow to go over everything with them. I figure to recenter the wheel Ill either need longer primary bars (the ones that connect into the leaf spring mounts) or put a thick metal plan between the bar's bracket and the leaf spring mount. That would mean my drive shaft might be off length wise but I also have doubts as to whether or not its from the car (anyway to check this?) and I much rather change out the drive shaft then live with that off-centered look and tight clearance in the front. The only other concern I have at the moment is if I will be able to backspace the wheel to get that "flush with the quarter" look. If for some reason I do have a full system failure the shocks would deflate and body would drop on the wheels...no good. We shall see.
Ill take some more picture when I take it back out to weld.

[knitz01]

looks like it fits good

[Finn]

Still fighting with it.
I temporary hooked up the Airpod/controller to check clearances inflated and deflated. Where the axle needs to sit to keep enough clearances from around the wheel well makes the bags rub on the axle. Not good. Also its torquing the shocks in their mounts, which it shouldn't have to. After discussing it with the ride tech folks they agreed to make new bars free of charge once supplied with the dimension needed. That was nice of them. After more talking though I discovered that they actually haven't put their kit on a b body, only an e body challenger (which seems to explain the lack of reach in the bars).

Seems to me if you're going to advertise you products for a certain application you better make damn sure they work with it before putting it on the market.
They seem like good people though so I guess Im ok with my car being the test machine...*mumble grumble*.
The funny thing is I clearly remember a black 2nd gen charger on ebay a couple years ago that had the air ride bags in it. It was pretty much a rolling shell with body work done. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it.
Right now the new plan is to mount the engine, transmission, and drive shaft before getting the bars re-made. Not the way I wanted to go about doing it but oh well, all that need to be done anyway.
On that note, why the heck are k member bushings so effin expensive? 70 bucks a pop? I feel violated.

[Finn]

Alright well fun stuff first:
*might still be processing, youtube has been screwy lately*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGfMk5am5Rc

It actually goes lower but I forgot to get the jack out. I haven't programmed ride height or anything yet so that's pretty much just raised to some point then deflated until it hits the stands/jack

The new bars made all the difference in the world as far as clearance goes. Eliminated all previous issues (amazing what 3/4" will do...) The front setup went in smoothly and right now the only problem is a clearance issue for the gas tank strap hangers. The 2nd bar of the 4-link mounts right in the way of those hook-bolts. Not a huge problem, Im working on a U-bolt type of setup that should fix it. The air tank unit fits nicely under the rear speaker tray too which leaves the trunk open.

[tan top]

intresting project    ..nice work .... 

[mauve66]

more install pics??

[Finn]

Working on them. I usually only have time on weekends to work on it and this week has been pretty busy with projects for school. Ill try and snap some photos tomorrow for you guys though.

I'm really curious to see how it performs myself.

[charger2fast4u]

looks good so far how many inches of travel do you think the front and rear have going up and down? how hard is the install not to bad or pretty hard? so the only problem with the kit was the bars that connect from the front leaf spring bracket were to short? sorry for so many questions but i have the money now for the kit and before i go spending all that money on it i'd like as much feedback from people with the kit as i can get. alot of money to spend and don't want to buy it if it isn't worth it. i'm looking forward to more pics and hopefully some more video keep us updated.

[Finn]

I would guess around 5 in the front and maybe 7 in the back but the manual is in my toolbox outside right now. Ive got more pictures to put up so Ill try to include that information. At ride height the car is dropped about 3 inches from stock too so it gets low. The install was pretty straight forward except for the bar problems you mentioned. They corrected it free of charge though and it made all the difference (it needs to be 3/4" longer btw). Granted Im running 20" wheels with about 3 or 4 inches of sidewall so its tight back there but Im nearly sure they had based the bars off an E-body. There's been upgrades to some of the kits since I bought mine so maybe they've corrected it. For example, just before I bought mine they released the AirPod setup (which is what I have) and it has the tank, cpu, compressors, wiring, etc, already done for you. All you have to do is cut and plug in the airlines. Saves a LOT of time. Welding the brackets onto the diff was the only other "issue" mainly because I had already rebuilt it and didn't want to take it apart or accidentally mess it up while welding. My friend who helped with the metal work used his tig on it after just pulling the axles. Worked fine and looks great. I would try to do that before doing the rebuild though if at all possible. It'll save a lot of stress. Also, you'll have to cut off the bumpstops and curve out the front rails slightly for clearance (I already took pictures of this just havent put them up yet). Not hard but if you're concerned about being able to put everything back to original it might be an issue. I cant testify to the performance qualities yet but Ive heard a lot of praise so Im hoping it lives up to it. I dont see any reason why it wouldnt. As far as I know this is the only b-body (actually I remember seeing was an ebay ad for a 70 charger running bags of some sort but that was years ago, never seen it since) that is using the setup.

