A4 Avant Air Suspension: Bag Experts Please Help

[dub c]

Background info: Current Subaru owner, thinking its time for something new.

I am not too familiar with the Audi scene so I thought this would be a good place to get to know it.
I am really interested in going with an air suspension setup on a A4 Avant.
Can anybody give me any good information towards choosing a setup and what all is involved? (I.e. c-notching to stop axels from hitting the frame, best bags/struts, etc)
What kind of pricing should I expect?

I really admire the Rotoform B8 A4 and the work Dorbritz Designs did on the suspension.
Also, regarding wheel fitment... I know cars like the Rotoform B8 have their wells rolled but are they pulled as well?
And how difficult is it to fit big/wide wheels (19x10 and 19x11; fairly aggressive offsets).

If anybody could point me in the right direction on how to achieve a setup like the Rotoform A4 I would really appreciate it.


Picture of the Rotoform B8 A4 Avant:

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[ItsDubC]

Welcome! T-Audi and Wolfs9 have their B8s on bags, you could try PMing them.

Now get off my username

[Greedo]

My suggestion: have patience and wait. There are only two companies that make specific kits for Audis at the moment, and that is Bagyard who is distributed by Open Road Tuning and MasonTech. Why I say wait? Because both of those companies have some of the worst service you will ever experience. I wouldn't even consider MasonTech since it's a one-man show; that tends to mean you'll be waiting for ages after shelling out a couple grand on just your bags. Bagyard makes a solid product, but the challenge you will face is dealing with a couple of morons at ORT who have no business being in business. They have no financial overhead so you need to order your bags and then wait for them to be built in Austria and then sent by sea so expect to dump around $2k plus for bags alone and wait about 3 months to receive your product. After that, you never know how the experience will be since ORT tends to drop the ball on orders rather frequently (ie providing the wrong product or shipping the wrong order to the wrong customer). Additionally, both companies are extremely overpriced; you can build a comparable kit with universal air aero bags up front and Slam Specialties or Firestone bags in the rear for about $700-1000 less; this just requires patience and having someone that knows what they are doing build them for you (the fronts; rears are simpler). Another thing to take into consideration is this: bags can blow (granted it rarely happens), but if and when it does expect the same slow paced service from ORT and MasonTech that you had the first time round. I'm not sure about you, but I don't want to wait 3 months for a replacement bag and a car that's out of commission due to a blown bag.

It has been rumored that AirLift will be producing a kit for Audis, but that has not been confirmed by AirLift itself (at least last time I checked a few weeks ago).

Management systems are easy to come by and I suggest piecing your own together; these "kits" that companies are trying to sell will run you around $100-400 more. I always though kits were pieced together to help you save, but not with air ride.

So would I do air ride with the available brands on the market right now? Hell no. I wouldn't give a penny of my money to these useless clowns that call themselves businessmen and wait for AirLift to produce something for us. There's a reason they've been in the air ride business for as long as they have; tried and true products and good service.

[Blake P]

Yeah, there are so few members here running bags that you'll likely have better luck PM'ing them (especially Rotiform, since you like their setup so much). Here's my car on Photoshop brand airbags...

[dub c]

Welcome! T-Audi and Wolfs9 have their B8s on bags, you could try PMing them.
Now get off my username

Thanks man, I just PM'd them.
Hahaha I've been rocking that nickname since high school.

So would I do air ride with the available brands on the market right now? Hell no. I wouldn't give a penny of my money to these useless clowns that call themselves businessmen and wait for AirLift to produce something for us. There's a reason they've been in the air ride business for as long as they have; tried and true products and good service.

Great info. Yeah, I was looking into the Bagyard ones. I didn't realize that Mason and Open Road were so small. I'm used to ordering parts and receiving them in a week or two haha.
So Airlift may or may not produce a kit for the B8's?
Thanks for the help.

Yeah, there are so few members here running bags that you'll likely have better luck PM'ing them (especially Rotiform, since you like their setup so much). Here's my car on Photoshop brand airbags...

You should definitely bag your car, that looks unreal.
I didn't realize Rotiform had an account on here, I emailed them but I may as well send them a PM too.
Thanks for the info.

