Air Suspension
- What is Air Suspension?
- What does Air Suspension do?
- Is Air Suspension available for all ride types then?
- How much does Air Suspension cost then?
- What are the advantages of having Air Suspension on my ride?
- What are the disadvantages of having Air Suspension on my ride?
- The Law on Air Suspension
What is Air Suspension?
Air Suspension is a suspension setup that uses compressed air instead of springs and shock absorbers. Instead the system uses four dampers filled with compressed bags of air and a compressor to compress and decompress the air accordingly.
This type of system is commonly used on buses and heavy loading vehicles and now more commonly on the modified car scene. Air suspension is also known as Pneumatic Suspension or Airbags.
What does Air Suspension do?
The bags of compressed air are stored in each wheel arch with a tailor made damper to position them. The air inside the bags can be compressed or decompressed via the compressor inside the vehicle. This means like Hydraulic Suspension the suspension adjusts up and down at the flick of a switch.
Air Suspension kits for modified cars allow up to a four inch drop at the push of a button. The older type and cheaper kits take a few seconds to fully compress and decompress however a recent new “Fast-Air” kit has been launched to allow fast air movement, naturally these kits are also more expensive.
Is Air Suspension available for all ride types then?
Air Suspension kits are a universal fit and require tailoring to fit each vehicle, not something we’d recommend you doing from home. Vehicle with Torsion Bars and Leaf type suspension alos require extra work for the “Airbags” to work correctly so be prepared if you have either of these on your ride.
How much does Air Suspension cost then?
The cheaper air kits can be picked up for around £700 however fitting also comes in at around the same cost, but well worth the money. The newer type of “Fast-Air” kits normally hit around the £1500 price range with fitting an extra £500 on top.
What are the advantages of having Hydraulic Suspension on my ride?
Its all down to the style factor and practicality in the long run. Airbags are normally a great alternative for anyone that wants that ultimate slammed look when the vehicle is parked up but still wants to be able to drive it on a daily basis.
As we mentioned earlier Air kits can handle a whopping four inch drop from top to bottom, that’s a heck of a drop for your ride and all you have to do is pump it up again when you want to drive off!
What are the disadvantages of having Hydraulic Suspension on my ride?
Air kits are more commonly known for going wrong but this is purely down to the way they were installed as opposed to the quality of the kits. Please be careful when choosing who is fitting your kit, make sure they have a long-term history of successful air kit fittings.
The Law on Air Suspension:
No UK law states that having Air Suspension on your ride is illegal however it does lay entirely in the hands of your MOT or Vehicle inspector. If for any reason your vehicle runs the risk of causing danger on the roads to you or anyone around you then the inspector reserves the right to deem the vehicle unsafe. This shouldn’t effect you if you have had your Hydraulics fitted professionally though.