I'm piecing together my air ride setup over then next 3-4 months. Id buy a complete kit but I haven't found one that has everything I want.
I'm going with EasyStreet fronts & rears. 8 1/2 gal tank (i like to hit switches a lot). dual compressors (faster fill). 1/4" dump/1/2" fill. I might be going with 1/4" fill lines too but I'm not sure yet. As that may be a little slow. I'm gonna be running Stainless Flex lines instead of the normal rubber air line for reliability since this is my DD.
What I need to know is what fittings II'llneed and how many of each? Also what brand valves should I go with? website? Should I run accumulators since II'llbe using 1/4" dump lines? 1/4" should be slow enough, right? II don'thave a bbody kitor anything but I just ddon'tlike the idea of dumping the bags fast. I prefer it slow. Also I'm gonna get the EasyStreet AutoPilot. I like the idea of a digital controller.
So basically in short what all parts/fitting do I need to get? and how many? websites?
What brand compressors should I be looking for?
Should I have enough room in the trunk for 2 12s, 2 amps, 2 compressors, a tank and my valves? From my measurements it'll be tight but it should fit.
Thx to all in advance.
you dont need accumulators with bags. those are mainly used for cylinders and hydraulics.
if you think 1/2" will be too quick you can do 3/8" line. i wouldnt do 1/4" fill, it would be too slow (atleast for me). depending on what type of movement you want depends on the number of valves. most kits now a days come with 8 valves which gives you a fbss kit. if you only want front to back, you only need 4 valves. depending on the valve size, you can do anything with fittings. you can get reduces and what not. its actually really simple. if you want, you can run check valves too but i never did. you'll also want a pressure switch and relay for your compressor and wiring. also a water trap to help keep as much water out of the system as possible.
depending where you place the valves determines how quick it will fill and dump. if you have them very close to the bag, obviously it will be faster because the air has a shorter distance to travel. really though you wont notice much of a difference. you should be able to fit all of that in your trunk.
as far as the digital auto pilot goes, ive heard some bad things about theirs and not working right. i prefer an old school switch box.
I run a 5 Gal tank, and 2 Viair 480c compressors(Go NO less) I have been though 2 380c's and 4 450c's and they all SUCK!)
As far as valves. I recommend running 3/8" Fills and 1/4" Dumps. That will be clean and Smooth.
My car Hops with 1/2" @ 200PSI. I have 3/8" Dumps With 1/4" Reducers.
I Recommend getting your valve sets from SuicideDoors.com, Best Deals and Great quality! Not to mention Cheap and EASY to rebuild.
As far as Lines. Use Stainless for the first 12-24" from the bags then run Air Brake Tubing. Why? Because if you DO blow a Line at a show 3-4-5 hours from home you can EASILY fix tubing in a parking lot, Stainless...Good Luck.
As far as Accumulators, You only need them with Cylinders, Bags DONT need them, it would just be a waste of air.
Hope this helps!
i ran my air ride for over 3 years and never once blew a line. only time i got a hole in the line is when it rubbed on my tie rod because my zip tie broke. alot of the plastic lines are very strong. metal lines are very expensive and are much harder to run and you need a bender to bend them. its up to you. its a good idea but not truely needed. better safe then sorry though if you want to look at it that way.
The Airlift Autopilot comes with its own valves, so dont bother buying regular valves. Also run the D.O.T. nylon airline, you wont have a problem with it. You can get it from any shop that fixes big rigs and you can also get compression fittings from them too.
So far the only problem i had with my Autopilot system is that a ground came loose and the controller wouldnt work. I fixed the ground and its been working fine.
AWD GS: Thanks for clearing up things about the accumulators. I wasn't sure about them things. I'm still new to the air ride game. BTW I'm not going to be running full stainless lines. I'll be running flex lines. I'd love to run full stainless lines but that would be a pain to bend everything.
