Airbags? Maintenance and up keep

The idea behind spring helpers is to prevent squat. Squat takes weight off the front axle, which makes steering lighter and front brakes less effective. Squat also puts more undesirable weight on the rear axle.

If anything, it stops assholes that tow from blinding everyone with their headlights pointed to the sky!

They aren't perfect and aren't for everyone. 40psi unladen is like having a rock for a leaf spring. No dampening helps that.

 

I am skeptical that squat changes the front-rear weight distribution significantly. The geometry of the system doesn’t change enough to shift the center of gravity rearward significantly. If you have a better analysis of it that says otherwise, please share.

The payload itself does for sure change the distribution. IMHO, the proper solutions to this problem are 1) do not overload your truck and 2) use a weight distribution hitch.

 

Nah I'm good, you don't seem to want to do any homework.

 

Well I think you should be skeptical as well then.

 

Air bags help transfer the load forward to prevent light steering and front brake lock up. Especially while towing.

Edit: I guess I should reload the page before responding. I end up missing alot of posts that go over this.

 

I’ve heard that claim before, but based on a simple analysis of the physics I am skeptical that it is true. I suspect it is a myth.

You can draw a simple static analysis diagram of the problem that shows that the center of gravity does not shift rearward very much when the rake only changes slightly. Draw a table where the legs represent the tires. Place a heavy weight on top of the table and assume it is so heavy that the center of gravity is at its center. Draw a dot at that point. Now draw another diagram where one leg is shorter that the other and observe how far the dot moves towards the shorter leg. Now compare this diagram to one where the weight is moved towards one of the legs, but the legs stay the same length. Which one changes the position of the center of gravity more?

You don’t have to actually draw the diagrams if a
Has anyone ever weighed both axles of their truck with and without the airbags engaged? I suspect there would be a small difference, but not enough to warrant the cost and drawbacks of the airbags (or add-a-leaf, stiffer leaf pack, etc).

Are there other possible advantages of air bags besides weight distribution?

 

The physics isn't wrong but there is a dynamic aspect to it as well. When there is more weight in the rear and little to no suspension travel downwards, hitting a bump forces energy to transfer forward lifting the front. This can make the steering and brakes unresponsive. Lifting the rear with airbags allows the suspension to absorb the bump rather than the chassis absorbing it.

 

I’m not familiar with the physics you are referring to. There are definitely dynamic effects of weight, but that is what shocks are for. Put in simple terms, springs control (static) ride height and shocks control (dynamic) motion.

I think the stock shocks are probably just fine for towing and hauling up to the limits Toyota publishes, but I have personally experienced that my truck porpoises less while towing my boat with king shocks compared to the stock SR5 and OR shocks.

I think that you are hitting the bump stops because of limited up travel, I think you might be over loaded (or driving recklessly), but springs might definitely be part of the solution

 

Yes, this dynamic transfer of motion comes into play when the shocks can not do their job so the chassis takes the bump instead. When the rear hits a bump, the suspension bottoms out and the chassis lifts instead. This lifted the front as well taking weight off the front and allowing the front suspension to drop. This action then reduces downward force on the front suspension and reduces traction, there for less steering and braking traction. Like a go-cart. A bump at the rear easily upsets the front.

 

Welp, rather than diving deeply into that discussion, like I already said, I think that if you are hitting the bump stops are overloaded and/or driving recklessly. In that case, upgrading the springs can be part of the solution combined with upgrading the shocks.

 

While not directly speaking about leaf springs, here is some food for thought about spring rates not coming out of my mouth.

https://accutuneoffroad.com/articles/coilover-spring-rates-for-toyota-tacoma-4runner/

 

And that is where airbags come in. They give a temporary upgrade to the leaf spring to help support the additional weight. Allowing the shock to perform the job it needs to do of absorbing motion. The benefit of the air bag is the ability to turn it off in a sense when not loaded and return the truck to an almost stock feel. Some people don't want to have heavy springs in thier trucks and change lanes ever time they cross paint lines.

 

Are you saying that airbags are for preventing the suspension from bottoming out when loading your truck beyond its GVWR or driving recklessly? If so, we could have a whole new discussion, however in the scope of this thread is the OP did not say he was doing either of those.

 

Yes, that is the idea. And the reason I originally responded to your statement of not seeing a reason for it. Whether it is the correct way to do it wasn't the point I was trying to make, it was just the reason behind it. I for one would just get a bigger truck that could handle the payload but that's me.

 

Yes I agree it sounds like a jerry rig solution to that problem which could turn into an entire new discussion. However, my scope in this thread was to understand or challenge the reasoning behind adding airbags to a truck that is still within the limits published by Toyota and within the limits I have experienced myself without thinking there was a problem to solve. I've had 200lbs in my bed while towing a 2300lb boat (estimated 230lb tongue weight) without airbags more than once and thought the truck did fine.

 

200 extra LBs of weight. It caused my truck to sag a bit. I’m taking a very long vacation next summer and was debating on changing my suspension possibly.

 

Why do you consider this sag an issue that needs to be solved? Are you hitting the bump stops? Do you not like how it looks aesthetically? What is your hub to fender measurement? Adding air bags or an AAL can have drawbacks like decreasing ride quality. A pickup tends to ride nicer with some weight in the back. You'd be potentially undoing that.

Personally I wanted a higher ride height for clearing the ground off-road; rather than for aesthetics. I also did not want to decrease my ride quality. Therefore I went with an OME Dakar medium leaf pack. One could do the same for aesthetic reasons.

 

I've had Firestone ride rites on my Tacoma for almost a year. They leak. 20 lbs to zero in about 4 days. I can't find the leak. I've crawled under there a million times. I've taken them to a garage who couldn't find the leak. They work great for the variable loads that I deal with regularly. But they leak. The suspension is really annoying when they're empty. I'm too lazy-- and annoyed-- to pump them up every 4 days.

Should I go on another crusade to find the leak? Or do I throw in the towel and buy progressive bump stops?

 

I’ve sprayed my entire air bag system with soapy water a couple of times and found no bubbles, but over time they seem to lose some air. They are small in volume and the roller coaster of temps definitely play a role in air pressure differences-just like our tires.

 

I run the Firestone airbags with Daystar cradles and it’s awesome towing my trailer and awesome offroad.

I usually keep 5-10 psi when not hooked up towing.

I have never done any maintenance per day except check the lines and spray down there with the pressure washer (holding at least 2ft away)

Wondering the purpose of the Daystar cradles?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r4QBG3izhyA