Hey guys, my friend just picked up a custom air ride setup for his G35


Easy Street front air struts
Air Ride Tech rear air shocks
5 gallon slim chrome tank with 4 x 1/2" NPT ports.
1 Viair 450C 100% duty cycle air compressor with stainless steel line
1/2" ID air tube - braided stainless steel lines for the wheel wells and black lines for everywhere else
8 - 1/2" NPT brass valves
Smoked switch box
Pressure switch
Brand new adjustable exhaust valves

All for only 700$ bucks!!

Anyways, I set it up yesterday powered it up, the shocks work everything is in mint condition but the only issue is I'm having an issue finding the polarity for the pressure switch! Does it matter what order I put it in?

Also, it's been awhile since I've worked with 12 volts and I can't remember if it was okay to hook up multiple connections to the 12volt line? (Controller, and compressor) I don't have a multimeter on me right now lol so I can't check to see if the connection loses volts.

And yes, I plan to fuse everything properly. I already used a 20A fuse for the compressor hehe. Also, it's been awhile but I understand when you extend a wire you should fuse it, but does it matter WHERE you put the fuse between the wires? (ex. closer to the compressor, or closer to the battery, etc)

Also, can anyone recommend me a good gauge for the front / rear psi's etc?

OH and does anyone use any special fluid to clean out the previous thread sealant to apply a new one? And is there a special fluid to find "air leaks" that anyone uses?



Here's the setup.. any advice or concerns?

 

when hooking up a pressure switch it does not matter which prong you use for pos/neg. they will both work as both.

 

to find leaks just spray soapy water on the fittings. it will bubble if its leaking.

there are tons of gauges that you can choose from. everyone on here seems to use digital gauges but thats because most people on here dont know a god damn thing about air ride and they just do what they "think" is the best.

i wouldnt hook the switch box up to the same power wire as the compressor. you dont even need that big of wire for the switch box. a 12 guage wire will be fine to power that.

i would up the fuse for a amp by a little also.

 

Sweet that really cleared things up, yeah I totally forgot that the switch is going into the driverside of the car rather then the trunk LOL.. (Sorry it was like midnight and I was putting together the air ride) Great! I'll just simply hookup the switch to the ACC wire so it turns on only when the car is on.

What do you mean you would up the fuse for a amp by a little also?

I was planning to go digital as well, is there something wrong with a digital gauge?

Oh and also, the setup is a 1/4 valve setup which all of you should know moves too quickly. What should I do other than replacing all of the valves to slow down the air ride?

 

oops that meant to say for the compressor. i would use a 40 amp fuse. otherwise its going to blow a lot. also what kind of relay are you using? just a normal 30/40 relay? if so you might want to tell your friend to check out the stinger 80amp relays. they are like 20-30 dollars but they will last WAY longer.

 

I haven't started using any relays yet, the kit only came with 2 relays I'll check them out. Why would I use a 40 amp fuse for the compressor? The viair compressor said the max rating of amplitude was 24 so I just went off of that lol. My 20A didn't blow up but then again I was only powering 1 valve at the time just to test everything out.

Where would I need the relays? And is there something wrong with digital gauges?

Sorry, I've read this all before on the scion forums, s10 forums, ridetech forums, vwvortex but it's a pain in the *** to search around in there because they require me to "register" which is annoying. I just want some clarification before I finalize the setup.

 

you are going to be using a relay to connect the current from the main power wire of the setup to the compressor and pressure switch. thats where you would use the 30/40. but the 30/40 relays will go out every couple months. if he uses a stinger 80amp, it will go out maybe every 2 years. i am also on the s10 forums, same username, thats what i used to do was build bagged trucks.

regarding the fuse for the power wire. i know the compressor is only going to put out 24. but for some reason. it will still blow. you have to remember that NO electrical parts are 100 percent rated at what they say they are. they are just not going to be exact.

 

Sweet thank you! Yeah I met a guy at autozone who use to bag trucks, he was a lot of help and he recommended I used teflon tape to make sure no air leaks happen. Sorry, I've always hated dealing with relays lol, but I guess I have no choice now haha. I'll upgrade to a 40A, and hook the relay up to finalize the setup.

 

sounds good. glad i could help. also if teflon tape doesnt work for you. you can go to the chevy dealership and get some of there thread sealant. its white and it comes in a blue tube. cant remember the name. but the parts department will know. cost about 7 bucks for a tube but that tube will be way more than you need for one car so you will ahve extra

 

Sick! How would I go about with slowing down the air ride? We already have a complete 1/4 valve setup..and it'd be a lot more expensive to go out and BUY a 3/8" valve setup.

 

3/8 is fasster than 1/4

 

The scion forums lied to me.

 

well 3/8 is bigger than 1/4. the bigger the valve the faster the lift/dump.

do you still want to go slower than 1/4?

 

I haven't experienced a 1/4 or a 3/8 so I honestly wouldn't know this is my first air ride setup and I just want to do things right. I was watching videos of people's car literally SLAMMING there undercarriage against the floor! I don't want the car to raise up to quickly, or lower down to quickly.

Also, what is a good controller for a nice memory preset?

EDIT: Oh no, I just realized that my friend bought a 1/2 VALVE setup! Oh doh! So how would I slow that down?

 

oh god. half inch valve setup is way to fast for these cars. i ran 1/2 on my trucks that i would hop. the easiest cheapist way to slow them down for fill is going to be to get a ball valve and put it inline with the airline before the fill valve. that way he can adjust it to be open/closed as much as he wants. and then for the dump control. you can get a half inch copper plug from any hardware store and drill a 1/4 hold in it and then put it in the dump valve