# looking for the best rear air bag setup for a mk5.



## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

i've done a bunch of searching, and i havent come up with much. i'm not looking for a setup thats just the lowest, or the most durable, i want to do both. i currently have the airlift setup, their tapered bag and shocks, oem control arms. it goes low enough, but it sucks when you have people in the back or luggage. i need to run 60psi to get my desired ride height, that's with nothing in the car. as soon as i add anything to the trunk i need to bring it up to 80+psi. i cant imagine that much pressure is good for the bag, and it rides like crap. we daily this car, i packed it full to drive down 8 hours to OC. i'd love to upgrade this setup. 

so what are my options? i'd love to get into a heavier duty double bellow bag, but with the oem control arms i wouldnt be as low. dorbritz control arms are gonna be a must. what is my best bet for a bag? also, is there are heavy duty shock thats shorter then oem available? anyone done this yet successfully? i run my fronts at 40psi, i'd love to run 40 in the rear and be level.


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## ExcitableOne (Mar 3, 2008)

I run air house 1 bags in the rear of my MKV with d-cup brackets. I wanted nothing to do with the rear air lift tapered bags. The ah1's are a great pair with the air lift xls up front. Completely aired out my rear is maybe a 1/4 higher than the front. When I drive LOW, I'm at 30 psi... I hardly ever have people in my back seat, but 40-45 psi gives me plenty of nasty wheel gap. Haha.


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## BigMeecH (Sep 3, 2010)

I hear re5 are great


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## 98DUB (Feb 21, 2003)

BigMeecH said:


> I hear re5 are great


SS5's will do well because they will give you an inch more lift


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## Rat4Life (Oct 14, 2004)

re-5,ss-5 with s10 brackets,top spring nipple cut off.
set of fk rear shocks.
my opinion this set up is the best most comfortable , and it is a double bellow bags so i think thats a good upgrade that you looking for.


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

I'm definately leaning toward re-5's. Thanks for the input dudes.


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## chadone (Apr 26, 2010)

Slam specialties with Dorbritz D cups. Right now when I air out only the tire holds me up








I DD them at 40 psi


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

i'm running re5's with the nip cut off on the body and control arm. modified airlift bracket up top and a 3" steel spacer in the control arm while utilizing airlift's centering washer. i must admit the ride is pretty damn harsh. the thing with re5's is that they are so durable i think ride quality suffers. i roll with about 25-35psi in the back and it is no where near stock comfort. doesn't bother me too much because i know these bags can take whatever you can throw at em. :thumbup:

i am also on 195/40/17's so take this review with a grain of salt :laugh:


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## mr sarcastic (Nov 2, 2006)

You think it's so harsh cause your not running enough air pressure? 25-30 seems low to me.... I'd be curious to see what someone with the dorbritz CA's would need to run for psi at ride height.


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## PatientlyWaiting (Apr 28, 2005)

I run ss-5s on D-cups with Koni adjustable rear shocks. Rides so much better than my coils did. If you are going to go Slam Specialties, do the ss-5, not the re-5. The ss-5 is the new evolution of the re-5, more lift, more compression, less diameter expansion, etc.


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

mr sarcastic said:


> You think it's so harsh cause your not running enough air pressure? 25-30 seems low to me.... I'd be curious to see what someone with the dorbritz CA's would need to run for psi at ride height.


i def think that could be part of my issue with ride quality. i forgot to add that I only removed half of the stock bump stop to lay out without killer reverse rake. i am pretty sure this is the leading issue with the rough ride. 

def need to do a little playing around with the lower control arm spacer height and bump stops once i have some free time.

bump stops in the back...


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## markfif (Oct 25, 2007)

^^^ I am betting that pic was taken with the car jacked up and the wheel removed right? If it is then when the car is on the ground you are probably riding on the bump stop directly and not getting and shock travel, you need to pull the whole bump stop out man and just not back the car out all the way to avoid reverse rake. 

To answer the OP question, I am running AH2 rears with d cups and airlift slam xl's up front. The ride is really good and I actually use OEM rear shcoks on my mk5 and they still go really low. Tuck an 1" of rim in the rears on 18's. The rears can be argued all day on what is the best but get the xl's for the front regardless. Great great struts that lay frame no problem.


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

picture was taken with the wheel off/jacked up only to reference how much i cut off the bump stop, not to show travel.

while i def do agree i might not have much shock travel at all, i know for a fact i have some (prob in the 1.5-3" range). i know i have this range due to the aired out drop from ride height. 

it is a personal preference to have an intentional "hold-up" on my rear set-up. this is my solution for now until i am able to play around with a few dimensions on my control arm spacers.

let's get back on topic :thumbup:


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## PatrickVas (Aug 23, 2007)

Daily my car with RE-5's & D-Cups and I run them at exactly 40 psi just like someone above. Absolutely no complaints here, ride is a little rough when I air up above 45 psi, but it doesn't bother me, it's probably just the short airlift struts.


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