Welcome to AirRide.

It is now too late to place orders for full made-to-order kits for delivery by Christmas.

Orders can still be placed for delivery in the new year and we will be operating a skeleton service over the holiday period for technical advice and for orders placed for in stock items.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all clients for their business throughout the year and to wish everyone well for the holiday period and coming year.

After the first stages of refurbishment and restructuring we are fully open for orders again. Due to the complex nature of many enquiries and price checking required it is usually best if you know what you want to email your enquiry and we can issue a quote.

If you are less sure what you want then a phone call is a productive way to obtain our advice.

Either way we are always happy to try and help whether it be a few parts or a full kit.

Airride will be closed for refurbishment from 1st August 2014 until 1st October 2014. This is our late summer break. If you require an answer we invite all customers to email requirements and we will deal with enquiries upon our return. Likewise technical queries should be titled TECHNICAL in the subject line for preferential replies for those clients installing kits. Installs will not be undertaken during the period of this work, and mail order items will be subject to some delays if items have to be manufactured – please email for more information with details of your requirements for latest info.

We are snowed under at the moment but will update the pictures on the site shortly. For the moment please find a snap of the VW Caddy Mk1 rear suspension kit. this is a bolt on conversion. As with all items like this it is made to order. More info and prices on the Caddy Page (its under commercial vehicles)

Clean cuts to air lines are essential for a nice seal on the push to fit unions. Burrs on the line destroy the rubber sealing rings inside and uneven cuts result in more pipe in one side than the other and further leaks. Clean 90 degree cuts are required. The best way is a brand new Stanley type blade but if you are installing more than just 2-4 unions as with a motor home rear end then it is usually worth investing in the correct tool. At around £10 these cutters are fabulous value given the effort they save.

For reliable operation any air install requires a quality sealer for the unions and threads. Many people make the mistake of using PTFE thread seal. This is hard to apply well, and breaks up potentially blocking both lines and more importantly solenoids. For correct and reliable operation warranties often call for a liquid sealer such as the one pictured. Its not cheap but it is very effective.

The kits that we supply use very expensive and ultra reliable fittings. Leaks are almost unheard of. We regularly install exotic air suspension installs with over a hundred unions (multi controller systems and simulators) and experience no leaks on the system. We could get far cheaper unions which would save a little on kits but any saving would quickly be lost in additional time spent chasing leaks. I still remember the early days in the early 2000’s when we used those cheaper unions and it regularly took 2-3 days to find all the leaks (few unions did not leak!). You can read about those experiences elsewhere on this site.

A client recently brought us a vehicle with air suspension from another installer and cheaper unions – you guessed it multi leaks. We usually use our own leak test but this time tried some expensive gas leak detector spray. It failed to find leaks that our 99p home made detector could! We use a 99p pump action plant sprayer (you could recycle a kitchen cleaning product container if cleaned well). Fill it mostly with water and about a tablespoon of washing up liquid (you don’t need much). Systematically spray every union and you will soon see bubbles coming from any leaks. Its quick, its simple, and its effective.

Its advisable to do an overnight leak test monthly and if this shows a leak however small deal with it before it gets worse!

For many years now we have refused to supply or install kits where the left and right circuits are joined. This is on the grounds of safety primarily but also linked to legality. An air suspension circuit where the left and right are joined leads to air transfer as the vehicle corners which is dangerous as the vehicle progressively rolls (leans) through the corner getting worse and worse until the car can potentially spin out of control. This is worst on fwd vehicles but affects the handling on all vehicles.

Other suppliers are not so discerning and are happy to take your money and supply items not lawful for road use. Does this approach cost us sales – potentially yes. Are we going to change the policy – definitely not. It was heartening the other day when consulted on documentation for air suspension to see that the Australian government holds the same views as we do and wont issue permits for vehicles with conjoined systems.

It is dangerous to use FB or Front-Back systems where the left and right circuits are joined. It is almost certainly not lawful for UK road use (regardless of any MOT you may have) and saves only a relatively small amount of money for such a large safety compromise. Independent systems handle better and ride better.

Its well known, that an Internet-wide security threat emerged earlier in the month called the Heartbleed bug. Online security is a topic that we take very seriously, and we are pleased to report that all systems are secure, and the airride.co.uk website and shop ordering systems are not vulnerable to this bug.

General advice to everyone using the internet is to change your passwords and that remains true regardless of where you buy products from and is good ongoing advice. Further tech info at http://www.cnet.com/news/heartbleed-bug-undoes-web-encryption-reveals-user-passwords/

We are asked regularly about the speed of adjustment of air suspension (full kits) with everyone thinking that faster is better. This may not necessarily be so depending upon the purpose of fitting air to your vehicle.
If you are going to be playing with the air or showing the car (its addictive and great fun) then fast is a good way to go but bear in mind you need a lot of air and additional tanks and compressors are likely going to be required or it will run out of energy pretty quickly.
If you are attracted to air for more practical reasons and just want a low car you can lift to clear obstacles then a slow or medium kit will meet your needs, be cheaper to buy, simpler and more compact to install and can be a great way to go. Many of the most expensive vehicles we fit air systems onto are using the basic controllers not on the basis of cost but for packaging and simplicity reasons.
Fast kits are very tough to get to hit the pressure target, so tough to live with on a daily basis, but there is of course nothing to stop you fitting dual tandem controllers – fast for playtime and slow for drivetime.

Fiesta Mk6 on AirRide would go lower with slimmer wheels but Cosworth wheels just look to good its worth losing some drop. No liners and no handbrake required as always on low riders. Full bolt on kit for fiesta now available. More pictures and video to follow.

The revisions to the Classic Mini air suspension kit made last year improve ease of fitment, and afford a smoother ride. Full kits from £995-£1995.

For more info please call or email. More pictures coming soon.

This classic Mini does not need a handbrake. When the suspension is fully down the wheels are locked against the arches. Full 4 wheel kits available for the Classic Rover, Austin Mini from £1000-£2000 for most kits. Please email or call. Better pics coming soon.

Don’t forget we have a whole bunch of YouTube videos showing a small selection of the parts and kits we sell.