Air suspension replaces traditional struts and shock absorbers with air shock absorbers, allowing for a more adjustable ride. These systems have air tanks, air struts, air lines, air compressors, and manifolds.
Shock Absorbers: Shock absorbers are the devices that actually control the movement of your vehicle's suspension under driving conditions. Properly set shock absorbers provide precise and predictable control of your vehicle; whether cruising, accelerating, braking or cornering. In air suspension systems, shocks are also important for other reasons. Since air is compressible and air springs are essentially flexible pressure vessels, the spring stiffness will vary. This change depends on the height of the spring and the internal pressure. In most cases, this change, along with the inability of the air springs to cushion shocks, results in the vehicle constantly bouncing after hitting an uneven road surface. Bouncing can unload the tire and make maneuvering difficult, if not dangerous. The shock dampens potential bounce and the suspension quickly returns to normal, keeping the tire's contact patch firmly pressed to the road. This in itself allows the driver to maintain control.
An air suspension system is a suspension system that replaces the factory shocks and struts with air shocks that allow for adjustable ride height. Some vehicles are available with air suspension from the factory, but we can discuss that in a later article. In this article, we will focus on aftermarket air suspension systems.
The air suspension system consists of an air compressor, air tank, manifold, air lines and air struts. There are some miscellaneous items, but these will be the main components. These components work together to draw air in, pressurize it, and send it to each air strut. An air strut is a strut equipped with air bags that inflate to raise the vehicle and deflate to lower the vehicle. These air suspension systems can be controlled via a smartphone app or a wired/wireless controller, depending on your specific setup.
Air suspension has many different uses, depending on what the end user wants to achieve. Air suspension systems are highly versatile and can be used in many different ways.
1.Adjustable Ride Height for Display Purposes - One of the most common uses of air suspension is to ventilate a vehicle. This means that the car owner just wants his vehicle to reach a certain attitude, but does not want to always drive at this height. Air suspension makes this very easy due to its dynamic adjustability.
2.Prevents truck from squatting while towing/hauling - Another popular use of air suspension is to prevent the rear of a truck from squatting while towing or hauling. Trucks can be equipped with air shocks in the rear to inflate when the truck is carrying a heavy load. This helps keep the truck level, reducing stress on components like the driveshaft, and helps improve fuel economy and wind resistance.
3.Raising/lowering the vehicle for specific purposes- Last but not least is the use of air suspension for specific purposes. If you need an electronically controlled adjustable suspension to clear obstacles or allow items to be loaded into the vehicle, an air suspension system can be a great addition to make life easier.