air bags on rear suspension

Soundguy · Dec 10, 2011

I'm amazed at the difference in ride that air bags on the rear suspension make.

My f450 has them, my 350 doesnt. I am moving a large enclosed and quite heavy bumper pull trailer for some friends.. I moved it the first day with myt 350 as that was what I was driving. puleld it fine, but you flt the trailer back there. 450 is just so different.

both alre 7.3 diesel and 99's essentially the same truck.. minor differences.. ( 350 has 16" tires.. 450 has 19.5.. 350 is 4wd, 450 is 2wd...350 has 4.10 rear, and 450 has 4.88 rear.. ) etc. my guess is the air bags are making the bulk of the difference?

soundguy

slowzuki · Dec 11, 2011

The ride? Yes airbags ride better than the overloads, the spring rate is different.

schmism · Dec 13, 2011

Soundguy said:
both alre 7.3 diesel and 99's essentially the same truck.. minor differences.. ( 350 has 16" tires.. 450 has 19.5.. 350 is 4wd, 450 is 2wd...350 has 4.10 rear, and 450 has 4.88 rear.. ) etc. my guess is the air bags are making the bulk of the difference?

soundguy

Essentially the same truck? IMHO that its like saying a F150 and a F350 are essentially the same truck.

different axles, tires, gears, trans, suspension, frame.... different fenders? the 19.5" conversions never look the same on a F350 as they do stock on F450 to me.

but ya airbags and springs ratios

Skyco · Dec 13, 2011

I have airbags on my f350. What I do is adjust the air pressure to keep the overload springs a little off their contact points, like the truck sits naturally with no added weight.
Best of both worlds, airbags take up all the little bumps but the big ones cause the factory overload springs to contact and do their job, ride is better that way.

Soundguy · Dec 13, 2011

schmism said:
Essentially the same truck? IMHO that its like saying a F150 and a F350 are essentially the same truck.

different axles, tires, gears, trans, suspension, frame.... different fenders? the 19.5" conversions never look the same on a F350 as they do stock on F450 to me.

but ya airbags and springs ratios

I don't think compairing a 450 to a 350 is like compairing a 150 to a 350.

from the cab forward, both trucks 'look' the same. including front fenders. rear fenders, can't compair as the 450 has a custom bed on it.

gear ratio in the diffy won't effect how a bump 'feels' when you hit a dip in the road carrying a heavy bumper pull. ( springs and air bags would )

Tires will make up some of the difference I know.

So I don't think i was way off base saying the air bags were the bulk of the difference in the 'feel' of the ride.

I did not compair power or take off / acceleration, in which axle ratio's would make a difference.

4wd / 2wd no real difference accept front suspension, and most of what I feel when i hit a bump or dip on a bumper pull is felt in the rear, not the front. when i pull gooseneck, yeah.. the front makes some difference in the feel due to weight distribution.

fenders? no reasonable way a fender would effect the way a bump feels

soundguy

timswi · Dec 13, 2011

I have air bags on all 4 corners of my E450 30' class C...What a difference those things make.

slowzuki · Dec 21, 2011

The 450 has stiffer tires, heavier rear axle, heavier frame, etc, all things that should make it ride much worse. Its a testament to how the bags are helping.

Soundguy · Dec 22, 2011

quite a difference on the same load from my 350 to 450.. dramatic even... And I wouldn't class the 350 as 'wimpy' either...

slowzuki · Dec 22, 2011

Its amazing what a spring pack can do, I had stock springs on my Suzuki Samurai, then went for a ride in a buddies with old man emu high capacity springs. His higher spring rate spring rode so much better than mine. Some of it was the teflon pads between the leaves, some was keeping the main pack off the overload for more of the travel.