I noticed that there were no threads on air suspension and i was woundering to pro's and cons or air versus coil, i found a website the other day of a company that makes the whole setup for the cobalt .http://www.easystreetair.com/index.a...ROD&ProdID=702 .... Is it worth it?

 

air bags are nice for show.. i had them on my last car and blew out 2 bags.. coil overs are nice you can adjust them in the winter to clear the snow and lower them in the summer for the track or street...also i didnt like the ride when i was on air...

-drew

 

Basic air ride is pretty simple. But to get the right ride and right height and making your alignment right where you want it to be at the heigth you want it... it can get complicated. Air ride on cars like this, McPherson struts mostly, is expensive and gets complicated too. Air cylinders... to me... junk. They consist of seals, and seals can blow, which is why I don't like hydraulics. Cept when hydraulics blow, you have fluid everywhere, and that's a mess.

Never the less, it should be done right however you do it, and cutting corners on a system can be taxing. If you're going to do it, do it right, get it done proffessionally, do your research. Some systems are just a bolt up and drive job, others have a little more R&D in them, and can give you the ride of a Caddilac/Lincoln.

I know a lot of people who complain about the ride (not pointing fingers to you above), but for one, the car wasn't designed for it, so it probably WON'T be that perfect cloud 9 ride like a luxury car. But sometimes, if you study the air bags you use, it well tell you how tall the bags should be when inflated to give you that good ride. Air Ride Technologies, to me personally... is the best system you can by that's bolt-on. They don't have a system for everything, and they are expensive. If you know what you're doing, the cheapest and most reliable system you can get, is the one you build.

A lot of factors with air ride, I could write a novel, but I'ma leave it at that.

 

the obvious is that you have an easier time adjusting the ride height with the airbags as upposed to the coil overs. i currently have coilovers on the cavi and bags on the cobalt.
i prefer being able to higher and lower the car with the push of a button then having to jackass around to get the car 2 inches more off the ground. for a show car its just more convenient in my opinion. driveability wise...nothing will ever compare to stock ...once you lower the car and alter the suspension....you instantly feel every bump, hole , etc. you hit.
airbags risk leaks...on long hauls, long trips its a huge risk if you blow a bag or get a leak and even the best kits risk leaks if you hit something hard enough

 

are there other kits available other than the ones i listed above?

 

how does air ride effect your performance?? does it hurt acceleration if you were to race it??

 

Suppose you could do that, but people don't buy air ride to run good times on the track.

 

i kno that air ride doesnt help time but does it hurt it??

 

Never seen it done. Maybe if you have it setup the right way. Spring rate changes depending on what ride heigth you have. Maybe if you adjusted it on the fly.

 

yes. a full air ride system can way hundreds of lbs if you have tanks and compressors, lines fittings. it all adds up. so it could hurt. not sure about performance wise.

if you could stiffen the rear it could help with traction in the front like drag bags. not totally sure.

 

But that added weight could be an advantage based on weight distribution. More so for rwd vehicles though being as it is easier to put it all in the rear.

 

a heavy ass rear end will most definitely hurt you traction wise

if you're going for performance you don't want all that **** in the back of the car, so yes i'd say it'd hurt it

 

Sorry, I should've been clearer in what I said. Putting everything in the back of a FWD car... probably hurt it... unless you can throw the rear end in the air so it won't drop down at all on the launch.

 

I love my airride!
One touch control.
No way am i crawling in the fender to make adjustments w/ coilovers.
I have the easystreet kit w/ the autopilot control.
The ride is suprisingly amazing and I am riding on 20`s w 30 series tires.
I feel its well worth the money to get airride.
It looks bad ass as well!

 

That is a very.... very... good looking Cobalt. What's even sweeter about it, is other than the air ride, there's not much done to it, but it's badass!

 

with air can you use it in the winter?

 

Yes u can use it in winter. This is the huge misconception that air ride is for show. Its no 2002 no more. My car handles better than when I had SSC springs on it. And rides like a caddy on the freeway(better than stock) when dragging I lift it in the rear and lower in front and have no wheel hop just strong launches. And for downshifting from 5th to 3rd u don't get that body roll that everyone hates and the whole kit weighs 20-50 lbs. Some people put systems in that weight more. Its like all other mods if u buy the right **** and don't half ass it ur gonna benefit.

 

thanks, im looking at getting it late this year/next year because I just got my car in dec and have bought a lot already for it.

I just didnt know if the bags would pop because of the snow.

 

i have been thinking of this for a while. idlike to drive my car around then lift it up to pull into driveways and not scrape then lower it on the highway. but i live in new england and the potholes break rims so the aribag setup would prob blow out earlier than anyone elses would

 

question. is airride about the same price as doing a diffrent suspension "RIGHT" ?

 

its like 2000 dollars

 

so you have pictures of your setup?

 

bump