Air Suspension Choices?

[Andy73]

I have a problem with my back end sagging on my 94 Civic LX 4dr. I need to replace the struts and springs and get something that I can adjust for the extra weight I carry in the back. I drive all day for my job and the roads are sometimes dirt/gravel with major pot holes. I frequently bottom out the back end and wear out tires faster than normal because of the bad camber alignment. I think air struts or air bags would solve my problems and also give me a smooth ride on these horrible roads. I was only able to find 3 companies online that sold air suspension for my 94, streetbeatcustoms.com and airbagit.com and suspensionconnection.com... I want to save as much money as possible so I was wondering if anyone knew of other companies that carry air suspension, there's gotta be more than 3 choices!! Thanks

[Andy73]

How do I move this posting to the Civic section instead of the Del Sol? I have no idea why it put it over here???

[Raley]

Its fine here, we all look everywhere. Sorry i cant be more held and i dont think any of our members can help with air. Stiffer strings would help with weight though.

[Xeryon]

bags are useful for show cars but I doubt they would be of any use for backcountry driving. Sounds like you need a more capable vehicle, or at the very least redistribute some of your equipment load to the front and back seats to spread the weight out more evenly.

 

My guess is that if you are hauling that much on rough terrain you bent the lower or upper control arms which is what is causing the rear to sag more then it should. Throwing bags or stiffer springs at it really wouldn't fix the problem.

[Andy73]

I use this vehicle because it saves me a lot of money on gas. I drive about 40K miles a year for work and another 15K for personal. I have a 2011 Honda CR-V that I drive when there's snow but it gets 26pmg vs the 40mpg in the civic. The civic saves me $10-$15 per day in gas, plus I like driving it. The civic has 205K on it and all the control arms are fine, I just replaced the trailing arm bushings and I can tell that about 2 weeks ago the left rear strut must have lost all its strength. The cheap fix would be to get new struts and find stiffer springs, but I can't find stiffer springs anywhere that I know will work. You guys know of anything? Otherwise, I at least know that air bags would let me adjust the suspension to the right height and I heard the ride is better than just stiffining up everything.????

[DelSolSweetie]

and what happens when you break the air ride ?

 

 

the air suspensions made for your car are for looks and only looks.. those probably are the only 3 people who make it because its not in high demand

 

if your that worried about gas but need something besides a honda try to find an older pickup.. pref. maybe a diesal for mpg.. they get good mileage and are actually made to haul stuff.. your civic is not rated for an excessive amount of weight

 

 

[Xeryon]

You just don't have a lot of choices really. If ride height is the primary concern and not capacity you can work with that. Larger wheels or tires would help but it would lower your mpg and change your speedometer readings, you could install an adjustable coilover suspension kit. some of them allow you to add 1-2" in height as well as lower up to 3" but the coilover systems are much more stiff than stock so ride quality suffers.. offroad supply shops have an assortment of tricks for raising height, such as spring wedges and spacers. those would raise you, but may make the car unstable at higher speeds.