And you guys said air ride was for ghetto cruisers...

[pOrk]

Love this Audi, lots of work to fit air on this one...

http://vimeo.com/13423588

[Car Guy]

Whoever said that is a moron, air ride is the shiznit. Here is a very well done SHO Taurus on air which would be mine if I was in the position to own a show only vehicle.....:drool:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250680877769&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

[xxsn0blindxx]

Failed logic. If you put a fart can and giant wing on an Audi A3 would that mean those are not accessories for ghetto ricers?

[GTSLOW]

Dam that car is hot! I love that system also, I bet it's a pretty penny with the senors and everything.

[jbiscuit]

I liked Kirk Hammet's 36 Ford even better on that site. Killer Ford!

[Al]

I <3 air ride!

[kornholio788]

I love my air ride. Wayyyy too much fun. Those audis are sexy.

[Yooformula]

that car is hot!

[Russ Jerome]

The guys over on the LSC boards have been hardwirng their cars for some time now, I want to see a bagged 911 since they will never autocross the car anymore :) 911 slammed would be badazz.

[nismodave]

Have no clue what the appeal of the air ride on Sport cars is. Changing the geometry and sacrificing ride quality/performance for looks is not something I would want to do to anything I own.

[pOrk]

Dave, your suspension is factory? Really? Not all air ride setups decrease performance, the one on the audi actually does the exact opposite.

[Slow Joe]

But, when the car goes up and down does the suspension geometry not change?

Dave most likely has his suspension tuned so the geometry is setup correct for what he's doing.

Personally I'm not a fan of air ride either... Unless it's factory...

[pOrk]

But, when the car goes up and down does the suspension geometry not change?

Dave most likely has his suspension tuned so the geometry is setup correct for what he's doing.

Personally I'm not a fan of air ride either... Unless it's factory...

Did you not watch the video? Do some research on the Accuair system, you can tune this system just like you can a full coil over setup. Hit the button and your suspension goes to the exact spot you set it for ( and aligned it for ) etc.

[0TransAm0]

that is one sweet audi.

[TheRX7Project]

Geometry schmeometry... that car is hot.

[MoCkiN U]

so many educated gear heads in here but yet close minded or simply not willing to learn about air ride and frankly what air ride technologies and similar are doing with hot rods and tuned suspension performance. There are lots of options and this is just one

camaro

http://hotrod.automotive.com/82436/hrdp-0807w-1967-chevrolet-velocity-camaro/index.html

mustang

http://www.mustangandfords.com/techarticles/suspension/air_ride_technologies_air_suspension_system/index.html


and just for the hell of it a neat read with track results

http://www.chevyhiperformance.com/techarticles/148_0501_air_ride_technology/index.html



Lofty Air-spirations
Getting an Education at the Air Ride Technologies Street Challenge
From the February, 2009 issue of Chevy High Performance
By John Nelson
Photography by Scott Kileen, Nick Licata, Mike Petraila, John Nelson

The first five or six invitations we received to attend this event were scaled right into the CHP round file. Airbags are for lowriders and cruisers, silly rabbit, and we want a heaping helping of handling to go with our breakfast, thank you very much.

Do 'bags provide numerous cool stances and a nice, smooth ride quality? Sure. Call it prejudice if you must, but we just didn't see air suspension as something for the performance set, those looking to carve up an open track day, a canyon road, or the local parking lot cone-bowling course, for that matter.

The Air Ride Technologies folks are a persistent lot, however, and have a fervent belief in their product. They kept at it despite our indifference, and we received a call from ART's Peggy Vernon, asking if we were going to attend. We demurred by offering that in our experience air suspension was not really a performance item. Peg had us trapped. "You're exactly the person we want to be at this event," she exclaimed, and explained the premise, something we'd never bothered to read about before consigning all those invites to the recycle pile. Once informed, we grabbed helmet, camera, and toothbrush and headed to Putnam Park Road Course in Mt. Meridien, Indiana, to try out 15 Air Ride-suspended vehicles on the 1.87-mile road course and the local roads. This is our report.

