Category Archives: Shop Talk

Shop talk for the top dogs, fabrication stories, easy mods, and more.

General Discussions, Shop Talk

Drop Kits, what you need to get the job done!

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Lowering your car or truck requires general knowledge of the specific chassis suspension components, and what aftermarket components are needed to get the drop your looking for.  In this write up we will touch on a few of the more standard suspension types, the vehicles they will be found in and the drop suspension parts that are used.

Most later model cars use struts to suspend the vehicle.  Some vehicles, even SUV’s can have front and rear struts.  Another fairly common configuration is having struts in the front of the car or truck and then an alternate configuration in the rear like coil springs or even leaf springs.

The most common types of suspension for early and late model cars and trucks.
This information is very good to know when considering converting your classic or late model vehicle to a custom air ride suspension system.

Below you will find the exact replacement components for your vehicle depending on the current suspension components that your car or truck uses. In some cases we can substitute coil springs for strut or trailing arms and coils for a custom 4-link kit that will be more accommodating. Knowing this would require a lot more information about ALL the suspension components that have been used in the production of passenger vehicles from the beginning, but for now we will stick with the basics (struts, coils, leaf springs).

Leaf springs are deleted to either go with a 4-link kit and coilovers or air bags. 4-links hold the rear straight axle centered and from shifting either front to back or right to left. Once your axle is free floating on links you can add the replacement suspension (coilovers or air bags). Below you will find a picture of both options to get an idea how this is accomplished.

4-link rear suspension example (coilover rear suspension with link / air bag rear suspension with links)
Aftermarket Air Suspension, Shop Talk

Air Ride Controllers and Switch Boxes.

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Looking for a switch box and cant decide what style to choose? Do you need auto ride height adjustment on the fly, or are you just wanting your switches for show? Is cost a factor? These are all things that you will want to consider when purchasing a new controller or switch box.

Computer control modules offer an integrated digital control system with, pressure or mechanical sensors at the wheels. This allows the computer controller to adjust the vehicle to an exact ride height for a easy to adjust one touch setting. This can be a custom stance that you preset or you may feel you want to manually adjust it but either way this system will keep the vehicle nice and level for a clean look, increased control and handling capability.. Check out some of these sweet custom controllers now!

Standard controllers offer adjust-ability for a supper great price, these controller will either allow you to control each wheel independently or you may have a switch controller that will adjust the front, back, or the sides together. Some switch controllers offer an all up all down feature, but depending on the switch controller a bunch of relays may be required to get this done. Are you building a switch controller or want a custom controller fit to your exact needs? Let us know I am sure we can help!

Aftermarket Air Suspension, Shop Talk

Thinking of buying an Air Ride Kit and need more information?

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Air suspension utilizes a large inventory of parts to bring you a complete setup that will allow the driver to adjust ride height, or boost the carrying capacity of your car truck or SUV, all while giving you the best feeling ride on the road today!

This amazing comfortable, adjustable ride is contributed to the air equipment at the wheels.  Have you ever looked to see what your vehicle is riding on?  Well let me explain…

Al vehicles have different specifications at the wheel (i.e.: struts, leaf springs, coil springs, torsion bars and so on..  The type of kit you buy will greatly depend on the hardware that was installed from the factory.  As a good rule of thumb older vehicles are either leaf or coil springs as were newer vehicles are torsion bars, or struts.  It is always best to check before hand, and get a good grasp on what your dealing with.

Many companies will have specific kits built to suit the needs of your specific vehicle, this will remove any equations that might come up upon installation…  For example if a customer builds there own kit for a hot rod or car that has four corner coil spring suspension,  and is overly heavy, he would want to go with larger bags if clearance allows.  This will bring the efficiency of the air kit up as larger bags are easier to fill up then small bags.  Think of it as a Fairly Large Hillbilly compared to a Skinny Joe.  Skinny Joe no matter what you give him is just not going to do the job as good as the Fairly Large Hillbilly.  But again it might be necessary to go with the smaller bag due to the clearance, and remember “NO RUBBING ALLOWED!!”.

The heart of the air ride system is the air supply, and this depends on what you want to do with your vehicle when your done.  Individuals who are looking to play allot and want air on demand, will require a larger tank, compressor, or lines.  where as someone who is just going to do load assist and balancing would only need to maintain a certain pressure at the wheels and could use a single smaller compressor and 1 to 3 gal tank.

No matter what your doing there is a good and bad way to do it, and if there is any question… ASK BEFORE YOU CUT!

 

I have now added some more information to this getting to know air suspension section: 

For folks who are getting started, and needing the basiscs.

Installation of air ride equipment on a vehicle is a challenging yet knowledgeable venture!  There are a few things to consider along the way and hopefully someone finds a few answers there looking for here.

Choosing the right air ride for your vehicle:

Choosing your air ride equipment is one of the most important parts of the venture!  A few things you will want to think about are, installation time, cost of installation, and do you or does your installer have the tools necessary to install this kit.  You will also want to consider custom heights or of you have larger rims additional hardware to correct camber.  These are all things that the company that you are thinking of purchasing from should be able to provide information to you about.  Also depending on how low you want to go, you could end up modifying your wheel wells, cutting your frame and so on, so ask a lot of questions this will save you plenty of frustration down the line.

A few different styles of suspension (If you check your current setup you will see one of these):

  • Struts
  •  Leaf Springs
  • Coil Springs
  •  Torsion Bars.

Plug & Play or Not Plug & Play:

Many air suspension kits in today’s market come in a variety of flavors for each individual vehicle, this allows the customer options when it comes to installation time and required knowledge of installation.  Many companies offer complete bolt on kits that will allow the common auto mechanic to complete the task quickly.  Other options are fabricator kits which can require a lot of welding and over the top modifications and everything in between.  The type of suspension your vehicle currently rides on is a huge factor when it comes to your final purchase.

Installation Requirements:

Depending on the kit you purchased, some installation time can be cut down.  An example of this would be a Plug and Play kit that is Pre-Built, and comes with 100% bolt on parts where no modification is required.  These kits are usually more expensive and payoff quickly by cutting your install time in half!  Most complete air ride kits can be installed over a weekend, with a few friends helping you out.  Just keep in mind that some extreme cases which depend mainly on the current vehicle suspension and aftermarket equipment can result in serious modification and time.  Hopefully you thought about this before you purchased so you know exactly what you’re getting into.

The Finished Product:

The payoff for a custom system like this is amazing. Along with an excellent ride, and auto leveling capabilities, you are even able to adjust the overall feel and ride height of your entire vehicle.  For the common Jo this might not sound like much but in all reality you are taking your car or truck to a huge next level!

Got questions, we are here to help!