Real life handling numbers on air ride suspension?

[bigjoe25]

It seems that air ride is now all the rage, due the adjustabilty of it. Looks wise, you can slam it down, and the ride quailty is great! HOWEVER, I was always tought when you gain in one area, you lose in another.

Lets quit the bullshit, lets see some real-world numbers. I want to see some stock cars skidpad and slalom numbers and then compared to an air-ride equipted cars skidpad and slalom numbers. How about some 60 foot times, before and afters?

Just because it " feels" like it handles better doesnt mean that it IS handling better. My 1991 Eagle talon when the turbo kicks in " feels" faster than my 98 Camaro. The truth is, it isn' t by far.

Lets drop the BS and see some real life numbers! I am not disputting the ride quailty of air bag suspension! My buddies Mustang ride was TOTALY transformed, it felt like a Cadillac! I didnt get to drive it so I dont know how the handling was.

[darren@ridetech.com]

http://popularhotrodding.com/tech/0603phr_air/index.html

Here is an article that PHR recently published. This Camaro already had all the performace suspension upgrades. So this is more of an apples to apples comparison.

The stock comparison showed drastic improvements. We took a 67 Camaro last year at the Street Challenge and did some slalom and lap times at Putnam Park, which is a 2 mile road course. We had a professional driver (Boris Said) in the car to make sure it was pushed to the max in both tests. Then which swiched out to the AirBar in the rear and the Shockwaves up front and picked up about 3.5 mph in the slalom and about 7 seconds per lap.

[bigjoe25]

VERY interesting!

I still can dispute the fact that an aftermarket coil setup would be a better handling choice, HOWEVER, for ride quailty AND handling it seems as if air ride is a much better choice than stock!

I guess Im converted, where do I sign up?

[CustomChevS10]

let' s not forget there are a thousand different ways to run an airsetup and components. Think of it like building a motor. There are a zillion parts you can use to build it how fast or reliable or whatever. Same thing with air setup. Line size, valve size, which bags, what link setup etc...

[darren@ridetech.com]

The 2nd Gen Camaro that PHR did already had performace spring and shocks under it, and with virtually no tuning the air ride put down the same numbers.