Bring Forth the Disbelievers
As it turns out, Air Ride honcho Bret Voelkel was on the hunt for Doubting Thomases such as us. He echoed some of our own statements (apparently he has heard them before) about the perception that air suspension is OK for parking lots and gives great ride quality, but doesn't provide much in the way of handling. According to Bret, Air Ride's experience and testing has shown that a properly tuned air suspension system will lower a vehicle and improve ride quality and improve its handling performance as well. With that, Bret declared, "Let's go to the track and see what happens!"

Testing consisted of braking, slalom, and open hot lap sessions. Cars were available for drives on the local lanes to demonstrate air suspension streetability, and Air Ride had two NASCAR drivers on hand, Steve Grissom and Mike McLaughlin, to provide really hot laps and professional instruction (which it turns out the author could have used, but more on that later). The big attraction for many was a '96 SS Camaro. The car was available for testing with stock suspension in the morning. During the lunch hour, the Air Ride Crew swapped the fourth-Gen over to a fully airbagged system and turned it loose again for the afternoon track sessions. We made sure to get a good taste of both.

We also got to drive and ride in several other 'bagged vehicles, and at the risk of sounding easily converted, we have to say that Air Ride proved its point. The ride quality part of the equation, as we suspected, was a given. The comfort level, on and off track, was high. It was in the handling department that we were pleasantly surprised. Unbeknownst to us, Air Ride considers issues such as ball joint travel, driveline angles, ground clearance, and turning radii in its system design. It also matches airsprings to the weight and suspension geometry of a given vehicle, and always performs live vehicle testing on new systems.

Vehicles are lowered as far as feasible, not as far as possible, and Air Ride wanted us to hold them to the same standard as traditionally suspended rides, while also considering the unique features provided by air suspension, namely variable load compensation, adjustable ride height, and ride quality. The cars we drove, several of which were way too big to be hauled around a road course, as you'll see, were very track-worthy and made the grade.

Cam-air-o
The before and after Camaro suspension swap was of intense interest. What better way to make--or break--the point in question? We'll give you two opinions here: that of Busch Series racer Steve Grissom, and ours. While dissecting his laps in the stock-suspended Camaro, Grissom told us the car kept "rolling over" and "bottoming out" in sharper turns, and that the back end would step out, forcing him to make corrections. On one long sweeper, he told us, the car had "laid over" so much (body roll) that the flat turn felt like it was off-camber. When the Camaro "laid over," as Grissom called it, he needed the entire track to get the car through the corner, and really had the wrestle with the thing to get it where he wanted it.

With the Air Ride system, the car was "much firmer," Grissom told us, allowing less body roll and preventing it from bottoming out, allowing him to carry much more speed into--and therefore out of--the corners. He could brake much harder in between without the car bottoming out. Though the Camaro still wore its stock swaybar, there was half as much body roll, which "balanced the car back out," especially in the aforementioned sweeper. Grissom told us he was able to accelerate sooner out of corners, and although he still used the whole track in certain places, he was carrying 15 more mph. Overall, he said that the car "was under better control, better balanced, and more responsive" with the Air Ride system in place. Watching Steve drive the car both before and after, we believe and value his expert opinion. Now for amateur hour ...

It turns out that the man Ro calls Rocket Johnny and others call That Damn Fool turned out to be the afternoon's entertainment. With stock suspension in place and the CHP rep behind the wheel, the SS felt loose. There seemed to be lots of slop in the car, a term Grissom also used. It felt like a wallowing hog in turns, and as if it would roll over and break the tires loose given the slightest provocation. For this amateur driver, the suspension was the speed limiter.

Cut to the Air Ride version, and things were very different. The car was tight, no slop anymore. It felt planted, much less body roll, and went where you pointed it. The tires became the speed limiter, so we, of course, promptly drove the car right off the tires ... and the track, for that matter. Luckily, it was a no-harm, no-foul affair. Never say CHP doesn't get its money's worth when turned loose on the track.

The pros saw a big improvement, and for us, a car that limited the driver was turned into a car that was limited by its driver. With that drive, and our other jaunts in 'bagged vehicles, Air Ride had proved its point, at least to this author, that air suspension can indeed be a high-performance setup. In fact, we're already cooking up a story to further explore the performance capabilities of air suspension. In the meantime, we'll go in for some professional instruction in the interests of staying on track in this endeavor.

