bags or juice

I have always done both because building suspensions has not only been my job for 20 years but my life. I've done both extensively. I've installed air just as long as hydraulics. We would make our own air kits back in the day using air shocks, a compressor, and direct fill them. Then a company called air lift starting making a kit to level out trucks hauling a lot of weight. It was just a little compressor that would direct fill two air bags bolted over the leafs. We would take these kits and make brackets to lift our trucks still using the direct fill method with no tanks for reserve. As time went on I started getting more educated on the industrial apps. and started using electric valves off heavy injection molding machines. With these valves I could now start using a reserve tank and not wait for my compressors to fill up my bags. Most of you guys couldn't even imagine plumbing your compressor straight to your bag and adjusting your lift by turning the compressor on and lowering it by manually opening a ball valve that we mounted outside back then. We wouldn't go up and down while driving because it was strictly to get it off the ground to drive. You would have to get out and open your valves when you parked to set it down.

The main reason for this back then was the cost. I could do air ride for just a few hundred dollars as compared to over a thousand for juice. I only installed this air on customers vehicles as a cost alternative to hydraulics. I had a demo truck I almost never drove because it was embarrassing pulling up to the spot were everyone else had juice. Most of the minitruck guys were kids with very little money and it was this(air) or nothing. I started taking my little demo air minitruck to shows with me instead of my juiced Regal and a lot of people liked it and wanted it done. To be different not because it was better than juice. Well the hydraulic guys would pull up, clown the hell out of the air guys, laugh, and make fun. This created the anti-juice crowd.

I always have installed both and to be honest I like installing and working on air because their is no oil to clean up and I stay a lot cleaner. If you

here are three reliable juice set ups. all with accumulaters and all daily driven. just put 400 miles on them today to go to a show ,check out the video's.

I have to agree with the dependability of hydraulics. My fear on road trips would be cracking a wheel, not hydraulic issues

Damn, Art of Noize has a LS and a towncar.Both black too.

AS you can see...someone was getting pulled over, but it wasn't me (thank GOD)

man i miss my juice, i cant wait to pull this fuckin air off my truck. nice vids too, great motivation

my hardbody i traded from a friend had juice. it was fun considering it was the first truck ive had with switches. it did seem however that the truck rode stiff as fuck like a metal drop but there was no accumulators either and also the front end needed aligment bad and thats why i traded it off. i liked the juice but it was not a great experience for me my first time and the maintenance got old quick for me keeping batteries charged and always had a solenoid going out or fitting leaking, give that the guy who owned it before me abused the truck a little.

im going with air on my yota just because ive liked how my buddy's s10 rides when im in it feels smooth to me. but i might try juice again we'll see.

It's been a long time since I've had hydraulics (late 90's or so) and I'm sure that alot has changed. What about gauges? I know some people must have them and some don't want them at all (with air). I am one who has grown to rely on my gauges to make sure I'm riding at a safe, level height. I had liquid filled gauges on my pumps but there was no way I would've been able to make them work inside without them being so gaudy.

Mr FAT_MAN,

What you described is exactly why so many people frown upon hydraulics. Everyone seems to have a story of an unreliable, poorly installed, terrible riding setup from some time in their life. Every time they even hear about juice that's all they think about and they automatically associate the two as a negative.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and with hydraulics the wrong way can make a turn for the worst quickly. There have been a lot of advances made in hydraulic industry over the last few years and I feel it is a stong alternative to bags for people who are willing to learn something new.