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Firestone Air Bags on slightly lowered rear

6881 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Sundie
I have been a fan of the 2wd level truck for awhile. 4x4 is not a big necessity in AZ so when i got my 2011 Ecoboost I put a leveling kit in the rear that is just a shackle the changes the leaf mount location.....
but that creates the issue with a load or trailer making it sag like an S10 hauling concrete so I installed some Ride Rite bags from Firestone. It helped with the appearance but now it rides really rough. I've tried everywhere from no air to 30 psi and it seems to ride the best at around 20 psi, but that brings the rear end almost back up to stock height. ...sigh....

I know that the air bags aren't supposed to affect ride at 5psi, but it is most definitely noticeably worse and I'm sure it's because of the new mounting point on the leafs. My pregnant wife is the first to tell me that. :)

So, on to my question.....Would an aftermarket shocks clean up that rough ride(i.e bilstein gas shocks) or is there some way to lower the bracket on the air bag cuz I do notice there is a bit of space under the bag mount between the leaf and the mount.

And I also have an afterthought. I had to tow my mother in laws car home from the mountains on Wednesday the 3rd so I pulled the car hauler the 90 miles to the break down spot and towed the loaded trailer back and the truck did great. It is an extremely up and down drive that proved to be the killer to several cars that we saw on the way up there. It is after all AZ and it was between 100 and 110 the whole drive. Truck didn't miss a beat. And as for the bags for towing they work tremendously well.

Anyway, I appreciate any ideas.
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Try pulling the valve stem core out of the fill line and give it a drive for being an unloaded experience. Even with the air pressure at 0 there is air trapped in the bag. With the valve core out of the stem there is no trapped air as the open valve will work as an exhaust for the trapped air to escape. At least it works that way in my mind.

Another route maybe to replace the rear shocks with a shorter shock. By dropping the rear end 2" to get a level stance you have already reduced the amount of bottom damper by 2" of the factory shocks. Again, just thinking out loud.
Those are good ideas. I will try that.
Let me know if that helps out any. I may need your feedback once I get my Air Lift bags installed on mine.

By the way, I have been meaning to tell you....Great looking truck. The White and black contrast is a perfect balance on your truck.
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