I am thinking of installing bags on my xb............I have put in air setups in my trucks I've had......that has been years ago...anyway......I am wanting to piece my system together.......who has the best air stuts (dependability) ....also who has good compressors and tanks .....and can anyone show some install pics of your stuts and rear bags ....Thanks for your help guys

 

Step 1: https://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=106196

Now, just a little personal opinion. You are kind of SOL on high quality front struts for the xB. Airlift/Easystreet stuts are readily available, but have some pretty significant issues. Best bet, is adding a set of camber plates (Cusco) to get alignment issues in check. Even then, owners have reported other problems.

Air Runner makes a great front strut, but you have to buy it as a part of their kit. Look at spending $2800+ for the basic kit with manual toggles.

Others on this board (Randode) have gone with Chassis Tech. He isn't on the road yet, so the jury is still out on them. Personal opinion? I wouldn't run them. Randode got hooked up though, so I can't blame him.

You really don't have any other option other than the Aero Sport bag from Universal Air Suspension. This may require some fabrication on your part, or you can order a complete kit from them. They also state on their site that the installation is 100% bolt on if you use Koni adjustable front struts. This may be one of the best, although not cheapest options.

In the rear, you have a couple of decent ways to go. You can either get the rear Airlift/Easystreet kit, or piece parts together. Piecing them together is usually just bags and brackets. Bags is your personal preference, though most these days would recommend the Slam Specialties RE5 for the rear. And they would run those in combination with the FBI rear brackets.

Then there are your tanks and compressors. You can pretty much just buy whatever tank fits the location you choose to mount it the best. And buy it from whatever reputable company will give you the best deal. For compressors, if you want the cream of the crop go with an Air Zenith. If that is overkill for you, just choose the best Viair to fit your needs.

If you have any other specific questions, just ask. Someone around here is sure to chime in.

 

Good info as usual RT, but the air zenith compressors are a little questionable at the moment, over on the s10 forums there are a ton of post of the comps quiting within hours or days of installation, on the upside AirZenith is quick to replace them (but people ahve had there second and third compressors crap out in days also...) Might want to stick with Viair....

 

I don't know if you were around for their introduction, but there was a pretty big backlash against Viair when they first hit the scene several years ago. Problems with overheating, bad air lines, bad fittings and cracked heads. Some issues were Viair's other issues were bad installations. I remember back then so many people singing the praises of their faithful old Thomas compressors.

I am sure the same thing is happening with Air Zenith. Almost everything I have heard about them has been good. But remember what I said, they aren't for everybody. Not everyone needs that fast of a compressor. And not everyone needs to hit 200 psi.

 

I have had my air ride since 04 and have never had a problem got my system from phil @ FBI . the main thing is the install do it right the first time and you will have no problems.

 

Tru dat

 

Installation is a HUGE part of the quality of an air suspension set up. You can have the best product in the world, and with a bad installation your suspension is total crap. But it also works the other way. You can have the best installation in the world with parts with inherent problems, and the suspension can still be crap.

For instance, the Easystreet front struts. Install them out of the box, and do an excellent job of it. Guess what... You'll have problems. Their "camber correction" went overboard. Their struts actually give you POSITIVE camber. Sure you can spend a few hundred bucks and throw on some customized camber plates. But even the guys who have done this have reported other issues.

The thing to be include when buying or installing an air suspension system is knowledge. Get as much information as you can before you begin, so you know exactly what you are getting yourself into. If you understand the pros and cons of the products your purchase, and are able to deal / live with them, that is all that matters.

 

I seem to think that there is revisions to the ES struts, i bought mine this summer and they ran fine out of the box, BUT I must've had at least +2~3 Camber. That being said, now i'm running the Cusco plates and I barely have -1 with them slammed to the 8th notch (i'm guessing this is -4 degree's?). But I have no fitment issues, knocking etc. They're is a lot of road noise and because of the noise it makes it *seem* like it's a rougher ride, but it's not too bad really. And I run real low, i don't have any gauges for my front yet but i run with my tires slighty still tucking ... and oh yea it rubs!

 

See that road noise that you don't mind is just about a deal breaker to me. Air suspension is about more than going up and down. It is a SUSPENSION. A properly designed and engineered road suspension should not have such issues. This is still a design issue that Airlift doesn't consider a significant enough problem to address.

This is just one of the many issues I was talking about that, as long as you aware of them ahead of time, aren't that big of a deal. If you are willing to live with the excessive noise, they are fine for you. If it is going to bother you, best off looking elsewhere.

Now I'm not knocking Airlift, or your suspension. Just saying for my personal taste, it is not acceptable. But that is one of my personal requirements for air suspension. Not everyone will agree.

It is the same reason I brought up heim joints in another post. I learned my lesson on those years ago. I incorporated them into a link design I did for a Dodge Ram. Big mistake. They require to much maintenance for a daily driven vehicle and produce too much noise. I'll never run a heim joint (yes, even the newer Teflon coated versions) on a link for a road driven vehicle ever again.

 

While I agree with you and I wish they didn't cause any additional noise (i'm way passed used to it already lol), most of the noise came from the Cusco plate install ... since it's all metal instead of some rubber like the stock top hats, more noise and vibration is transfered. The ES struts do cause more noise then stock as well because i ran them with stock top hats for a month or so before i got the Cusco plates. What can I do you know? I'm guessing the AirRunner front struts don't cause any additional noise right?

 

Air Runner makes good strut bags and rear bags. If you want to find out more info call up Elroy or Freddie at Autofashion or visit their site wwww.autofashionusa.com

 

No noise or camber issues. At basically stock suspension height (drive it this way,some roads here suck bigtime) my front camber was like .02-.03 degrees negative.
I bet Air Runner would sell a buttload more front struts than complete systems if they sold the components seperately...I know I would have and pieced together the rest.

 

this has really answered a lot of questions for me.......Well I am no longer 24 and single.....and this is my daily driver....and I have another kid on the way......so I think my safest way of going will probly be coilovers......I can get a good drop and I don't have to worry about serious maintenence issues......I would love to have bags again but for my lifestyle with kids and a wife I just don't think it is in the cards ....so I will just have to play it safe.....thanks for all of your insight guys

 

Cool, thx for the info, if I ever have a change to get a set new or used i would.

 

I tried for a couple of months last year calling different vendors about splitting up kits. No one would do it.

I even talked to Air Runner last year at SEMA about selling individual components. They said at the time they had no interest in doing that. Yeah, they keep their profit margin high by selling complete kits. But they could more than make up for it in volume if they were to sell the individual components. Of course given Air Runner's pricing structure I am sure that a pair of front struts would retail for well over $1000.