Weeman...

The stuff I plan on using on the wife's xB are pretty straight forward industry standards for those familiar with air suspension. I'll give you a basic run down of my plans as they currently stand.

In the front I plan on running the Airlift/Easystreet struts. My guess is that about 90% of the people with bagged xAs and xBs will be using this setup.

In the rear I won't be using an off the shelf "kit," but I will be using off the shelf parts. To start I will be using the FBI rear brackets. Many of people here on Scion Life use them, and most of them swear by them. Unlike the rear kit from Airlift.

I haven't made a decision yet which rear bags I would like to run. I have experience with all of the major brands. Each has their own positives and negatives. For those that don't know, here are some compressed/extended/stroke specs...

Air Lift 2B-6 Gen. 1: 2.3" / 7.7" / 5.4" (Most drop/3rd longest stroke)
AirLift 2B-6 Extended Gen 2: 2.8" / 9.5" / 6.7" (Tied for second lowest drop/2nd longest stroke)
Contitech "2500" FD 70-13: 3.0" / 7.9" / 4.9" (Least drop/shortest stroke)
Firestone 255C: 2.8" / 8.0" / 5.2" (Tied for second lowest drop/fourth longest stroke)
Slam Specialties RE-5 (RS-52): 2.9" / 8.0" / 5.1" (Tied for third lowest drop/fifth longest stroke)
Slam Specialties RE-6 (RS-62): 2.9" / 10.0" / 7.1" (Tied for third lowest drop/fifth longest stroke)

So what the heck does all that mean? Honestly, most of it, not much. But if you look at the numbers closely, you can learn a couple of things. First is that unless you go with the first generation Air Lift bags you will see just about the same drop regardless of which brand you use. Switching to the first generation Air Lift bag will give you up to .7" more drop assuming nothing else is preventing you from going lower.

The other thing those specs. tell us is how much lift we can expect to see from a given bag. That is the stroke number. Again, this is assuming nothing else (a.k.a. shocks) is going to limit your lift first. If you are really looking to put some distance between the top of your tire and your wheel well the choice is obvious. Slam Specialties RE-6 gets almost 2" more stroke than the "industry standard" Firestone 255C.

The one thing you have to keep in mind though is that in a suspension, any suspension, nothing acts alone. Everything works together. And depending on how it is designed the suspension parts can work with each other, or against each other. This is the reason I have not made my final selection for my rear air bags yet. By the numbers I am leaning toward the first generation Air Lift. But until I can get my hands dirty with the specific parts I want on this specific vehicle, I can't make my final decision. If anyone wants to know my reasoning, just ask. This post is already long enough without it.

Now on to the more interesting part of the build. Air management. Now for a novice builder, I would probably recommend just calling up an Air Lift dealer and ordering one of their pre-packaged kits. But if you are in the know, you can make some much better (in my opinion) choices.
For valves we will likely be going with eight SMC 3/8" NPT 10mm orifice valves. These things have been around for quite some time, with a proven track record. Now, I'll be honest. When they first hit the scene I didn't like them. Mostly because people claimed they could handle way more pressure than they did. Seeing as my wife's xB will never see more pressure then the valves can handle they make a great choice. And the smaller 3/8" size will be quick, but not so fast it is difficult for her to adjust the suspension. And the eight valves gives full system adjustability. What is commonly called F-B-S-S or Front/Back/Side/Side.
For airline I will probably go with 3/8" D.O.T. approved "synflex." This is the same stuff pretty much every single air bag retailer and truck parts supplier sells. It is common, proven, and hard to screw up.
For the fittings I am planning on going with brass D.O.T. compression fittings. Now these ARE NOT the same brass compression fittings you find at your local hardware store. Though, I admit, I have used those in a pinch in the past. Again, these fittings can be purchased online or at a local truck parts store.

Now many will ask why I choose D.O.T. compression fittings over some sort of PTC fitting. Simply put, experience. While I know there are some good (and a lot of crappy) PTC fittings out there, they just don't match the performance and reliability of a quality compression fitting. While it is a little more work to plumb a system with compression fittings, it provides a much better sense of peace of mind.
Next come the compressors. As you may or may not know a company called Viair has quickly taken it's place as the industry standard. While some guys will claim they love their old Thomas compressors and will never switch, Viair appears to be where it's at. One piece of advice I will give is steer clear of AIM/Chassis Tech/Blowjax compressors.

My plan right now is to use a pair of either Viair 400C or 420C compressors. And since this will puzzle some people, I will explain my reasoning. Most everyone today runs the Viair 450C, and for good reason. It is a sealed 100% duty compressor. Great for installation under a truck bed. And a whole lot of people are starting to buy the new Viair 380C and 480C to push 200 psi. Great again, if you need the pressure, but I don't. The 400C and 420C aren't sealed compressors, but they flow quite a bit more air. Perfect for something that will end up mounted in the area that my wife's spare tire used to be.

Then we have air tanks. And while you may think there really aren't a whole lot of options for air tanks, you are right. Especially when it comes to mounting them in an xB. That is why I am going out on my own, and fabricating my own air tanks. I will be designing and fabricating an air tank system that also incorporates compressor mounts that will be located under the cover panel where the spare tire and storage compartment currently resides. Depending on how it turns out, and what other people think, we may consider building more to sell.

