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Complete Air Ride Kit

SKU: ARK-001

Price per Unit (Kit):

$1,725.00

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*Beams as of 7/10 can take up to 6-10 weeks to build* To follow the build of your beam, click here.

Build Sheets

1949-1965 Air Ride Beetle Build Sheets
1966-1968 Air Ride Beetle Build Sheets
1969-1979 Air Ride Beetle Build Sheets

For all applications, the standard air ride kit will do what you need. If you want to get as close to the ground as possible, get the drop spindles. If you are going to use stock wheels, you want to go with 135sr15 tires up front and a 2" narrowed beam. If you plan on going with a 5.5" wide wheel similar to a EMPI five spoke, BRM or Sprint star, a 4" beam would be ideal. Porsche 4.5's in the front, I would go with a 3" beam and the air ride. If you plan on powder coating all your suspension components, order it in a raw finish so everything matches. If you have already restored the car and you want the parts to look nice, satin or gloss black is the way to go. We also recommend doing the install with the body off, with a 220 amp welder and some one who has experience welding

1949-1965 Specs

Front Kit includes the following: 2x Air Sleeve Shocks, 2x Through rods (cut to length), 2x Upper shock mounts, Hardware and Fittings
Rear Kit Includes the following: 2x Continental Air bags, 2x Doetsch Tech lowered shocks, Mounting Brackets, Heim Joints, Hardware and Fittings

Dim lights
Air Management Kit includes the following: 2 Gallon Tank, 280 Viair Compressor, 4 Manual valves with dual needle gauge sets, Pressure switch with relay and Harness, Lines and hardware.

Dim lights

1966-1967 Specs

Front Kit includes the following: 2x Air Sleeve Shocks, 2x Through rods (cut to length), 1 set of lowered ball joints, 4x delrin bushings, Hardware and Fittings

Dim lights
Rear Kit Includes the following: 2x Continental Air bags, 2x Doetsch Tech lowered shocks, Mounting Brackets, Heim Joints, Hardware and Fittings

Dim lights
Air Management Kit includes the following: 2 Gallon Tank, 280 Viair Compressor, 4 Manual valves with dual needle gauge sets, Pressure switch with relay and Harness, Lines and hardware.

Dim lights

1969-1979 Specs

Front Kit includes the following: 2x Air Sleeve Shocks, 2x Through rods (cut to length), 1 set of lowered ball joints, 4x delrin bushings, Hardware and Fittings

Dim lights
Rear Kit Includes the following: 2x Continental Air bags, 2x Doetsch Tech lowered shocks, Mounting Brackets, Cross bar, Bump stops, Hardware and Fittings
Air Management Kit includes the following: 2 Gallon Tank, 280 Viair Compressor, 4 Manual valves with dual needle gauge sets, Pressure switch with relay and Harness, Lines and hardware.

Dim lights

1949-1965 Front

Weld on Install Center
Bolt on Install Center

Dim lights

The early Beetle and Ghia have a link pin suspension. They allowed for 3.5" of suspension travel at stock height with stock torsion style suspension.

The Front Air Ride kit, uses what we call through rods. These allow the suspension to travel upwards of 12". That’s a significant improvement of 3.5". What does that mean? It means that the suspension can travel up and down more to smooth out the ride. For instance, if you fall into a pothole that is 4" deep with stock suspension, you car will drop on that side 1/2" meaning the whole car will move. With the addition of our through rods, it means that this particular wheel will fall into the pot hole and rebound without the entire car feeling it. Just like a brand new car. Due to the availability of Narrowed beams these days, these inserts can be shortened to any configuration needed. If you shorten them, you will need to take equal increments on each side. They utilize a thrust bearing on the outer portion of the assembly to allow for fluid motions up and down. There is no longer a need for the factory grub screws when installing these through rods. They can also be ordered separately if needed.
With this exact kit, a welder is needed to weld the Shock Extenders to the beam to allow for the taller air sleeve shocks that come in the kit. These also allow the Beetle to get as close to the ground as possible. A 220 amp Mig welder or a Tig welder is recommended for this installation. This can be done with the beam on the car but is recommended to weld off of the car to weld both sides. The extenders have multiple holes to allow for an exact look or fail safe in the even of failure due to an act of god.

