Old mechanic going to try to bag my eldorado...

[atvsmurf]

First post and I have a couple of questions...My 1995 eldorado's front struts are dying...I have 2 choices on the swap...go with a factory type replacement strut with the universal strut bag over it....or go with one of the pre-made air bag strut that either drop into mmy hacked old strut or come with the brackets and tabs already welded on...for someone that can cut and weld fine, and had build a few different suspension setups from jacked up to slammed back in the day...which would be the better route to go? cost and end result....
As far as an air management setup....how good or crappy are the viair double compressor with the 7 or 9 switch setups that are running around 6-7 hundred bucks, on ebay??? thanks, John Pikeville KY

[LuckyBoyOne3]

with UAS bags and anything "universal" there comes a lot of measuring into play. bag diameter is a huge problem especially with wheel to bag interference... so my advice... measure, then measure, measure after that, then measure some more. take in ALL clearance factors, top, bottow, wheel, inner fenders... EVERYTHING.

Next question was the Viair dual compressor setups, they are what most people run, I personally like to sell my customers Air Zenith Compressors, the output of 1 is more then 2 of the 480's.

eBay air kits? You get what you pay for, either pay for it now, or down the road. stay away from air bag it dot com its all shit. Look into Air Lift Digital Auto Pilot V.2... Best bang for the buck. or a accuair manifold with 7 switches and guages. When you buy from reputable companies, they stand behind their pruduct, so keep that in mind when you are making your decisions on what products to purchase.

[Alex@BagRiders]

with UAS bags and anything "universal" there comes a lot of measuring into play. bag diameter is a huge problem especially with wheel to bag interference... so my advice... measure, then measure, measure after that, then measure some more. take in ALL clearance factors, top, bottow, wheel, inner fenders... EVERYTHING.

Next question was the Viair dual compressor setups, they are what most people run, I personally like to sell my customers Air Zenith Compressors, the output of 1 is more then 2 of the 480's.

eBay air kits? You get what you pay for, either pay for it now, or down the road. stay away from air bag it dot com its all shit. Look into Air Lift Digital Auto Pilot V.2... Best bang for the buck. or a accuair manifold with 7 switches and guages. When you buy from reputable companies, they stand behind their pruduct, so keep that in mind when you are making your decisions on what products to purchase.

^ I agree with everything stated here.

In addition to that, you said that you were okay with welding. You might want to consider going with one of Air Lift's Crafter Packs to make your own struts up front. The struts are generally $745 for a pair and they come with everything you see in the picture below.

[atvsmurf]

Good info... I like the flexibility of the air lift setup... I am good on figuring out what sizebags I can fit under it...but could you give me an idea of what weight to use? my car weighs over 4000 lbs without me or any extra equipment in it...not sure of weight distribution, but it is gonna be nose heavy....Keep in mind, I never have used bags before...so any tips on what to buy as far as the capacity of the bags? thanks!!!

[atvsmurf]

So after looking over my suspension today, I think I will just replace my struts with monroe's conversion kit and throw the universal strut bags on there...stock spring is 8" diameter top to bottom, so it will clear easily..The tire to lower spring mount is around 2", so if I go up any size on my wheels, I will need that space....so using the air lift setup wouldn't really help me any, as I would end up sitting the mount to the same height anyway... the rear springs are just over 5" diameter, so I will have to find a narrow bag I am guessing that 5" would be pretty narrow for a bag...so can anyone tell me what capacity I need to look for for the rear bags? this setup should drop me down to 5" when the bags are collapsed, which wont tuck my wheeels unless i go up in size..., but the tires will be stuffed

[Alex@BagRiders]

Do you have struts in the rear or is it a separate spring and shock? Sorry I am not familiar with the Eldorado suspension design.

[atvsmurf]

Separate shock and spring setup.

[Alex@BagRiders]

The Slam Specialties SS-5 and RE-5 bags have a maximum diameter of 5.5". If you can fit either an SS-6 or RE-6 (which have a max diameter of 6"), it would ride better as the 5 series can cause a stiffer ride on a heavy car like your Eldorado.

[atvsmurf]

good info..I will measure more carefully, and try to pull the spring to measure thru the range of motion as well...thanks!!!