CHAZZ: I was thinking 380C would be too slow. I'll look into 480C's. Never thought of air brake line. That's good idea. Again thanks for clearing things up with the accumulators. 3/8" fill sounds good, I don't want to hop at all. If I wanted that I'd get hydros, and I wouldn't drive a cav.
TINKLES: Didn't know the AutoPilot comes with its own valves. Are they basically the same as regular valves?
I'm thinking about getting the full EasyStreet kit + AutoPilot and just upgrading it. Basically all I would need to get is reducers, the tank, the compressors, and air line. That way if I ever do break down I'll have spare parts if I don't have the cash to fix it right away. I know it'll cost more but its a lot safer. I'm not going to cheap out this time around like I did with my springs. I have goldlines, but I'm still on stock struts/shocks. They've been blown for a while now. Talk about a rough ride!
I'm going to be dragging the car too, so how many ball hitches should I get? I'm thinking 3. I've got somebody thats going to build the bar and weld it all up for me, since I can't weld...yet. One day I'll learn. Where's a good place to weld the bar? I don't care if the hitches can be seen or anything. It's not like I'm trying to hide it. Considering my plate will probably say SPX_FLY or something to that effect.
Sorry for the newb-ish questions, but like I said I'm still new to air. I'll never learn if I don't ask questions.
Anyways, thanks again in advance.
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/809952
you only need 1 hitch ball to do what you want.
also if you get a full easystreet kit, it comes with everything you need. you may need to just buy a few fittings if you want to reduce some of the line sizes. also be sure to get a water trap. their fairly cheap and a good investment on any air ride type system
AWD GS: I know the easystreet kit comes with everything except reducers and a water trap. But like I said in my original post: I want a bigger tank (don't think 5 gal is enough...I love playing with switches), and I'm gonna upgrade to dual 480C compressors. I think easystreet has an option to upgrade to dual 480Cs. Not sure, might have to shoot Jason at A+ an e-mail and see if he can help me out.
To me 1 ball hitch doesn't seem like much, most of the mini-truck guys around here have 3+ unless they're running actual drag blocks. But there's no point in drag blocks when ball hitches do basically the same thing for way less money.
Are there different kinds of ball hitches...i.e. aluminum, steel, iron, etc? If so, what kind should I be looking for? I'm looking for maximum sparks. Gotta compete with the minis around town.
Sorry for all the questions, but I want to get as much info as possible before I go and spend $3K+ on my setup.
Not to sound like a dick or anything but if you want to compete with minis by dragging...if whatever it is your dragging is visible hanging way below the car, you're going to get laughed at. I've got a 5 gallon tank and I don't stop playing, its plenty of air for me, it doesn't take much to fill the bags. I started off with a 380c and had to rebuild it twice, it caught my trunk on fire at a show last august which was not fun at all. Since then I've upgraded to an Air Zenith compressor and I wont buy anything else from now on. The initial start up of it for the first time filled my 5 gallon from 0-175psi in a tad under 3 minutes, my pressure switch kicks on at 140 and shuts off at 175 and that generally takes 45 seconds if the cars running, a minute or so if it isn't or my stereo is on.
ShadowCav02 wrote:
TINKLES: Didn't know the AutoPilot comes with its own valves. Are they basically the same as regular valves?
No, they are their own special valves. I believe i have a pic of them on my laptop at home.
ShadowCav02 wrote:
I'm thinking about getting the full EasyStreet kit + AutoPilot and just upgrading it.
Your best bet is to get in on Jason's GP. I did last spring and got a hell of a deal on the Easystreet kit and the Autopilot.
3/8th valves should do fine for your setup. I'm not sure what size the autopilots valves are. Is there a fill control on the autopilot system Tinkles? As far as dragging, 2 balls will do the job no need for more. Here's mine dragging on 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af9ODgQTd-w
Drag it to death wrote:Is there a fill control on the autopilot system Tinkles?
To control the fill and dump speed?
Tinkles wrote:Drag it to death wrote:Is there a fill control on the autopilot system Tinkles?
