Firestone Air Bags vs Sumo Supersprings

I have 2008 GMC 2500 and I'm considering a set of Firestone air bags or Sumo Supersprings to cut down on the rear end bounce of my truck and was wondering if anyone could give me some advice?

tracks

I would go with the airbags since they would be adjustable. Either Air-Lift or Firestone will work good.

I have the supersprings and have been very happy with the product.

I went with the Firestone airbags. They were easy to install and I liked the ease of adjusting depending on how I was loaded.

Neither one of these products is designed to reduce or eliminate bounce. I'm not familiar with the Sumo-supersprings but if they don't have a shock component then they are simply another version of an additional spring. Shocks and only shocks will reduce the bounce by absorbing oscillations of a spring and converting it to heat. Bouncing is energy and it can either be allowed to dissipate by itself by bouncing or it can be absorbed by a shock and converted into heat.

I've used the Firestone air bags and they are real good but they will only allow you to level your truck. Bilstein shocks are very good and there are some others that are comparable.

TeJay

Thanks for the useful information with the addition of a combination of air bags or springs and good shocks I might have a more comfortable ride.
Kirk

Light weight of an empty rear end of a pickup is the reason for the bounce. If you add 500lbs of dead weight that will greatly reduce the bounce that you are experiencing. Weight makes a huge difference on the ride quality of our pickups. All assuming you have shocks in proper working order.

As far as Springs or Airbags go. If you said you are only towing a flat bed gooseneck I would recommend Airbags. As those type of loads are always changing and the load height is low.

Being that you tow a 5th wheel your load will always be within 95% of the same weight. So adjustability is not a need option. But the main reason I would suggest helper Springs such as Hellwig is because empty they have no effect of the stock suspension. Once they are set that is it. The weight carrying effect is still on the springs rather then being on the inside of the frame rails like bags will be. Bags will give a narrow foot print for the load support over the axle. Putting load on the bags reduce the load on the stock springs. Which will increase a swaying effect created by the tall load of a 5th wheel.

Until you have gone from bags to helper springs you won't understand the difference. People argue that there is not a difference in ride but they haven't gone from one setup to the next on that same vehicle.

If you truck does not have a rear sway bar I would invest in the $350 to put one on.

My opinion,5th wheel TV should be using Helper Springs. Flat bed gooseneck guys are better off with air bags. I had both because as I towed both types of trailers. You don't use #7 bird shot to hunt deer and you don't use a 30-06 to hunt dove even though they're guns they both serve two different purposes.

I added SuperSprings to my previous F250 and they made a world of difference. Like Matt said, they have no effect with an empty load, but reduced the squat of the truck when loaded and helped with the ride quality.


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mattpopp said:

Light weight of an empty rear end of a pickup is the reason for the bounce. If you add 500lbs of dead weight that will greatly reduce the bounce that you are experiencing. Weight makes a huge difference on the ride quality of our pickups. All assuming you have shocks in proper working order.

As far as Springs or Airbags go. If you said you are only towing a flat bed gooseneck I would recommend Airbags. As those type of loads are always changing and the load height is low.

Being that you tow a 5th wheel your load will always be within 95% of the same weight. So adjustability is not a need option. But the main reason I would suggest helper Springs such as Hellwig is because empty they have no effect of the stock suspension. Once they are set that is it. The weight carrying effect is still on the springs rather then being on the inside of the frame rails like bags will be. Bags will give a narrow foot print for the load support over the axle. Putting load on the bags reduce the load on the stock springs. Which will increase a swaying effect created by the tall load of a 5th wheel.

Until you have gone from bags to helper springs you won't understand the difference. People argue that there is not a difference in ride but they haven't gone from one setup to the next on that same vehicle.

If you truck does not have a rear sway bar I would invest in the $350 to put one on.

My opinion,5th wheel TV should be using Helper Springs. Flat bed gooseneck guys are better off with air bags. I had both because as I towed both types of trailers. You don't use #7 bird shot to hunt deer and you don't use a 30-06 to hunt dove even though they're guns they both serve two different purposes.

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Have you any experience or knowledge with the use of helper springs and air bags in combination or is that over kill?

I ran FS bags on my last two dodges. They were needed for the weight of the flat bed gooseneck. Everything was fine until I bought my Cyclone. The pickup swayed very badly. So first I put a bigwig Helwig sway bar on. It helped but not enough with the cyclone. The biggest help was the Helwig 2500 lb helper springs. But I did not run any air in the bags when towing the Cyclone. They say run 5psi in them when empty, but heck, I never did when empty.

One thing I do believe is that air bags do influence or exaggerate the bumpy rear end more so then springs do.

Thanks, I think I'll start with the helper springs and see how it handles the load. I haven’t experienced any sway, just think I need more support in the rear.

I may be not well informed.....but I've always operated under the impression that if you need "helpers" you are off the chart, ie operating beyond the design parameters of the vehicle, and most possibly illegal.

oscar said:

I may be not well informed.....but I've always operated under the impression that if you need "helpers" you are off the chart, ie operating beyond the design parameters of the vehicle, and most possibly illegal.

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I think most people here are using suspension enhancement to primarily improve the ride not to compensate for overloading. With a toy-hauler the balance of the rig will change with different toys in the back. I can adjust for an inch or so from level by adjusting airbag pressure.

Pick ups also don't come with adequate springs to handle the full payload

mattpopp said:

Pick ups also don't come with adequate springs to handle the full payload

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I would have to disagree. I believe the pickups come with adequate springs to handle their RATED load. The issue is many overload the pickup beyond their factory load ratings. MHO

mattpopp said:

Pick ups also don't come with adequate springs to handle the full payload

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True drive quality for braging rights is what dominates and if pickups need to do any work they need better springs.

My F250 was equipped to work with 2 extra plies and now it has much better support then a F350 dually that has springs setup for ride quality.

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jmgratz said:

I would have to disagree. I believe the pickups come with adequate springs to handle their RATED load. The issue is many overload the pickup beyond their factory load ratings. MHO

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I can only assume you have never maxed out your full pay load on your pickup.

30yrs ago pickups where built to work, today they are built with comfort and work in mind. I remember our old 1979 1ton Chevy Dually we had on the farm. There was enough iron in the rear stack of springs to build a Tundra. Even with 30klbs of corn in the gooseneck grain trailer the over loads didn't touch. That pickup had adequate springs.


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caissiel said:

True drive quality for braging rights is what dominates and if pickups need to do any work they need better springs.

My F250 was equipped to work with 2 extra plies and now it has much better support then a F350 dually that has springs setup for ride quality.

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I was worried about this when buying my current F350. Turns out the springs can handle my pin weight, but there is no way they could handle the full pay load.


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