Oh my i need airbags on the L.... Anyone know where i can get these around michigan? There was a good spot in indiana brewleys or something he had alot of trucks in truckin magizine. Anyone want to talk me out of this =). What all did you have to do to get you truck to sit on the ground?

Man i am becoming the annoying board person i think, heh.

 

Ashenor
I wanted to do this to mine but had some friends talk me out of it. There are some cool air bag arrangements tha you can find in the trucking mags. Take a look at Rogers truck from the F150 Online Store, it is not a Lightning but it sure is low.

------------------
BABolt
SVT#290

 

How much do you think it would hurt performance though? I would love to have a sweet setup, but i still like to race.

 

Ashenor, please don't do it.

It will make your L slow and sloppy, and other Lightnings will laugh at yours as they drive circles around you.



------------------
Regards,
Gordon

'99 Red Lightning

 

Heh... It looks sooo good though. =). Ok i better get busy buying other stuff so i am broke. I still want to do this one day perhaps..

 

Hey all you air bag fans :-)... I'm an airbag junkie too :-)

I'll go ahead and run down a quick system for you guys, and the costs associated with it.

First you need your air source. A compressor, relay, pressure switch, and tank. This just makes sure your compressor is on at the right time, and that you have enough air when you need it :-). Decent pumps run about $300, tanks less then $100. Pressure switches and relays about $50.

Once you've got this plumbed up you've got a decision to make. You can now run your air to the corners of your truck via solenoids, or a full pneumatic system. Solenoids are usually faster, and only require electrical connections in the truck. They are more expensive however. Pneumatic is actual air control via a valve in the truck. Not quite as fast, but much cheaper.

You have the option on controlling just the front and rear of your truck (i.e. - one switch for front adj., one for rear adj.) or you can control all four corners independetly. If you go the solenoid route, with controls and solenoids, you can easily expect $500 for 2 way contorl, or $1000 for 4 way. The controls for full pneumatic however, will be about $200 tops.

Now you've got a source, and a way to control you system... all is good :-). Moving on to the actual bags. Your front suspension needs an airbag kit. It is an airbag that replaces your coil over. It fits in the same place as the coil, and might require some cutting (not sure on an L). This is pretty simple installation, and you just run your plumbing to this. Easy enough, right?

Now comes the fun part. The rear end get's tough. You have two real options. The first is to do a 4-link suspension. The means replacing your leaf setup with a 4 link setup. Prices range from about $400 to $1000. This will give you full range of motion in the back. You will need a C-notch (about $100) to give you some extra clearance. The rear will then require air bags. Some 4links have "platforms" for the bag to mount onto, others have a mount you can weld to the axle tube. When it comes to mounting the top of the bag, some systems bolt to the frame rail, and others require a bar to span the rails for the bags to mount to. Total cost of the rear with 4-link will end up around $800-$1200

The other rear option is not quite as effective, and won't get your quite the "drop" you might want. This setup involves mounting the bags to the frame rail or to a cross bar, and welding attachments to the axle. You disassemble the leaves, and remove individual leaves until the truck sits as low as you want. You then use the air bags to bring it up from there. With this type of system you can't usually get quite as low.

Hope this helped you guys.

------------------
1995 F-150 Regular Cab Flareside w/ 302 V8... Mods: Mass Air, K&N FIPK, Dual Exhaust (no mufflers), Lund Premier Tonneau Cover, Motorsports 9mm Plug Wires, full JL/Kicker/Pioneer system, Autometer 5" tach, Superchip, Precision Gear 3.73s, TD Chrome Diff Cover

Best 1/8th ET: 10.4107 @ 65.9587 MPH

The F-150 Resource Guide

The F-150 Resource Guide-- a site dedicated to 1987 through 1996 F-series trucks.



[This message has been edited by Jason Zaluski (edited 07-15-2000).]

 

Hi thanks alot for your response, If i do it i want to do it right. I will be bothing you in the near future i am sure.

Thanks
Jason

 

I was thinking if bagging my L also. But was worried about the handling ability and traction and safety at high speeds dimenishing. What's your take on these?

 

If u really want performance, i dont think bags are the way to go. But if setup correctly u can makes bags pretty stiff. Personally, i wouldn't do it to an L. With bags, u can never keep ur alignment perfect in the front. All in all tho, mine handles pretty well, and rides ten times better than stock. If u want it to lay on the rockers (how mine is), u need to have a body drop. Basically, u cut out the entire floor and raise it up so the body will sit lower on the frame. This was hard enuf on my f150 and i think impossible on a lightning. I think the blower will hit the dashboard This truck is a BIG pain in the *** to body drop. Since lightning have body kits, even if u just lay frame, i think the front valence would be damn close to the ground making it look pretty cool.
If u are serious, i will ask around about places in michigan, im sure there are good shops. I know a least a couple people with bagged rides there. Price wise, it all depends on how fast u want to go. the basic slow kit installed is usually around 2500 give or take, and can go up to over 4g's for the fastest. If u really want good performace, u need 8 solenoids, this prevents sharing air between sides of the truck, which will cause excess lean on turns.

If u have any questions, just post or email me cpt2222@yahoo.com
Cpt

 

I guess that's why they call low and slow because that's what you'll have to do from now on. I lowered my Dakota (1997) and when I went to get rid of it had one hell of a time selling the thing even after it was on the cover of a Nat. Magazine. If your planning on junking it out after a few years then go ahead and just do it, because who'll want to buy it after it's been butchered.

------------------
1999 Red SVT Lightning
#3466 of 4000
NLOC #428
99 Grand Prix GTP Red