Air Ride Suspension UPGRADES??

[Arlin]

Hey guys, Really enjoy the forum. Always super helpful.

I've gone through all the threads about the air ride suspension and searched what seems like everywhere else, but I have to be missing something.

I have a 2007 Yukon XL Denali. Is there a way to upgrade the air ride suspension? Specifically, a better compressor and air lines that will link to the air shocks in the rear? Braided lines would be cool if I could find them. My compressor needs replacing anyway and my air lines are brittle so just a matter of time. Overall, I'd love to upgrade the whole suspension system, front and rear, but retain the air ride for ride comfort.

Any thoughts on upgrading the system?

Thanks in advance!

 

[wjburken]

Hey guys, Really enjoy the forum. Always super helpful.

I've gone through all the threads about the air ride suspension and searched what seems like everywhere else, but I have to be missing something.

I have a 2007 Yukon XL Denali. Is there a way to upgrade the air ride suspension? Specifically, a better compressor and air lines that will link to the air shocks in the rear? Braided lines would be cool if I could find them. My compressor needs replacing anyway and my air lines are brittle so just a matter of time. Overall, I'd love to upgrade the whole suspension system, front and rear, but retain the air ride for ride comfort.

Any thoughts on upgrading the system?

Thanks in advance!

I have not seen any after market upgrades in this area but others may know of something.

Personally, I’d go with an Arnott, or Dorman for the compressor. I have personally used both Arnott and Dorman with good results. If your airlines are looking brittle, I’d simply replace them with OE lines. The ones you have have lasted 15+ years so not sure what more you would expect.

While you’re looking at stuff, one of the main reasons these compressors fail is due to the airbags leaking causing the compressor to run and run to make up for the leak. Make sure your rear shocks are in good shape. If they need replaced, Arnott makes a good replacement.

You may understand this, but many don’t. Your 2007 has two systems that work together in your suspension. You have AutoRide, which controls the dampening of your shocks to provide the nice ride. You also have AutoLevel, which is where your compressor and your rear air shocks come into play. They are used to keep the vehicle level by airing up or down the airbags in the rear shocks.

Personally, I would stick with stock replacements and move on.

 

[NORCAL SS]

Trust me on this get rid of it. I've done thousands


I set up rear Bilstein or bellte h hd shocks and if you tow helper bags and rides/tows better than oem

 

[Arlin]

I have not seen any after market upgrades in this area but others may know of something.

Personally, I’d go with an Arnott, or Dorman for the compressor. I have personally used both Arnott and Dorman with good results. If your airlines are looking brittle, I’d simply replace them with OE lines. The ones you have have lasted 15+ years so not sure what more you would expect.

While you’re looking at stuff, one of the main reasons these compressors fail is due to the airbags leaking causing the compressor to run and run to make up for the leak. Make sure your rear shocks are in good shape. If they need replaced, Arnott makes a good replacement.

You may understand this, but many don’t. Your 2007 has two systems that work together in your suspension. You have AutoRide, which controls the dampening of your shocks to provide the nice ride. You also have AutoLevel, which is where your compressor and your rear air shocks come into play. They are used to keep the vehicle level by airing up or down the airbags in the rear shocks.

Personally, I would stick with stock replacements and move on.

Thanks for the input, brother! Much appreciated! I've been eyeballing the Arnott stuff so, I'll go ahead and pull the trigger. and thanks for the info about the difference between the autoride and autolevel. I didn't realize it was two seperate systems. Thanks again!

 

[Arlin]

Trust me on this get rid of it. I've done thousands


I set up rear Bilstein or bellte h hd shocks and if you tow helper bags and rides/tows better than oem

Thanks for the info, brother. I've been really debating what to do with it. I tow a heavy trailer once a week for a short distance. The rest of the week it's my family car and hauls all the kids around. Really torn about deleting the OEM system and going with something simliar to what you described. Do you have links to the parts that I'd need to pull this off?

 

[Joseph Garcia]

I agree with @wjburken that the OEM Z55 suspension that you have is the optimal suspension for the truck, when working properly. There are obviously different opinions on this topic, and I respect all folks differing opinions.

If you remove the Z55 suspension, you will need to get stronger 'non-Z55' rear coil springs for the same year truck, as the air shocks take up some of the load off the springs.

GM sells a replacement air line kit that has all the parts that you need.

When I purchased my new-to-me 07 Yukon XL Denali, the previous owner had replaced the Z55 suspension with crap strut shocks in the front and crap coil-over shocks in the back. For about $3000, I rebuilt the entire front suspension, which included OEM upper and lower control arms, ball joints, 'all' strut components including Moog coil springs (OEM springs no longer manufactured), and in the rear, a new compressor, coil springs, and air shocks. The ride was substantially improved, IMO.

The choice is yours, and I'm pleased to see that you are doing your research.

 

[Arlin]

I agree with @wjburken that the OEM Z55 suspension that you have is the optimal suspension for the truck, when working properly. There are obviously different opinions on this topic, and I respect all folks differing opinions.

If you remove the Z55 suspension, you will need to get stronger 'non-Z55' rear coil springs for the same year truck, as the air shocks take up some of the load off the springs.

GM sells a replacement air line kit that has all the parts that you need.

When I purchased my new-to-me 07 Yukon XL Denali, the pervious owner had replaced the Z55 suspension with crap strut shocks in the front and crap coil-over shocks in the back. For about $3000, I rebuilt the entire front suspension, which included OEM upper and lower control arms, ball joints, 'all' strut components including Moog coil springs (OEM springs no longer manufactured), and in the rear, a new compressor, coil springs, and air shocks. The ride was substantially improved, IMO.

The choice is yours, and I'm pleased to see that you are doing your research.

Thanks for that brother. I'm definitely leaning more towards keeping the OEM setup. and of course, I can't make a decision without loads of research. haha. Thanks again!

 

[Onlyone]

I promise you you’ll never get a better ride than the factory auto ride. Especially changing to something like bilsteins which are decent shocks but ride like a lumber wagon. Factory is expensive but for ride quality, cannot be beat.