What is an air suspension upgrade?
For the purposes of this short article, air suspension is a car or truck suspension powered by an electric compressor. The compressor pumps the air into flexible bellows we’ll call an airbag, usually made from textile-reinforced rubber. The air pressure inflates the air bags allowing them to raise and lower the chassis.
After WWII, car manufacturers began using self-leveling air-ride systems on some of their more expensive models. In 1950, the Air Lift Company patented a rubber air spring that is inserted into a car's factory coil spring. By 1980, airbag helper springs were used on commercial vehicles as a suspension assist.
Airbag suspension helper springs include:
- Metal brackets
- Air bags
- Appropriate hardware
- Airline and separate valves for manual inflation
- Optional air accessories for all applications
It’s important to remember that compressed air does the heavy lifting.
What is a rubber suspension upgrade?
Rubber products have been used on cars and trucks ever since the early 1900s. Over the years, manufacturers have experimented with rubber as an alternative to metal and air suspensions.
In 1968, Timbren Industries Inc. introduced a new product to the North American market with the trade name Aeon® hollow rubber springs. As the suspension industry became aware of this new product, dealers and distributors began to ask about the Timbren “rubber deals.”
Once Timbren developed entire kits for cars and trucks, they decided to call them Suspension Enhancement Systems, or just ‘SES.’ SES kits were designed to include rubber springs, spacers, metal brackets, and appropriate fasteners. The installation was simple and easy: 1) Remove the factory bump stops, and 2) bolt the SES assembly in the exact same location.
For over 50 years, Timbren SES kits have grown in popularity with owners of pickup trucks and SUVs. In fact, there are currently available well-over 400 SES upgrade kits to choose from. Every single SES suspension upgrade includes an Aeon® hollow rubber spring.
How does an air suspension upgrade compare with rubber upgrades?
What are the similarities between air suspension and rubber springs? Besides the obvious visual resemblance, there are other similarities.
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Load leveling: Both Timbren SES and an airbag system will improve vehicle handling and overall performance by reducing suspension sag. Keeping a truck level gives you:
- Reduced body roll and sway
- Improved steering
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Ride quality: In general, both airbags and Timbren springs are designed to improve ride quality in both loaded and unloaded situations.
What are the differences between air suspension and rubber springs?
Technology
Fundamentally, a Timbren SES system uses Aeon® hollow rubber springs. They do not use compressed air. When the load is applied, the shape of the spring begins to compress and expand.
However, airbags are… well, rubber bags designed to hold air. The bag expands just like a balloon as air is forced into the rubber bladder.
Installation
Most Timbren SES products take about 30 minutes to install. Due to the large number of parts needed for it to function, an airbag system can take up to 4 hours to install.
The airbag kit has a lot more components than the Timbren SES kit. Therefore, the average airbag kit takes well over 4 hours to install, whereas the average Timbren kit takes less than 30 minutes.
Adjustability
The most obvious difference between Timbren SES and air bags is the manner in which they adapt to various road and load conditions. Airbags can be manually altered to maintain ride height and, to some degree, driver preference. Timbren rubber springs, on the other hand, automatically adjust to variable loads and road conditions. In other words, these rubber springs are self-adjusting. It’s the progressive spring rate built right into Aeon® hollow rubber springs that enables them to adjust automatically.
Maintenance
With Timbren SES, the hollow rubber springs require zero maintenance. Any tweaking or adjusting is done during installation.
On the other hand, airbag maintenance must be performed as often as required to ensure the airbag doesn’t dip below 5 psi. This is to make sure that the airbag isn’t damaged. In other words, the bladder that holds the air may start to leak which would dramatically compromise the effectiveness of the entire system.
Price: Even though we’re comparing price, we are not going to make any judgments regarding cost vs value. (Sometimes a product that costs more is considered to have greater value which, in this case, isn’t necessarily true.)
Most Timbren SES kits cost about $300.00.
Airbag kits are priced somewhere between $500 - $1000.00.
As you can see, cost is a major drawback for the average person.
Air or rubber? Which one is the best choice for you?
Above, we compared airbag helper springs to Timbren SES suspension upgrades. So, which one of these suspension systems is best for you?
A quick observation suggests that Timbren SES products have the best price and the most capacity. And if you were to take a closer look, you’d notice that Timbren SES wins big points for:
- Stability - safety is designed right into a Timbren SES kit.
- Reliability - Timbren’s hollow rubber springs are an ‘airtight’ system engineered to fill you with confidence as you navigate the highways and byways.
Timbren SES upgrades aren’t vulnerable to malfunctioning like an airbag system. In fact, a Timbren SES system is completely bulletproof. (Quite literally!)
Unlike an airbag system, Timbren SES allows you to set it and forget it. In other words, Timbren SES requires zero maintenance.
Additionally, an airbag system doesn’t provide enough stability, particularly if you’re hauling a top-heavy load like a truck camper of towing a heavy 5th Wheel.
Satisfied Timbren customers highly recommend Timbren SES suspension upgrades for your truck.
“Whether we’re towing with our 4Runner or our Toyota Tundra, our Timbren SES kit has been a game changer. Reduced all sag in the rear plus helps the tow rigs gain maximum control. Over a year with SES and we would never go back.” @ClicOutdoor
For more information about Timbren SES products, please visit Timbren.com