[Greedo]

I'd get in contact with Chris at AirLift and see if he can shed some light on a kit for our cars. His email is [email protected].

Also, if you check out VWVortex they have a section for air ride. You can and should read up there. Quite a few people on there suggest BagRiders for parts (ie management, etc). I would steer clear of them. It took me over two weeks just to get a reply to an email inquiring about an air setup. Two weeks I should have an answered question and product on my door step, not an empty inbox. AirAssisted is another company that posts over there. Kevin is a nice guy and knows his stuff about air, but he's not very familiar with Audi kits (just an fyi).

Even though AirLift makes a management kit (the Easy Street Auto Pilot system), I'd look at AccuAir VU-4 valve block. I find that their manifold is a nicer than the Auto Pilot. You can go with the full E-Level , but if you don't need all the bells and whistles you can run the VU-4 valve block with the SwitchSpeed controller and add a monitoring system (I'd suggest the Dakota Digital Odyssey since you can run digital pressure sensors with it).

[Greg Nelson]

Yeah, there are so few members here running bags that you'll likely have better luck PM'ing them (especially Rotiform, since you like their setup so much). Here's my car on Photoshop brand airbags...

Would make an interesting ride on CA-99's concrete slab with gap surface
Wear your cup
Cheers

[dub c]

I'd get in contact with Chris at AirLift and see if he can shed some light on a kit for our cars. His email is [email protected].

Also, if you check out VWVortex they have a section for air ride. You can and should read up there. Quite a few people on there suggest BagRiders for parts (ie management, etc). I would steer clear of them. It took me over two weeks just to get a reply to an email inquiring about an air setup. Two weeks I should have an answered question and product on my door step, not an empty inbox. AirAssisted is another company that posts over there. Kevin is a nice guy and knows his stuff about air, but he's not very familiar with Audi kits (just an fyi).

Even though AirLift makes a management kit (the Easy Street Auto Pilot system), I'd look at AccuAir VU-4 valve block. I find that their manifold is a nicer than the Auto Pilot. You can go with the full E-Level , but if you don't need all the bells and whistles you can run the VU-4 valve block with the SwitchSpeed controller and add a monitoring system (I'd suggest the Dakota Digital Odyssey since you can run digital pressure sensors with it).

Awesome, I emailed their customer service address earlier but I'll shoot Chris an email as well.
I was looking at the AccuAir systems, they seem to be fairly nice and popular as well. I like the features they provide.
Have you heard anything about Dorbritz Designs? They did the work on the Rotiform Audi and I think they supply product.
I was searching Youtube randomly and came across a B8 A4 on G.A.S air bags, has anybody heard of G.A.S before? (A German company)

[ItsDubC]

Thanks man, I just PM'd them.
Hahaha I've been rocking that nickname since high school.

lol, same here man. No worries I just remembered that another forum member is on bags but he doesn't post very often and I believe he wrecked his car anyway, but he may have more info. I'll see if I can locate his username.

EDIT:

lol, he hasn't been on AZ since early last year but I found him: A4ke

Here's his ride way back in '08:


http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...hlight=slammed

[Greedo]

Awesome, I emailed their customer service address earlier but I'll shoot Chris an email as well.
I was looking at the AccuAir systems, they seem to be fairly nice and popular as well. I like the features they provide.
Have you heard anything about Dorbritz Designs? They did the work on the Rotiform Audi and I think they supply product.
I was searching Youtube randomly and came across a B8 A4 on G.A.S air bags, has anybody heard of G.A.S before? (A German company)

I can't say I know much about Dorbitz other than they make the brackets for the rear bags. I know they use their own variation of the S10 cups that you can buy from almost any air ride supply company. My personal suggestion on the rear setup (depending on which route you go) is to avoid a dual convolution bag. They are designed to handle around 2500lbs each and the back of an Audi can't even weigh half of that. I'd look at using a sleeve style bag setup since they are designed for a lighter load. You'll get a smoother ride out of them.

As for G.A.S., I have heard of them and have seen a few of their cars online, but I don't think you can get any of their products here in the NA. They have a sick green A6 avant they did.

