STANCE|WORKS - An Open Discussion - Bagged or Static? Which is better?

[Rally]

An Open Discussion - Bagged or Static? Which is better?

It's one of those discussions that always comes up. Here at StanceWorks, we want to hear what YOU guys think. Do you prefer the comfortable ride and ability to lay your car on the ground with bags? Or do you think bags are cheating and stick to the daily scrapes of the static lifestyle? Are you after the performance of coils or are bags the only way to a complete car? Why did you choose the suspension that you did?

Check out the most recent article on the StanceWorks homepage where Mike and I begin the discussion. Please take a moment to share your opinion in the comment section down at the bottom and let us know why you've chosen the suspension route that you did. Lets hear what the community thinks about the different methods of getting low.

Click here to read the article and join in on the S|W discussion.

[Dudermagee]

I think both have their place.
but i prefer static.
That said, i will be getting the cup kit from broadway suspension/fortune auto

[Daffy]

I think it really depends on what you're doing. Bags are definitely improving tenfold every year, but they're just not to the standard of other track suspensions. I would much rather trust lowering springs or coilovers if I was tracking my car. Whereas in the show world bags definitely win my vote. Sure coilovers are a hell-of-alot more impressive, but why spend the money on constantly repairing your car from riding low static when you could just put it towards a bag setup? My car has already cost me $1500 worth of damage and I'm honestly about to go the same route as _add!ct and bag my 135i. Especially since bags are becoming more and more commercialized and easier to find for nearly every platform.

Both have their ups and downs, and I think it'd be very hard to come to a definite conclusion on this debate. Trust me, I've seen people try over and over again and I'm sure everyone else has too.

Throws $0.02 on the floor and walks away.

[POMAH]

my first venture into getting lowered were a set of FK's silverline coilovers, a little later (less then 6 months) I went for air ride, and tell you what, hopefully I'm never going back

the adjustability alone is worth waaaaaaay more

I've seen, read, and heard about people damaging, even destroying their cars because of a low static ride height, and I simply didn't want to be that guy

both setups have their ups and downs, maintenance and price wise, but I think bags provide a lot more satisfaction

as far as shows etc, bagged cars hold their own, all it takes is a push of a button, and watch those jaws drop!

talk about damaged pans is one thing, but when something breaks and catches fire - you are done - and it won't matter if you are static or bagged -so whatever you do, exercise caution, please!

[Nick475]

seeing static cars roll real low is pretty sick. but i love when things lay the frame on the ground. so bagged for me

[martinm13]

I have 2 bagged cars now and I have had static cars in the past. My feeling is one of indifference on this matter. I think that certain cars need static suspension and certain cars need air ride/hydros. I don't think that one is better than the other in terms of technology or quality. It's all about the application.

If you are building a car to go fast/track/whatever, it should have a solid set of coilovers. They are simpler, have less stuff that can go wrong and no matter what an air ride company tells you, they are still going to handle the best in a track driving situation.

If you want a car to be functional and usable for daily driving, bags seem like the way to go. You can easily get over obstacles, you can still drive your car low, you can park even lower and if you want to drive hard, a good air ride setup wont hold you back.

I know there are guys who are all about being hard and looking bad ass because their car doesn't raise up and they have to drag their ass over every obstacle. These guys are dedicated, I have been there and it just gets old.

[Evil Panda]

seeing static cars roll real low is pretty sick. but i love when things lay the frame on the ground. so bagged for me

Agreed.

[99sil-teg]

This could be discussed till we all go blue in the face. Everyone has their own tastes, just like why we could argue new vs old or jdm vs euro. When it comes down to it, all that matters is who is paying for the mods lol.

[Skraight.]

I agree with most opinions here.

When it comes to static its usually the cheaper route, or the route for a track/performance oriented car. You also get more props usually for going crazy low static.

Bags however just make things so much simpler and easier to live with, after having both on a daily, bags are definitely the way to go unless its a track only car in my opinion. The only issue that comes with bags is usually the price and more things that can go wrong.

[MikeyRa]

It's really about the car and how it's used to me. When it comes to a S-Chassis, E30, or any other "drivers" car, I would go static and make the vehicle handle like it is on rails. On the ride side of things, my daily driver W124 coupe is getting the bagged treatment. The Benz is covered in leather, wood grain, power everything, and even though it's 23 years old, it's still a luxury car. It's nice to have the stiff, nibble shut up and don't lift car for spirited days and a car me and the ol' lady can throw our bags in the trunk and take of for a weekend getaway.

[martinm13]

More stuff can go wrong with bags but I will say this: the first time I did an air ride setup, it was god awful. Wiring everywhere and messy, kinda worked, cheaped out on most things. There was constantly some little problem I had to fix. Fast forward to 3 cars later and I have a full e-level system with flared fittings and hardlines, airlift struts, proper shocks, etc and it is pretty much 100% problem free. I took my time installing it and I have learned what not to do along the way. With coilovers, if you install them properly you should have next to no issues.

[Alexridesabike]

A clean car is a clean car. If the ride looks good bags vs static makes no difference to me. Like everyone says there's certain applications where static is better and certain applications where bags are better. I'm running static on both my cars but eventually I would like to go bags but that's a long ways away.

[andybob]

Depends on the car really or how well you can deal or not deal with damage from riding static.

I think all the little mishaps from riding low static are almost like badges of honor. Paint chips, scrape marks, dented subframes, bacon'd fenders, it's something I think other static people can appreciate.

[Rebounder]

either way is good as long it's not just to whore hashtags or titles of "static" or "bagged".

[kbuss]

I like them both. I don't think there is anything cooler than seeing a car air out and laying frame. But, you have to give credit where credit is do; static guys who roll slammed is a sight to see. Seeing sparks fly and metal shredding is just mad and that's how static slammed guys roll on a daily basis. Air is convenient, static is ballsy.

My $0.02!