No one wants a bumpy or rough ride, which is why many people look into getting a suspension upgrade for a smoother driving experience. The good news is that many air suspension kits are available and can easily be installed on your vehicle. Keep on reading to know more about the best air ride suspension kit and how it is beneficial for your car.
Table of Contents
What Is An Air Ride Suspension?
Air ride suspension is a vehicle suspension that supplies air to the air brake system through an electrical or engine-driven pump or compressor. An air suspension uses air instead of oil, quickly absorbing most shocks and making it a more comfortable car or truck ride.
Though getting a suspension can be expensive, it’s one of the most sought-after car upgrades because it can dramatically change the height, feel, and overall look of your vehicle.
Air Ride Suspension vs Other Common Types Of Suspensions
The biggest differentiators of air ride suspension and leaf spring suspension are its elements and design, both of which affect how your vehicle absorbs road impact.
- Air ride suspension uses valves, air lines, air tanks, and air spring bags or bellows to cushion the shock from hit bumps and uneven roads. The compressor supplies more air to the airbags, which acts as a spring and improves ride quality over long distances. This is the standard air suspension system for an over-the-road vehicle.
- Leaf spring suspension uses layers of strips attached to the trailer frame. These strips, also known as leaf packs or leaves, compress and absorb the motion when the axle moves. Because of its durability and high load capacity, vocational vehicles such as garbage trucks or dump trucks often use leaf springs for suspension.
- Coil spring suspensions absorb impact using wide gap coils. The coils collapse to give support when your tires hit road bumps. In addition, to reduce the vertical movement or bounce off your car, you can pair coil springs with struts, also known as shock absorbers. This combination can provide great comfort and good driving performance.
- Torsion spring suspensions, also referred to as torsion bar suspension, is a protracted spring-metal element with one end rigidly connected to the body and the other twisted through a lever linked to the axle. Torsion bars soak up the strength from the bump and flow of the complete chassis, allowing the car to have spring motion.
Benefits Of Air Ride Suspension
Why choose air suspension kits? Here are the main benefits of choosing air suspension for your vehicle:
- Comfortable ride: airbags provide a much smoother ride than metal coil springs.
- Ride control: It has an adjustable air pressure that drivers can control to keep both light and heavy loads stable and level.
- Varied ride height: Using an air suspension kit improves the rider height based on the load weight and speed of the vehicle.
- Extended life of assets: Air suspension kits have less vibration, which also lessens the wear and tear on the suspension system and trailers – ultimately, reducing the overall cost of repair and maintenance.
Who Makes The Best Air Ride Suspension?
Elevate your road experience by getting an air-bagged suspension kit. However, when looking for suitable air-bagged suspension kits, you need to consider the following suspension components to ensure a safe and compatible installation in the airbag system:
- Load capacity: When choosing the best air suspension kits, you must check the load capacity rating. When carrying a heavier load, the vehicle's load will compress the suspension making the ride subject to more bounce per bump stops. This also applies to tow trucks, boats, trailers, and other vehicles that require heavy-duty usage. Ensuring that the air suspension kit can support the weight capacity of your vehicle helps you avoid steering pull or uneven tire wear.
- Maximum pressure: The good thing about air suspensions is easily adjustable. However, you need a high maximum pressure rating for safer and better overall control of your vehicle.
- Warranty: Most suspension kits are pretty expensive and hard to install. So make sure that your air suspension kits last as long as possible so that you can get your money’s worth. That is why the warranty becomes a crucial aspect when looking for an air suspension upgrade.
Below are the reviews on the top 6 air suspension kits in the market:
Air Lift Spring Kit
Air Lift is a reputable and reliable brand known for its Air Lift System. It offers a 5000-pound high load capacity with up to 100 PSI maximum pressure rating. In addition, Air Lift provides a lifetime warranty which is a crucial factor for most buyers.
- Load capacity: Up to 5000 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 100 PSI
- Warranty: Lifetime
- Pros: Very reliable
- Cons: Quite expensive
Firestone Ride-Rite Kit
Firestone is a premium brand for suspension kits. Its kits are known for heavy-duty usage, complete with an excellent two-year warranty for extra assurance and reliability.
