Weight Distribution

[Dallas]

Take her out on Lake Superior in the winter.... lots of room there, just don't run over any shacks! LOL

[WorkingOnWise]

Oh Man! I could charge admission for that ride!
And some of you here think the newlooks are junk! Pish Posh!

[superpickle]

Wow, you are WAY over thinking this. Skip a few ice cream cones, set the air bags to correct height and drive.

Todd

WOW"  simple, straight to the point, yet powerful in it's simplicity, Einsteinian even, pure genius. Todd you said more in 22 words or in 85 letters, than everything said by all of us, and all our words put together. So Todd I am awarding you on this day the 14th day of May in the year of our Lord 2007 "The Mega Atta Boy Award"  which is worth 50 of those little Atta Boys, plus three High Fives, and a slap on the back. If you were an athlete in your younger day and played Football, Baseball, or Basketball you can convert the back slap to a butt slap for old time sake.

WVaNative

Can we ALL give him a Butt slap 

Speaking of setting the Ride Hight, Which waty do you set them for a bit Softer ride.. I have the manuals but they dont tell you that..
Paul... T6H4521-271

[RJ]

Hmmmmm. . . . .

Speaking of setting the Ride Height, Which way do you set them for a bit Softer ride.. I have the manuals but they don't tell you that...

Paul... T6H4521-271

Paul -

The manuals don't tell you that because you're not setting up the ride for a Cadillac/Lincoln.  You're setting up the ride for an industrial piece of machinery, in this case, a transit bus.

Do you really think you can second-guess the team of factory engineers who designed the suspension system for your coach?

Set the ride height to the correct setting per the shop manual.  That's the setting for the best combination of ride quality and handling, as determined by the factory. 

And install new shocks. . .

BTW, the ride characteristics of a transit bus are quite different than those of a highway coach.  Guess which one rides "smoother". . . and why do you suppose so?  Especially if they're both air suspension systems. . .

FWIW & HTH. . .

[NJT 5573]

Air bags are similar to tires. Air bags have steel cords from top to bottom. Air bags do not have the capability to flex. Less air is less ride height, more air is more ride height PERIOD.

[JackConrad]

    I have had people tell that changing the ride height affected the handling on their buses. I do not remember waht make or model these buses were, but this should probably be considered.  Jack

[kyle4501]

Air bags are similar to tires. Air bags have steel cords from top to bottom. Air bags do not have the capability to flex. Less air is less ride height, more air is more ride height PERIOD.

The Firestone design guide mentioned fabric plys but not steel cords. Air bags DO FLEX. They are air springs & changing the air pressure changes the spring rate. It is this that makes them great for buses, you can change the spring rate to suit the load - full of passangers or just a few. The ride height valves do this automatically.

Here is the link to the design guide:
http://www.firestoneindustrial.com/pdfs/OE/AirideDG.pdf

Maybe this can explain air bags well enough to answer the questions, seems there is more to it than some realize 

[RJ]

Kyle -

Great link - thanks for sharing!


NJT5573 -

"Air bags do not have the capability to flex."

So you're saying that springs (like leaf, coil steel or air) don't flex? 

Wow, learn something new every day. . .