[nismodave]

If air ride is superior to coil overs, why dont I see any road race cars with it?

BTW, Im just asking. Not trying to "HATE" on air ride.

[MoCkiN U]

not superior but also not inferior in same token

[pOrk]

If air ride is superior to coil overs, why dont I see any road race cars with it?

BTW, Im just asking. Not trying to "HATE" on air ride.

Coil overs bolt in, air suspension takes some education and understanding of how it works, and money. A set of Tein coil-overs cost what, about 1100-1600? An air management system like the on in the Audi will cost you close to 5 grand.:wow

[Slow Joe]

Did you not watch the video? Do some research on the Accuair system, you can tune this system just like you can a full coil over setup. Hit the button and your suspension goes to the exact spot you set it for ( and aligned it for ) etc.

No, actually I didn't watch it. I started to, it looked like a lame advertisement within the first minute and I shut it off.

Here's the thing, ok, it's adjustable. But why do you need an adjustable air suspension if it's only really aligned for one setting? I mean yeah the car looks sweet slammed to the ground when it's parked, but if you drove with it down (or up for that matter) you'd wear tires as if the camber/caster was set incorrectly if I understand correctly

I don't see the value in it compared to a set of lowering springs, or coil overs...

Not trying to be against it, but it just don't seem to be cost effective for the average guy...

[MoCkiN U]

U really should watch the last part of the video^ LOL

[pOrk]

No, actually I didn't watch it. I started to, it looked like a lame advertisement within the first minute and I shut it off.

Here's the thing, ok, it's adjustable. But why do you need an adjustable air suspension if it's only really aligned for one setting? I mean yeah the car looks sweet slammed to the ground when it's parked, but if you drove with it down (or up for that matter) you'd wear tires as if the camber/caster was set incorrectly if I understand correctly

I don't see the value in it compared to a set of lowering springs, or coil overs...

Not trying to be against it, but it just don't seem to be cost effective for the average guy...

Systems like this aren't for the average guy. What's the point of a super charger? What's the point of coil overs for that matter? What's the point of racing at road america? Just saying...

[Exitspeed]

I personally don't like that look on a sporty car. I prefer wheels to be flush, not sunken battle ships.

This is how I like wheels to fit on a sports/sporty car.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/202/492979166_21515d2f35_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/491988158_c3f4b23a8a_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/227/498413733_395c84a8ba_b.jpg

On a VIP car or something gangster though...oh hell yeah.
http://bippu4life.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/348-1.jpg
http://pics.sr4000.com/picsbig/1200084737-20-10595/Nissan-Fuga--266523.jpg

Although, even for VIP I think this looks ever better.
http://image.importtuner.com/f/9073646/0612_impp_17z+1998_infiniti_q45_vip+left_rear_view .jpg

Just my opinion.

[GTSLOW]

For some reason I love the wheels on that first 240, that thing looks great!

[Slow Joe]

Systems like this aren't for the average guy. What's the point of a super charger? What's the point of coil overs for that matter? What's the point of racing at road america? Just saying...

Average gearhead.... I should have specified.

As I said, it's cool.

I guess everything is pointless... :rolf

[Fondy13]

air ride is sweet. only way I would go to lower my car.

http://www.youtube.com/moddinart#p/search/1/Fn8XKR4Q9CU

[IcePickFreak]

All depends what your aiming for with the car. For a cruiser or touring car it's nice, they ride much smoother than drop springs or coil overs, at least the few air ride equipped cars/trucks I've been in have.

That 36 Ford is badass, but the first thing I though of when the guy parked it at the beginning.. do you get shot in California if you're not wearing Chuck Taylors?

[Exitspeed]

For some reason I love the wheels on that first 240, that thing looks great!

Reason why is because that 240 is superbly built and beautiful. I've always loved Herb Real's (that's what dude goes by and is a photographer) 240s.

[GTSLOW]

The silver one isn't bad either, just not a fan of the narrow tire on a wide rim look.

[Exitspeed]

The silver one isn't bad either, just not a fan of the narrow tire on a wide rim look.

Yeah stretched tires are a love it or hate it thing. I like it on some cars. Stretched tires are a big thing in the 240 community.