- Load capacity: Up to 3500 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 100 PSI
- Warranty: 2 years
- Pros: Perfect for heavy loads, some parts for installation included
- Cons: Quite a low load capacity for heavy-duty
Firestone 2582 Air Helper Spring Kit
Yet another Firestone air suspension kit that has equally good qualities for a heavy-duty load. The Firestone 2582 has an excellent load capacity of 5000 pounds, suitable for hauling heavy loads.
- Load capacity: Up to 5000 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 100 PSI
- Warranty: 2 years
- Pros: Outstanding reliability, good for heavy loading usage
- Cons: Complicated installation process
AUTOSAVER Air Ride Suspension
Air Ride is a decent air suspension kit option at a more affordable price than other comparable brands, especially for an air suspension kit with a 2500-pound load capacity and a maximum pressure rating of 550 PSI.
- Load capacity: Up to 2500 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 550 PSI
- Warranty: 1-year
- Pros: Good for on-budget buyers
- Cons: Build quality is just average
Airmaxxx Universal Towing Air Suspension
Airmaxxx’s air suspension kit has excellent load capacity, perfect for heavy loads. However, its warranty period is only for one year.
- Load capacity: Up to 5000 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 150 PSI
- Warranty: 1-year
- Pros: Suitable for heavy loads, build quality is outstanding
- Cons: Short warranty period
Vixen Suspension Air Spring
Vixen Air's kit is highly flexible and adjustable depending on your needs. The suspension using Vixen Air is great, but there’s no warranty included in your purchase – this can cause reliability issues for some buyers.
- Load capacity: Up to 2000 pounds
- Maximum pressure: Up to 600 PSI
- Warranty: No warranty
- Pros: Adjustable air suspension. Durable build quality
- Cons: A bit expensive
Frequently Asked Questions
We know that getting a suspension kit upgrade can be a little tricky and expensive. So before deciding which among the air suspension kits works best for your vehicle, check out the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on air ride suspensions:
Is Getting An Air Suspension Worth It?
When getting an air suspension, the most common concern is that it costs both time and money. However, if you want a smoother car ride, improved handling, and better fuel economy, it could be worth it to get replacement parts or a new suspension kit entirely.
How Long Do Air Suspensions Last?
The answer to this depends on the automaker, vehicle, and suspension system. Some companies recommend that you change your air suspension every 50,000 to 70,000 miles, while others recommend replacing it every ten years.
Does Air Ride Suspension Ride Better?
Compared to a standard suspension, yes, air ride suspension rides better. Air ride suspensions have a smoother ride quality as it adjusts your vehicle to the proper height based on its weight and speed.
Is Air Suspension Good For Daily Driving?
Air suspension is known for daily driving as it is for its comfort because it reduces noise, harshness, and vibration when you are on the road. Furthermore, decreasing the harshness and vibration can result in less wear and tear on the suspension system. Just make sure to have it installed correctly and maintained regularly for maximum performance and durability.
What Is The Best Air Ride Suspension Kit For The C10?
You can look into Heidts’ front and rear suspension as they offer the best four-link suspension kit and bolt-in parts for Chevy, including bars, brackets, and coil-over cross member. Heidts uses coil-overs but can also be ordered with airlift bags.
This four-link suspension offers benefits such as reducing the uncontrolled variable of axle movement, better departure angles, and controlling axle wrap and path vital to truck rides. So whether you want to lower your truck's height or drastically improve your vehicle's handling, getting a new suspension kit is the way to go. Browse the Road Cartel website for more air management kits.
Conclusion
If you want to say goodbye to rough rides, get an air ride suspension kit! When looking for a suitable air-bagged suspension kit, start with the basics, including excellent load capacity, high maximum pressure rating, and warranty period. Most importantly, no matter which kit you get, make sure to install it correctly or have a specialist go through the installation process with you. Ready to upgrade your vehicle? Check out our website for rear suspension airbags. We stock air suspension kits from the most reliable brands!