well guys, i'm guessing this is the right post as what i'm gonna ask has no other point other than to look good...I've been throwing up the idea of getting bagged the last few weeks, but i still have the heard to go with a good set of coil overs. The reason the bagged idea just came into play is that i just got a few new really good connections here up in sudbury that can set me right up for around the same price as the set of coils i want...maybe a lil more, but regardless...i want to know from everyone who's been in a car that's been on air bags, and everyone who hasn't lol..i wanna know some opinions, some pro's and con's...pretty much anything i should know about my decision. I'm not 100% on the bagged idea, but i'm not 100% against it lol...so guys, let me know some opinions. Thanks
Bagged - totally for show (as far as I know), no performance improvements. It's completely against what I'd do, personally.
A full, proper kit like the Eibach Pro-Kit, SVT kit, etc. - just about the only real way to do things if you want a proper suspension upgrade without any guesswork.
If you're making a show car, go with airbags. If you have aspirations of running it hard for more than 5 seconds at a time AND you want to enjoy the experience... do a full suspension.
I've seen some tv shows featuring air-ride suspensions and they have really improved the performance aspect of it. On an older Horsepower TV episode they had pro drivers take a last-gen Camaro through some cones and around a track, then they swapped in the air-ride technologies bag kit and did some more runs.. after they had tuned it right there was a big improvement in performance.
Not sure if all air-bag kits are created equally, but it goes to show that they aren't just for slamming your car down to the ground anymore.
Airbags can have performance aspects added i fyou do the right setup, I don't know enough about them as far as that goes butI do know there are some kits out there that are performance minded. They include a lot of modification, ie replacing your stock suspension parts to get them to work. Check with your conections that you have as far as performance kits go. If you want true performance though, go woth a good suspension set like the H&R Cup kit and coilovers, I know a few guys out here who've got them and they're all very happy with the setup.
As for as my real opinion on air bags, as we say in the lowrider club when we here someone dropping the air out. " PFFSSSHHHTT" Hey somebody popped another tire! hahaha!" Hydraulics baby hydraulics :D
Simple Answer
Show: Go with the bags
Performance: Go with a good coilover kit
Just that simple.
airbags well compete with or almost out preform any coilover kit except maybe a set of billstenes.
If you think about it its pretty much the same principal. You can control the amout of pressure that is at each wheel therefore improving your cornering. The one main advantage air ride has over coilovers is the ride quality. If you drive your car day in and day out, then there is nothing that can compete with a car riding on air.
The only draw back for an air setup is the amount of space required to install all the components. ie. the compressor and tank ( size well depend on if you want to be able to play around with the air pressures like hydraulics). The kits available for the focus are pretty much bolt on, so its really simple that way
my money would be on air.
and just to clarify for a few of you's, and whoever might be adding more "Input" i do drive an autotragic focus, so peformance isn't exactly my biggest factor in this lol