To control the fill and dump speed?
Would you fellas recommend using SMC adjustable fill and dump controls?
If so where is a good place to purchase them & and how much?
If not, what alternative choices would I have.
^^^ I can get you hooked up with pretty much anything air. If I don't stock it, it can ship direct, quickly!
Let me know.
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Sdwndr2: My hitches wont be hanging way down, but I'm sure with just an LS sport rear it might be able to be seen. I looked at a couple of Air Zenith compressors but them things are way expensive. From what I hear they're pretty much the best other there.
Drag it to death: Where are your hitches mounted? Pic? I was going to mount my hitches somewhere in the rear.
I'd get in on the GP but I don't have the funds to get anything yet. I'm doing all my research before I get anything. Now that I know what to get, I'll be spending the next month or so looking all over the net for the best deal. I ship to basic training the 1st part of January. I won't return home until March/April. I should have my wheels, air, and system all waiting for me when I come home.
So now I'm going to go through A+ to get my stuff.
So my list is as follows:
EasyStreet FBSS kit
EasyStreet AutoPilot
3/8" reducers (4x)
1/4" reducers (4x)
8.5 gallon tank
dual 480C compressors
ball hitches for dragging (2x)
water trap
SS 3/8" Flex tubing
SS 1/4" Flex tubing
If I missed anything please let me know.
Shadow, im just curious as to why you want SS airlines over nylon airlines.
They are pricey but the way I look at it is why not invest the 300 bucks now instead of going through compressors like I had been with the 380s.
Tinkles: I'm still going with SS lines because I haven't done any searching for nylon lines yet. Once I find some nylon lines, then I'll compare the 2 and make my decision.
Sdwndr2: Yeah that's true. I may have to get one, instead of dual 480s. Another good thing is I can get one in red, instead of having to go with chrome.
Well I'm currently doing some searching for air line.
Which one would be the best?
I want something strong enough to handle everyday abuse. I'm running the line under the car if that helps.
Polyurethane tubing for $140 for 200 ft.
Nylon tubing for $120 for 200 ft.
Polyethylene tubing for $32 for 200 ft.
website: www.pneuaire.com
whatever comes with the easystreet kit is what i used for years and i ran mine outside under the car year round. never had a problem with the lines.
AWD GS: I know the easystreet line is DOT approved and everything. The one question I have is I live in north, central Texas and our weather is funky. It can be 75* one day and below freezing the next. Or like on sunday it can be 78* and drop 40* in 2 hours. Now, I wonder if the air line can handle those extreme temp. drops? I know its DOT approved so it should but for some reason I don't trust it. I want something stronger. That's why I'm searching for different line. Nylon should be plenty strong. Plus I can get colored line too. Theres 7 or 8 different colors. I'm going to go with white, since my accent color is going to be silver and they don't offer silver. So white is close enough.
I do appreciate your input though, I remember your cav. Twas a sick cav.
there air line used in the easy street kits are pretty much like the one they run for air brakes on the big trucks. and those are ran in extreme temps and conditions
ShadowCav02 wrote:AWD GS: I know the easystreet line is DOT approved and everything. The one question I have is I live in north, central Texas and our weather is funky. It can be 75* one day and below freezing the next. Or like on sunday it can be 78* and drop 40* in 2 hours. Now, I wonder if the air line can handle those extreme temp. drops? I know its DOT approved so it should but for some reason I don't trust it. I want something stronger. That's why I'm searching for different line. Nylon should be plenty strong. Plus I can get colored line too. Theres 7 or 8 different colors. I'm going to go with white, since my accent color is going to be silver and they don't offer silver. So white is close enough.
I do appreciate your input though, I remember your cav. Twas a sick cav.
i honestly dont think there would be a problem with it. temps drop all over the county. theres people in mn where easystreet is from that run their stuff in -15 degree weather and never have a problem. honestly you should be more worried about a valve sticking then breaking a line. trust me, their lines are pretty strong.
