Air ride suspension is the ultimate upgrade for your ride. You gain the ability to lift and lower your car or truck whenever you like, and it rides great. But when is the best time to take the plunge into the world of air ride? Turns out there are a few different options, so let's check them out.
When suspension repairs hit.
Everyone here at the shop either has had or currently owns an older vehicle. And those older rides have problems that only come with age. Worn out bushings and the like. When those things hit, it's time to upgrade to air.
Why? Because a lot of times you're going to replace the worn out parts anyways, particularly with bushings or ball joints. For example, if you had a 1992 Chevy dually, you'd get new control arms up front and a link suspension out back. There's no need to replace those worn bushings, because you've got replacements in the new parts.
And it doesn't have to be just about bushings. I can be new shocks, worn springs, cut or heated coils, a failed suspension upgrade — any time that you need to replace lots of suspension parts is a good time to move on up to air.
When you have the money.
Look, we get it: Air suspension isn't cheap. It can take some time for our customers to come up with the cash to build their ideal setup. And if you fall into that category, it's totally fine. Buy it when you can.
One thing we suggest is to buy the parts when they're either on sale or you can, and just putting them to the side while you build the entire kit. For example, you can buy bags pretty much whenever and just put them on a shelf while you wait to get compressors, tanks and whatever else you like. Eventually you will have the kit you want, and then it's time to get to building.
When you've got the time.
Some people want to buy the parts and get crackin' on the suspension right away, and we get that. If that's you, buy the parts when you know you have some time set aside to do the work.
Let's say you always take off two weeks around the holidays. If you're able to work on your car or truck then, order everything prior to that vacation so you can do the building all at one time. Just remember, always check to see what's in stock and what's backordered. Sometimes it can take a few days or weeks for us to get your parts in stock, so order enough in advance that it doesn't push off your plans.
