Air Suspension pros and cons?

[moisea]

What are the pros and cons of air suspension?I noticed that this is not a thing on this forum or anywhere else. What am I missing.

https://accuair.com/collections/packages/products/ultimate-air-management-package

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[AZ_Liberty]

Pro - generally self leveling and will increase the stiffness of the rear end when towing a trailer.

Con - squishy indistinct ride, and the pieces of garbage fail within a couple years because rubber rots in the desert.

Had an Expy with air suspension. Best thing I ever did was rip it out and replace it with coils.

 

[Beach_Bum]

What are the pros and cons of air suspension?I noticed that this is not a thing on this forum or anywhere else. What am I missing.

https://accuair.com/collections/packages/products/ultimate-air-management-package

It's on the forum. There was a '21 SEMA build from Accu-Air Suspension Systems.

 

[mrock]

My experience is with a Ram Longhorn half ton with factory air suspension. PRO: The ride is very good, and ability to adjust (4 levels) is nice. CON: Air suspensions fail in cold weather. It was normal on a cold morning to find the truck tilted like it had a flat tire. Even though it was under warranty, Ram could never find a fix. Eventually they pulled the air suspension and replaced it with a conventional one. Will never use one again.

 

[Brostango]

Plus air bags will limit the wheel travel.

 

[moisea]

My experience is with a Ram Longhorn half ton with factory air suspension. PRO: The ride is very good, and ability to adjust (4 levels) is nice. CON: Air suspensions fail in cold weather. It was normal on a cold morning to find the truck tilted like it had a flat tire. Even though it was under warranty, Ram could never find a fix. Eventually they pulled the air suspension and replaced it with a conventional one. Will never use one again.

Wow! That explains it. That’s a horror show. I guess the only thing is that it was reversible. I live in summer weather year-round so maybe weather will be less of an issue. Still, the reaction to the cold is a red flag. It may probably cause factory warranty issues for other parts, as well.

 

[moisea]

Pro - generally self leveling and will increase the stiffness of the rear end when towing a trailer.

Con - squishy indistinct ride, and the pieces of garbage fail within a couple years because rubber rots in the desert.

Had an Expy with air suspension. Best thing I ever did was rip it out and replace it with coils.

Starting to get the picture

 

[Jwis]

While I agree an air suspension does not belong on a Bronco, we had an Expy with air, then a Continental neither had issues. Currently a Freightliner MH with air ride that is 20 years old with no issues. Most all over the road tractor/trailers use air suspension. The Expy was a 2000 with solid axel so Ford had built in a 2-inch lift when put into 4L which was neat, but the thing was way too big to off-road in Colo...

 

[Poppavein]

Range Rovers come with air suspension. I had one for 20 years. It was nice to be able to lower it to the ground for loading. You could raise it higher than normal for off-roading. It would automatically lower a bit when running at highway speed for better stability.

I liked it.

One of the cons people had was that the suspension was stiffer when in off-road mode. There was a company that made replacement bags to solve that.

 

[moisea]

Did the accuair kit for the bronco ever go into production? It used to say coming soon on their website but now it's gone.

The last youtube video i saw of the promo is at least one year old.

 

[moisea]

Range Rovers come with air suspension. I had one for 20 years. It was nice to be able to lower it to the ground for loading. You could raise it higher than normal for off-roading. It would automatically lower a bit when running at highway speed for better stability.

I liked it.

One of the cons people had was that the suspension was stiffer when in off-road mode. There was a company that made replacement bags to solve that.

It’s an interesting point that a premium brand like that would be comfortable using it. Even the Hummer EV has it, correct or is it a different mechanism?

 

[Poppavein]

It’s an interesting point that a premium brand like that would be comfortable using it. Even the Hummer EV has it, correct or is it a different mechanism?

Dunno about Hummer.

It would be fine for most Bronco owners. There are aftermarket kits to convert to a conventional suspension for those that need it for more hardcore wheeling, or if it is too expensive to fix. The bags don't last forever.

 

[AZ_Liberty]

The Expy was a 2000 with solid axel so Ford had built in a 2-inch lift when put into 4L which was neat,

Think mine was a 2004, might have been the 2007. But I'm in Phoenix. Nothing made of rubber survives long when it's 118 in the shade.

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