Then there are your switch options. This is where your choices are truly endless. We will be fabricating our own custom switch box. As of yet, we haven't determined how many switches it will be, what size, or where it will be located. The easiest bet though is just buying an off the shelf switch box.

And now, probably the most important part of the post. Where do you get all of this stuff? Well there are a ton of options out there online, and in local communities. Trying to determine who you should buy from can be tough. But there are a couple of online stores that I would recommend without reservation. They have good prices, and most importantly, excellent customer service.

First there is http://www.suicidedoors.com Jason Thorbecke is a great guy to deal with, and he has some of the best prices on the net. And his little specialty business is quickly growing into quite and empire. And to be honest, I couldn't think of a better guy for it to happen to.

Then there is http://www.truckshop.com This is the new store for http://www.sportruck.com Jeff runs a great website, and also gives great deals. He is also very knowledgeable about what he sells and has great customer service.

And finally http://www.innovativeairsuspension.com Larry is probably one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry. And his prices and customer service just make him that much better to deal with. And if you ever have any questions about independent rear suspension swaps, he is your man.

Anyway, I hope this helps some of you, and if you have any other questions let me know. And if anyone doesn't agree with some of my comments, I'd love to hear your opinion.

 

Awesome information!!!!!

 

Nice write up. You forgot one site, the site your getting the rear brackets from! www.fbimini.com

I'll look forward to reading up about your install, i'm sure by the time i get all the parts and the time to install them you'll have yours in (i hope). Post lots of pics please!

 

To be honest I left FBI off for a reason. I am not going to be buying much from them. Most likely, only the brackets. I know too many people into custom trucks with mixed experience with FBI. While I will be buying at least my brackets from them, I don't have enough confidence in them to recommend them without hesitation. The only other thing I may purchase from them is air bags. And only if they beat other companies prices pretty well.

The other three sites, I would stake my own reputation on. There are businesses, there are good businesses, and then there are great businesses.

 

this is true son.

 

I'm hardly your son... youngin'.

 

Im sorry..

I mean No offense to you but you do know what your selling right.. If you had read all the post about bags you would know that The ES kit sucks pretty much all the way around..

Theres more people with problems then praises. Im one of them and can vouche completly.. Im still waiting for my refund for the crappy rear kit they make..

And There customer service is horrible and very slow


Just my $0.02

 

hahaha. u got any pix of ur bagged box old man?

 

the fronts work like a charm for me. the rear i knew not to touch.

my advice to anyone, if you can't handle the mechinical (i know thats wrong, I'm tired) skill of air, you should learn to know to work on it first.

 

ES fronts work fine with me...just went with it since my friend is a dealer

 

No pics of the bagged box yet, because the box isn't bagged. The wife has only had it about 3 months, and she has only been my wife for less than a month. Parts are starting to get ordered though. I need to follow up today, but the wheels (18" Konig Next) and front struts should be in.

Just buying it all piece by piece because we are on a budget right now after just paying for a wedding.

All I've got right now is a quick photoshop and some pix of another TCM bagged on the same wheels.

 

congrats buddy, hope all goes well. yeah i wouldnt suggest hookin up the wifes xb yet. get ur money strait cuz i know how expensives weddings could be. what kinda car u got tho?

 

My head is spinning! I'm lost.
Can someone post a Diagram and parts list on bagging, not that I will do it(very short on $$$$ right now), but it would be great to know how its done with visuals.
thanks,
sid

 

yteah this thread has gotten pretty damn confusing even w/ everyone trying to fix eachothers f*ckups

 

Well I "technically" own 3 cars right now. My daily driver is a '98 Honda Prelude Type SH. Only thing done to that is a stereo, intake and Tanabe exhaust. All done before I bought the car. I also have a cheap set of coil-overs that I've had for over a year that haven't been installed yet.

My other car is a '65 Chrysler Newport. It currently has a wrecked passenger fender, hood and part of the front end. That wreck is the reason I bought the Prelude. The car is pretty much stock except for an Edelbrock Manifold, 4 bbl. carb cranked torsion bars and lowering blocks in the rear. It is one fun boat to cruise.

And then the one that I consider my real car is a '99 Dakota Club Cab R/T. It is currently deep under construction, and quite honestly sitting in a friend's back yard. It is all shaved up, primered, bagged, and on 20" billet right now. It has come a long way, and it has even further to go.

 

wow, not bad.. i love the prelude SH. that lip looks so awesome on those cars. keep up the good work

 

My bro has a 67 Chrysler Newport Custom, pretty cool car. has a rebuilt 383 in it.

 

tite

 

I got a thread going over here:

https://www.scionlife.com/forums/vie...126311#1126311

No pics but links, prices, and lot of good info. One day there will be pics of my install in it!

 

please do so,
no need for pics right now, I or maybe some others, just want to see some diagrams, I guess its called plumbing diagram, with a little bit of electrical, I want to see how the air is fed on the cylinders, where it deflates, who or what component controls it.
not really a big deal, but I would surely be thankful if your project is documented.