I think I saw this somewhere, but is better to fix the air suspension or upgrade to shocks?

 

It's all in what your end goal, moving forward is. Do you want to continue to maintain the adjustability? or install something which will net you years of, "Set it, and Forget it" type of suspension.
I myself, have that conversation with myself, often lol


PS: If you want to fix your suspension, you can go with Original Manufacturer Equipment, or Tried & True aftermarket bags, such as Arnott Industries

 

Well maybe you or others can help me decide. I do not take it off-road at all and am looking for a normal comfortable road ride. When I switch it now, to be honest, I can't really feel any difference. I do like keeping it stock but am not married to it. So, what do you think?

 

From what I understand, you can't make adjustments on the fly and expect to feel a difference. I believe you have to be stopped(Aka, not driving at the time of adjustment). Also try different days, or within 15-30 minutes in between adjustments(I also try to cycle the ecu, aka turn it off, wait said time frame, and then switch to a different setting). It may be a placebo effect but that's just me.

So with that being said, IF you don't take it off-road then stick to what you like best, and that is comfortability. Stock height and maintaining the adjustments.

PS: You can also lift it at a later time, should you feel the need for adventures/adventuring.

 

Thanks. That gives me a few things to try and a direction to go in.

 

Here is how I look at it. These vehicles are now over a decade old and are going to need repairs, plus general maintenance. You can either replace the factory bags for a premium and retain stock functionality or do a conversion and not worry about them again. You also run the risk of replacing the bags and then another air suspension component failing.

I personally am going to do a metal tech conversion and be done with it. The savings vs OEM bags is going to go to other maintenance items like spark plugs and fluid changes.

 

Off-roading isn't the only advantage of having the height-adjustable suspension. It's also useful when towing, so the rear of the vehicle doesn't squat.

And if you don't tow - no reason to keep the bags.

Chip H.

 

The air suspension on my 2005 GX is still fine, but my thinking is that, when it does need new air bags or other components, I will not replace the air bags. Considering the relatively small re-sale/trade value of a Generation 1 GX at this point, I can't justify spending what it would cost, compared to going with shocks.

 

I had a blown airbag at 165k. Decided to replace with OEM because I wanted to keep the soft ride and sail down the road. Bought them off ebay cause they are much cheaper that way. The ones that I bought were OEM. 6 months later one of the bags started to leak. I contacted the ebay seller regarding the warranty and no reply.
This time I still want to maintain the 'sailing down the road', but not with OEM from ebay and I don't want to spend a fortune buying them from dealers. So after some research and recommendations from GXOR group in FB and here on the forum, I decided to go with Arnott air springs. As per users, the Arnotts have a good reputation and quite a lot of GX owners run them. I was told that the ride quality would be the same.
So... I'm ordering them from rockauto soon.
I think, if you want to go with air bags, Arnott would be the best option after OEMs. I just don't want to buy them off ebay again.

 

I would argue that the air bag suspension is not an advantage for off-roading, but rather another thing that could break and leave you stranded on the trail. You never, ever see any hardcore offroading builds retain the airbags. Only for towing is there an advantage IMO.

I converted to rear coils a few years ago, and I was very happy with the results. I've since installed a Dobinsons 1.5F/1R lift with their twin tube shocks (comfort valved in rear), and the ride quality is better than stock. It's firmer than stock, but never harsh, with the additional benefit of decreased body roll/dive/squat, and deals with heavy loads with ease. I have not yet done any towing with the Dobinsons setup, but I don't expect there would be any issues. The stiffer spring rate should help with any squat from tongue weight.

 

I have about 125K miles now. What is the range when the air bags would fail? I believe someone mention 165K. Also, is a symptom of failure a leaning car? Thanks.

 

I have 123,000 miles and the car has developed an uneven lean on the passengers side each night. It's due to cracks in the air bag. Each morning during warm up the bags refill and it sits correctly. So yes to your question about leaning.

I dont know about lifetime of the bags but I would assume that factors like climate and vehicle use impact that. Again, it's not just the bags that could go out there are a lot of other system components. That's why I'm going with the coil conversion with stock height spring .

 

Huh? Do you have a source?