Firestone Ride Rite

[fbksurferjoe]

Hey just curious whether anyone has an opinion on a setup that I am considering. I currently have converted my rear suspension to something similar to BajaTaco's rear end with resevoir shocks and custom mounts. As of right now due to the weight of the shell and all the gear my springs are inverted. I do not have the money to have deaver springs made so I am considering adding Firestone Ride Rite airbags to my current setup and possibly also bolting on some limit straps between my frame and the axle to keep the airbags from over stretching, I also saw an adapter that bolts onto the airbags to use with lifted trucks so that I do not lose any articulation. All of that considered I was wondering what you thought. Let me know.

 

[Willman]

Those Air bags are great!

I was told that they are the best around!

Sounds like a good setup to me!.....

 

[pray4surf]

Hey just curious whether anyone has an opinion on a setup that I am considering. I currently have converted my rear suspension to something similar to BajaTaco's rear end with resevoir shocks and custom mounts. As of right now due to the weight of the shell and all the gear my springs are inverted. I do not have the money to have deaver springs made so I am considering adding Firestone Ride Rite airbags to my current setup and possibly also bolting on some limit straps between my frame and the axle to keep the airbags from over stretching, I also saw an adapter that bolts onto the airbags to use with lifted trucks so that I do not lose any articulation. All of that considered I was wondering what you thought. Let me know.

I have no comment on the shock mod. But I think our paths crossed yesterday afternoon. say 1:00-ish.. You were heading to Bonsall/Fallbrook East on 76 I was going West. We went by each other on the bridge just after Vista Way.... I was in a white Tacoma...

Rick

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Well my truck is a hard one to miss with the mismatched shell and all. That was definetly me I live in vista half the time and the other half in fallbrook sounds like you caught me on my way back to vista. I even remember eyeballing a white tacoma, as im sure most of us do when they see a tacoma with a camper on it. May have been you.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Actually since you said east I was prob heading into fallbrook either way its a small world

 

[StumpXJ]

I was in the same situation as you. Its Baja Taco's fault.

My springs were DONE after my shell, roof rack, sleeping platform, and rear bumper/tire gate. At the time, I couldnt figure out how to ship springs over here from the States, so I bought the Fireston Ride Rite kit from Summit. I installed them, aired them up and was able to run about 40 pounds in them with 2-3 inches of lift over stock height and the ride was good. The airbags do just what they are supposed to do.

I have have now since installed a new set of lifted springs on my truck, and dont run any air in my bags unless I am loaded down for a trip, or towing something.

I really like the ability to keep the truck leveled with a load, the bags are great!

The only thing that sucks about them is when you need to flex out the suspension offroad, they dont work great for that. I tried running the pressure down to about 25-30 psi, and it didnt help in the flex department much. Now that I have new springs, I run about 5psi in them to keep the proper shape of them and my truck flexs great, just like they werent there.

They arent a replacement for worn out springs, but they will help until you can get new ones.

~James

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Yah its absolutely his fault! Good to hear someone else out there has tried this. I was also looking into these http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/30002.html
do you think this would help out with the articulation? Another question I had is do you have a problem with overstretching your bags when the axle articulates, I ask this because if it is a problem I figure I can fix it by adding some limit straps.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Also is there any way you can post some pictures of your rear suspension setup?

 

[StumpXJ]

When we were putting my springs on, the shocks were unhooked and the suspension was at full droop. With 5psi of air, they held up very well, and stretch pretty easily. With the shocks on, acting as the limiter itself, they work just fine, even at full flex.

I will have to get pictures tommorow, its already dark here...

~James

 

[StumpXJ]

Also, the spacers wont help, in fact they would probably make it worse. The springs them selves dont compress well when they have a normal operating amount of air. They are designed to hold weight, so I guess they are doing what they are supposed to do, but that doesnt help when you need flex.

I dont run any spacers on my truck, and I easily have 2-3 inches over stock of lift. If I put air in the bags with no load, I can get another 2 inches, but it rides pretty stiff.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Alright well sounds like I dont need to go with those spacers then. I just ordered the air bags so they should be here in a few days, ill make sure I post the final result. I am still wondering if I should go with the limit straps just to protect them but I will have to take a look at how it flexes on my truck. Do you have Downey shackles?

 

[fbksurferjoe]

This is how much droop I have right now by looking at your airbags and comparing it to the space between my frame and axle how do you think the bags will hold up?

 

[StumpXJ]

hmm....I have a decent amount of flex, but it looks like you may have more. Like I said, my stock shocks wont allow the bags to overstretch, but it looks like you have different shocks? I also have stock length shackles. I got my lift with a T100/deaver pack.

The spacer would help in the situation of droop, but it would kill you on the ability to stuff the other side. The bag takes place of the bump stop on the axle, so if you have that 3 inch spacer, plus the bag and its brakets, even with 0 psi of air, you will limit your ability. Put any air in them and it wont stuff much at all, and will be made worse by the spacer.

In short, I think you may have to limit the droop. Tha bags are very tough, but they arent indestructable. I think with the droop you have now, it would be pushing the limits of the bag/brackets.

I will go out and flex the truck and snap a few pictures for you.... you have me curious now. Stay tuned

~James

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Yah like I said I have a setup similar to baja taco with fox 2.0 resevoir shocks and custom shock mounts. I also have the downey shackles. Im not to worried about the droop as much as I just dont want to ruin the bags so if I have to sacrifice a little in flex for a nice ride so be it. Looking forward to the pictures. thx for the help

 

[StumpXJ]

droop envy....

Ok, you DEFINITELY have more flex than I do. The pictures of the truck flexing below have 5psi in the bags, which is the minimum requirement from the manuf. to not damage them. The stock shocks are maxed out on each side, and keep the bags from ripping themselves apart. I honestly think I could get another inch or so out of them before any damage occured, but just a guess. I have a set of Bilstein 5100's on the way to replace to worn out stockers, and will find out just how much stretch they can take.

The pictures dont really show it, but each flex shot, the rear tire is off of the ground, teetering on the front and back. Its a sad amount of flex, but maybe it will help with your decision.

I see in your signature that you also have 32inch tires, where as mine are 31's. Id say you easily have 4-5 more inches of flex/droop than I. (there is a hint of jealousy in there somewhere...)

~James