What Is An Air Suspension?

An air suspension simply replaces the springs of a vehicle (whether it be coil, , etc) with air springs. Instead of a coil spring, you have a rubber membrane which is inflated with air, which the vehicle is resting on. The pressurized air is what is holding the vehicle up. This video will compare rolling lobe air springs versus convoluted springs, open versus closed air spring systems, and look at the advantages and disadvantages of air suspension systems.

The benefits of an air suspension include:
1. Ingress/Egress: Ram 1500 has a specific mode which lowers the truck as much as possible for getting in or out. It doesn’t drive at speed at this ride height.
2. Off-road use. There are two modes for raising the suspension, which is great for off-road use as it increases the ground clearance, approach angle, breakover angle, and departure angle of the vehicle.
3. Better aerodynamics. The Ram 1500 will automatically lower when driving on the highway to reduce drag and improve fuel economy.
4. Load-leveling. If you put a significant amount of weight in the truck bed, steel springs means the rear will now ride lower. With load leveling the truck will automatically raise the truck bed to the targeted ride height.
5. Improved ride quality. This is a byproduct of how the system behaves. As you increase payload, the system increase pressure to maintain a set ride height. By increasing the pressure, it increases the spring rate. This maintains a fairly constant ride frequency, which means the truck will feel pretty much the same from a comfort standpoint regardless of how much weight it’s carrying. In this scenario, the volume within the airbag remains constant, while the pressure increases with added load.
6. Prevent getting high-centered. Some off-road vehicles equipped with air suspensions will have a mode that lifts the vehicle further than it’s highest ride height in order to allow it to not get stuck. In the event of getting high centered, the vehicle will raise to attempt to allow you to back up off the obstacle.