800-928-1984
Cart
Everyone who comes through our doors started learning about cars one way or the other. Oftentimes it’s a family member who initiated their love for customs, or a local car club who invited them to come by sometime. But there’s also a large contingent of people from the lowrider community, which has built a culture around family and cool rides working in harmony. It’s a beautiful thing.
Lowrider culture is also associated with hydraulic suspensions, with some cars hopping at stoplights or just cruising low and slow. How do air bags fit into the picture? Is there room for air suspension in a world built around hydraulics? Let’s talk it through and find out.
What is a hydraulic suspension?
Hydraulic suspensions — often called “hydraulics,” “juice” or “hydros” — are one of the first methodologies people used to lift their ride up and down. There are dozens of different types of setups and ways for people to install them in their vehicles, so let’s just break it down to the basics. A pump that’s powered by at least one battery (but often more) directs hydraulic fluid down a hydraulic hose and into a cylinder. That cylinder expands, lifting the car up higher. When it wants to go back down, a valve opens up and routes the hydraulic fluid back into a holding container on the pump. It’s all controlled by a switch panel, which is pretty much what it sounds like.
Hydraulics are a lot of fun because they’re fast (or at least can be), you can make them ride great, the setups can look cool and they sound amazing. There’s nothing quite like the sound of 48 volts running through a hydraulic pump when it’s hopping the front of an Impala up and down the street. But they’re not perfect, and that’s where things start to shift.
The downsides of hydraulics
We’re obviously air bag folks here, but many of us came from or currently have hydraulics on their rides, so none of this is meant as negative. That said, hydraulics are not perfect. They’re a high-pressure system, and if a line gets a hole in it, there’s no patch that’ll fix the job. Every pump runs on a 12-volt battery which is heavy and takes up space, plus you need to charge them — and usually you’ll have more than one. That pump is rated for 12 volts, but if you want it to run faster you push the limit with higher voltages via more batteries. That can cause things to short out and catch on fire, which is less than ideal. Hydraulic parts usually have some kind of seal in them, and those seals wear out. When they do, the system leaks and may not be able to build up enough pressure to lift the vehicle. But worse yet, those leaks can leave oil puddles on the ground, and nobody likes that.
Air bags aren’t perfect either, but they’re a big improvement
With air bags, you address a lot of these issues. If the air leaks, there are ways to fix a broken line on the side of the road. There are no batteries to charge unless you have some kind of over-the-top setup with multiple compressors and a big stereo to match. There is very little routine maintenance needed, as the systems function without needing a frequent seal change. And you can still hop a car on bags, you just have to go about it differently.
Now hydraulics are a huge part of lowrider culture, but there are lots of folks in that community who have owned juiced rides before and now are opting for bags. It’s cleaner, requires less work and almost always rides like a dream. It doesn’t have the same sound or look, but that’s OK. Different isn’t always bad. Plus, if your goal is to cruise low and slow, bags will get you going every time.
It’s a good fit
We’re not saying hydraulics are bad and should be replaced with air bags every time — far from it. But if you have a problematic juice setup and you want to move into something more reliable that requires less work, come by sometime and we can talk to you about air bags. It’ll be worth your trip.