[Wolfs9]

Hi there !

I'm on G.A.S bags and i must say there awesome !
Quality is super .. So is there service !
Check this out : www.t-s.be a belgium firm that uses this brand!
in the gallery you see lots cars with gas !
The green a6 you mention is also a creation of a belgium firm ..
The A4 seen on YouTube is probably mine?
I might be looking to sell my set ..
To get back to stock and go back to my old love : Old cars :)
Any questions ? Please ask!
Grtzzz

[dub c]

From Ben @ Air Lift

Hey,
Thanks for the inquiry.
I talked with our engineers and they indicated that they will be developing some kits for the Audi in the near future.
They have been busy with the release of our VW kits and finishing that up and will be moving on to the Audi. It will be some time off, but development has started.

So hopefully development doesn't take too long since the VW setups are very similar to Audi's.

[guy013]

Hi there !

I'm on G.A.S bags and i must say there awesome !
Quality is super .. So is there service !
Check this out : www.t-s.be a belgium firm that uses this brand!
in the gallery you see lots cars with gas !
The green a6 you mention is also a creation of a belgium firm ..
The A4 seen on YouTube is probably mine?
I might be looking to sell my set ..
To get back to stock and go back to my old love : Old cars :)
Any questions ? Please ask!
Grtzzz

How much would your setup cost new and what would you be willing to let it go for? :)

Thanks!

[Wolfs9]

My set was 3000€ new without fittment ..
I would let it go for 2000€ excl shipment ..

Grtzzz

[hiwords1]

http://www.airbagit.com/product-p/fbs-aud-08-kit.htm

[jacx920]

have balls, thats what you need for a bag system.

[darkstar]

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM AIR BAG IT OR AM AIL INDUSTRIES OR CHASSIS TECH!!!!!! they are your worst nightmare! i have a long history in air suspension i never used them and never will! i like Ride Tech's products you can contact [email protected] see what he can do for you..

[T-Audi]

I got mine from Airbagit.com i ran into some lil problems but over all everythings work great.easy to install pretty much is plug and play.

[dub c]

Wow!
That is slammed like crazy.
What problems did you run into with the Airbagit? ...If you dont mind me asking.

[T-Audi]

Wow!
That is slammed like crazy.
What problems did you run into with the Airbagit? ...If you dont mind me asking.

They sent me the wrong rear bag brackets,and a coupe bad oil pressure senor for the digital gauge wasn't good but everything was sent to me next day air no charge.They pretty kool.Im happy with my airbag kit.I installed it my self too so that save me some money.I work on cars so i know what i was doing.That's what i do for a living.

[Greg Nelson]

T-Audi,
Does Houston have a "Lowriders: The Art Of Low and Show" event?
I just read in the AAA magazine of one in Sacramento,CA in October.
There must be many Tejanos (Tex-Mex) in Houston area.
Question is, can you 'bounce' your ride?
Cheers

[T-Audi]

T-Audi,
Does Houston have a "Lowriders: The Art Of Low and Show" event?
I just read in the AAA magazine of one in Sacramento,CA in October.
There must be many Tejanos (Tex-Mex) in Houston area.
Question is, can you 'bounce' your ride?
Cheers

Hahaha,No i can not bounce my ride.Why would i wanna do that?Do you want your car to bounce?

[dub c]

How long did it take for the kit to ship once you ordered it?
Do you know if the bags/kit you ordered would work on an avant?
And did you have to c-notch your frame up front to keep your axels from hitting the frame?
Is the install pretty straight forward?

[darkstar]

AIM industries and airbagit.com stuff is garbage you have a nice looking car but thats like slapping a set of APC racing seats and a boost gauge in your car. Do yourself a favor and just google AIM industries before you go dropping some cash on suspension parts.


Thread from on of the forums i am on.
http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2732

another thread
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=144803

another
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f125/a...stries-377613/

another
http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/prob...ies-94422.html


Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oXSInkHZHY

[T-Audi]

You won't know til you try it.I have done it and it works fine for me.Maybe some people don't know what they are doing.Get it?Hehehe!