[charger2fast4u]

just seeing if theres any update on pics and info yet

[Finn]

Whoops my bad, uploading now.

[Finn]

Alright so the latest issue was the gas tank strap bolts no being to fit in because the rear bar of the 4-link was pressed directly against the hold.
After pondering it for a bit, the easiest way I came up with to fix this was drill out the old mounts so the bolt could be hung from the inside, with the flat head now against the bar. It worked well but requires some bending of the bolt to make it to the tank. One snapped (I didnt heat it) but Im going to see if I can find longer ones this weekend to make it an easier stretch.


The bar is loose in this photo, when its bolted it clears the strap/bolt easily.


As you can see the clearance is going to be ridiculously tight between the sending unit and the pumpkin, once I get that setup I can rasie/lower it (very slowly lol) to check clearances. Its also going to make fitting an exhaust system all the way to the back a royal pain. I think ideally, to save stress, you shouldn't be opposed to fuel cells and turn down pipes when installing this. However, I am opposed to those options because A) Id like to have my trunk space open and B) I already bought the exhaust kit...which in retrospective wasn't the best laid plan but Ill figure it out eventually.



This is where Im putting the tank, Either the spare tire mounts will have to be removed or I might be able to space the platform it sits on enough to clear it. There is also the hard plastic case that goes over the entire assembly that still has to go on. It still leaves room on the side for sub-woofers.

Here is some of the front assembly. I was trying to show the notch in the frame but if you can make it out let me know. Should of used flash.



The silver parts on the frame rail in this next photo is where the old bump stop was removed. However, with the hooker super comp headers a bump stop of some sort will have to go back in on the lower control arm, otherwise the tie rods hit the header when the car is dropped. Its not a big deal though because if the car dropped anymore then that it would be just barely rubbing the tires (18" rims with ?3? inches of sidewall) on the fender brace (full dropped position) so a bump stop would be a good idea anyway.




Sorry its taking so long for this thing to get all the kinks worked out. The overall build style I'm doing seems to be playing a part in the issues popping up.

[charger2fast4u]

looks great so far. what kind of exhaust system are you going to be running? i was going to be using the TTI dual 3'' x pipe header back system. are you saying this won't fit now with this kit? looks like you and me have the same ideas on this with the location of the pumps and tank and keeping the trunk open. how big of a notch did you put in your frame if you don't mind could you take some more pics of the notch alittle hard to see thank you and i appreciate you taking pics and write up through it this will come in handy.

[Finn]

The notch is (from memory) less than an inch down and about 3 inches wide. Not bad at all. It actually just gets rid of a lip that is already existing, the frame will stay sealed. Ill try to get some brighter pics this weekend.
Ive got the dual TTI 3" H pipe header back setup so its going to be pretty much the same for you. In its designed configuration no it will not fit. If you have the kit you could just shelve the back pipes and put turn-downs right at the mufflers but Id really like to make the back pipes work. The fact that everything has to fit raised AND lowered adds a whole other level to the process. If it was a standard four link it wouldn't be as big of a deal.
Whats the rest of the plan for your project? Are you going pro-touring or...

[charger2fast4u]

do you think there is any way to get the exhaust to run back to the rear of the car? i'd like to have mine exit the back were the TTI system go's. not really wanting turn downs. also did you say you have 20'' rims in the rear i want to go with 18x10 in the rear any idea on what my clearances would be like? my plans for my car is pretty much just to build a hell of a daily driver. i plan to get this air ride system just waiting and seeing how yours go's together first to make my mind up if it's a worthy investment. my cars a 68 charger going to have a stroker built 440 with a Tremec 5 speed and DANA 60 rear. i figured this air ride would be the cherry on top to a great build.

[Finn]

Sounds like a sweet build, got any pics?
Yes I'm sure there will be a way to run the pipes but its going to take a lot of custom fabrication (on the plus side, you will have a pre-designed and tested system ready to rock when you get to that point haha).
The 20s I have in the back are only 8.5 wide and they JUST clear the inside of the wheel well with a stock axle width. To fit 10 inch tires in the back (which would look sick!) and still clear at all heights it would require shortening the axles/housing and quite possibly a mini tubed set of wheel wells. I remember a thread on here about a guy that does nothing but custom rear ends so you would be able to get the Dana 60 built to the correct width, maybe even get the tabs required by the four link welded on. That would be a nice setup and it would save another step. Oh and I didnt get a chance to get the camera out today but Ill have time tomorrow to get a better picture of the notch.

