Air Ride Suspension Thread

we don't have one and me liking to be overly informed about topics before i make decisions i thought i'd start one for anyone that has air, curious about air, planning to get air or has problems with air.

i know there aren't many bagged members on this forum but there are a few, so i wanted to see what you guys have to say about your setups.

what did you end up going with as far as bagging your ride? have you ran into any problems yet? how much did your shop charge you for labor? and are you happy with your air ride setups?

talk, discuss, learn.

HEY! A thread just for me! :thumbup:


Set ups I've personally tried :I've gone with Mason techs twice, and moving over to BY's soon. For rears I've had UVair's AH2's Airlift XL's and moving over to a Slam Specialty RE-5. As far as management I've had SMC's valves and AVS box, Easystreet auto pilot, and currently on Accuair Switchspeed.

Have I had any problems? Sure, its air ride. its not perfect. I've only had 1 blow out (in 16 months on air) and it was with a Airlift XL bag, they're known to have problems, but thats as much detail as I'd like to get into (publically)

What have I paid in labor? : I generally prefer to do everything myself. However, I've run into problems that were to big for me to tackle. I've spent well upwards of $1,000 just in fabrication work.

Am I happy? : I wouldn't keep doing this if I wasn't. Air ride is a joy to me. Its just as reliable as a set of coils for the most part, it handles and rides well, but theres an added fun factor. People can say I'm going "show low" or "cheating" all they want, but the truth of the matter is I got into air ride because at the time there were NO coils out there that were able to let me drive as low as I wanted (21.5" FTG F and 20.5R). I had been riding at 22.5 for a while and a had a long list of places not to go, because I couldn't get in their parking lot. Bags solved all that. No more extreme rubbing, no more sever damage to my subframe (haha yeah right), and no more list of places not to go.


I hope this thread takes off. I'm always happy to share my experience and any knowledge I may have on the subject. So please, ask away.

soooo whattt if i have a blow out miles away from my home? i like to drive pretty far out of state every now and then (say i'm going to SoWo on bags and something happens)

then i'm SOL? time to get towed to the nearest shop? i'm worried about a stupid circumstance like that. i feel like if i have bags i'm also going to have to maintain at least a $500 suspension emergency fund.

DJEuphoria said:

soooo whattt if i have a blow out miles away from my home? i like to drive pretty far out of state every now and then (say i'm going to SoWo on bags and something happens)

then i'm SOL? time to get towed to the nearest shop? i'm worried about a stupid circumstance like that. i feel like if i have bags i'm also going to have to maintain at least a $500 suspension emergency fund.

Click to expand...

It would most likely be a rear bag. They're pretty easy to change out. I could probably do it in 30-45 min on the side of the road. If you're really worried about it, when you buy your set up, buy 1 extra rear bag. Its just 5 bolts and a fitting.

If its a front bag, your pretty much just fucked (to put it simply) You'd have to wait for one to be shipped to you. At that point, it would just be easiest to throw back in your coils.

BUT!!! Thats few and far between. Blow outs 90% of the time are caused by tire rubbing on the bag, or an improper installiation. Very seldom is it a manufactures defect or a "freak" accident. My 1 blow out was due inpart to a slight improper installation, and an oversight by the manufacture. I put 20K miles on my GTI on air with no problems. Not even a hint of a problem.

This can all be avoided with regular maintainence and inspection, using high quality products, and KNOWING YOUR SET UP!.

true. you right. thats not so bad.


ok extra rear bag with me... will do.


how about some maintenance advice? is it safe to let my bags hold air for long periods of time? say i go on vacation for a week, should i air out or can i leave em a driving height? my reason for asking is because i feel my parents will not quite see eye to eye with my air ride decision so everytime the car is at home it will be aired up.

how often should i empty the water trap? once a week right? is there anything more to it than filling the tank and emptying the water?

Bruh Man said:

Hahaha nice. What if you they see you around town one day?

Click to expand...

oh i'm sure they'll find out eventually. especially if they surprise me at a VW event again haha but at that point i'll be like "so what's the problem, i've been on bags this whole time"

Air is not perfect, but is a very reliable option to achieve a great ride quality and appearance all in one!

Everything you will ask about "setups" will really "DEPEND"

Each person's setups contain the same components but every setup will have many different variations. (Doing alot of research on the vwvortex "air-ride" threads, and also a new forum "airsociety.net) will help you get an idea of what setup you may be interested in purchasing.

If you purchase quality components, and have a person who installs them correctly, and you properly maintain the setup, as well as have some mechanical ability, then you should be fine.

I don't care what anyone says.. if you cheap out.. you will end up having a bad experience.. Bottom Line

Mark is a wealth of knowledge, and I can help where I can when you have decided what you want to purchase.

here's what i want to start with... basically just get a basic kit, run with it for a while then upgrade components further down the line.... i understand there have been issues with these rear bags? i suppose i'd start there.

http://www.ecstuning.com/Volkswagen-Golf_VI--2.0T/Suspension/Air_Ride/ES1895288/

i want to check out the open road tuning page but it's down.

here for teh bags

so i decided to piece together my own kit. as much as i like the idea of getting a whole kit mailed to me in one shot, i probably should do everything right the first time to avoid paying for twice to so upgrades. also, if i buy everything one by one as i save the money for it it'll help me commit to the build instead of having say $1,500 saved up, getting antsy and then just saying "f*ck it i'm just going to get low coils."

with the help of some people who pointed me in the right direction as far as what parts they had the most success with i think i figured out the proper set-up. i still have a long way to go seeing as how i'm starting saving from scratch next weekend (had to spend a lot of money on 2 big parties i couldn't miss this week) and i still have to buy 2 new tires for my new wheels plus alignment and install...

my goal is to have my air setup ready by waterfest. (by then i also hope to have a new intake so when i show my engine doesn't look stock haha)

rough estimate of parts+shipping+labor $3,500.


if anyone wants to buy...
- an XBox360+4 Games, 2 Controllers, Memory Card, and no Harddrive with a busted DVD Drive that doesn't recognize games or dvd's (but plays CD's) - $120 OBO

- an old beat up 148cm GNU High Carbon Snowboard with Ride LS Bindings - $100 OBO

- an old (but rebuilt) Spectrum Shortboard (6'1" Surfboard) - $100 Firm

- or a brand new Santa Cruz Longboard (3' Skateboard) - $70 Firm



let me know! it would help with my project a lot :lol:

Don't be scared......

I'll just leave this here. Its one of my favorite parts of the entire year.



ET's coverage of Air Affair 3

RSMark5 said:

Click to expand...

hahaha oh man. the things people do for stance....


i'll be people soon enough.