[charger2fast4u]

i don't have any pics yet pretty much a rolling shell. i got to take back to the body shop for final priming/blocking. i will start taking pics of everything when i start to reassemble everything. back on the rear axle and tire subject. how much could you cut down the axle tubes before you run into problems with the axle being to short for the primary bars to be hooked up? the one's that hook to the leaf spring mounts. let me know if you don't understand my question it's alittle confusing. also how much backspace is there before the back of the tire would hit the primary bars? i'm thinking it over and it sounds like shortening the axle would cause alot of problems if your trying to fit 18x10 in the rear without the fender coming down on the tire.

[Finn]

Not much room at all. I took some pics to try and show it (ignore the lose top bar resting there, still working on gas tank clearance so its not back in place yet).





Have some touching up to do...Its funny how long it takes to notice the imperfections after a paint job haha.
Oh well its better then what it started with.

Better pic of that front:


*shock is disconnected*

[charger2fast4u]

thanks alot for taking the pictures and great info. do you think if i keep the stock axle width and put as much backspace as i can on 18x10 wheels would they clear the outer fender? if so i could do that and if it hits the back of the inner fender i could put a mini tub in. i was actually thinking of putting a mini tub in for awhile now but wasn't sure if i wanted to go that route. how is the front tire and fender clearance are you running 18x8.5 up front to? i was thinking of going 17x8 or so up front.

[Finn]

The fronts are 18x8s and they clear fine. You can't drive it at full drop and even if everything cleared you're not supposed to anyway. You're not supposed to drive it topped out either. As far as the backspacing/mini tub goes yes that seems like it would work if it was back spaced enough.
Some things to consider though:

a) are there any problems with have a wheel with a lot of back spacing? Seems to me there would be some sort of issues with power distribution or tread wear...Im sure one of the guys in the "Chassis, Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, & Tires" or "Performance Corner" would know the answer.

b) is that the look you really want? Most of the wide tire non-drag cars Ive seen have a good size inset on the rears.

[charger2fast4u]

thats some good points. is there any room to cut the axle tubes down? don't want to cut them down if there isnt much room on each side because you want some room  between the tire and the u bolts and bracket incase things don't line up exactly right you got room to move and work with. also does the front tires clear everything and can be turned fully left and right when fully dropped?

[Finn]

Not really, there's about 1.5 inches between the U-bolt and the start of the axle end. The front on my setup is going to need a rubber bumpstop on the lower control arms to prevent the tie bars from rubbing on the headers, which will change the clearances. As it is now they do rub at full drop and you cant turn them much, but it only takes about a 1 inch raise to clear and turn fully. The dropped and topped are said to be strictly show positions.

[charger2fast4u]

i just thought of an idea i can't believe this slipped my mind. what about the rear leaf spring relocation mounts that mopar performance sells. they move the stock located leaf springs in 3'' on each side. does this air suspension kit need the primary bars in that exact location (stock leaf spring location)? would they still work the same and not give any problems if i put the 3'' mounts in and hooked everything up? or does the bars have to be in the stock location due to axle movement over bumps and what not?

[Finn]

Hmm well there's an idea!
Im no expert but I would hazard a guess that it would probably work. The axle housing would have to be cut inwards of the old on-axle leaf spring mounts so they stay intact, don't know if that's a problems. Either that or cut and remount them...or better yet have a custom one made as mentioned before with the mounts in the right place. At that point however I would just get the bags for the back and have the rest of the 4-link custom made as well. It'd be a lot easier then trying to make all the kit parts fit and you might be able to figure out the exhaust problem in the process.
The wells might still require a mini tub but moving the spring mounts in would definitely help with the shortening of the axle...which in turn would help lower the amount of backspacing needed.

[charger2fast4u]

well i do plan on getting a new axle built by Dr Diff for this build so having the axle shortened to my needs is no problem. i'm thinking it would work out good as long as the 4 link would be unaffected by the relocated mounts. i plan to install this kit with my stock 8 3/4 with the relocated mounts to test it out first. and to get the measurements needed for the new axle to be built and make sure it will rise and lower and perform as it should. i think this way would be cheaper then getting a whole custom 4 link made like you mentioned i could be wong though.