Why an Air Shock?

Ease and availability. It is easier than fabricating bag mounts to put an air bag on the front end for one, for two, it a bolt on as possible making it easy to install. Although Air shocks were never designed to lift the front of a car up, they do a quality job of it. These particular air sleeve shocks have a bag on the outer portion of the shock allowing for expansion during bumps and rough roads allowing the ride to still be nice. On link pin applications, they do require a lot of pressure. 160psi on the low side and 185psi on the high side. This can be reduced if our lower shocks mounts are installed. Then you can expect the pressures to range from 130-150psi.

Do I need to run Drop Spindles

to get it as close to the ground as possible? Yes. However, the early spindles require you to press the original ones apart and press the new ones on. Local machine shops can make easy work of this. It might be a good idea to replace the king pins and link pins if they are worn. We also have these kits although we cannot perform the work for you. One other note, all drop spindles take the track out at least 3/8" on each side.

Why would i need to run a narrowed beam?

A narrowed beam helps many places, let me tell you of a few. If you look at your ride right now and your tires are inside the fender wells, there is no need for a narrowed beam. But, if they are close, narrowing the front end allows you to lay the car down and does not allow the tires to come in contact with the fenders. So if you are not using drop spindles now and the wheels and tires are flush to the fender edge, you will need to think about a 3-4" narrowed beam to allow for clearance. Also, if you decide to go with a custom wheel, knowing the offset will help you in purchasing the right beam for your ride. Here is a document to help you determine what offset of wheels you have, to better help you in how narrow you need to go on the beam.
The new beam has most of the features as the standard air ride kit but it has a brand new narrowed beam with extended shock towers already made into it. It also will come a minimum of 2" narrower and up to 5" narrower depending on the application. We came out with this for several reasons. First, some people do not have a welder, so having an application that does not need welding is a plus. No welding to the chassis at all.Front ends can take an additional time due to fabrication.

1968-1979 Front

Bolt on Install Center

The late model type 1's have a ball joint front suspension. They have a suspension travel of 4". With the addition of our air ride kit the suspension travel increases to up to 8". This is due to the addition of the fore mentioned through rods and the Lowered ball joints that come in the kit. These ball joints will need to be pressed in. a local mechanic can do this job with ease.

The Front Air Ride kit, uses what we call through rods. What does that mean? It means that the suspension can travel up and down more to smooth out the ride. For instance, if you fall into a pothole that is 4" deep with stock suspension, you car will drop on that side 1/2" meaning the whole car will move. With the addition of our through rods, it means that this particular wheel will fall into the pot hole and rebound without the entire car feeling it. Just like a brand new car. Due to the availability of Narrowed beams these days, these inserts can be shortened to any configuration needed. If you shorten them, you will need to take equal increments on each side. They utilize a thrust bearing on the outer portion of the assembly to allow for fluid motions up and down. There is no longer a need for the factory grub screws when installing these through rods. They can also be ordered separately if needed.

Why an Air Shock?

Do I need to run Drop Spindles

to get it as close to the ground as possible? Yes. One other note, all drop spindles take the track out at least 3/8" on each side.

Why would i need to run a narrowed beam?

A narrowed beam helps many places, let me tell you of a few. If you look at your ride right now and your tires are inside the fender wells, there is no need for a narrowed beam. But, if they are close, narrowing the front end allows you to lay the car down and does not allow the tires to come in contact with the fenders. So if you are not using drop spindles now and the wheels and tires are flush to the fender edge, you will need to think about a 3-4" narrowed beam to allow for clearance. Also, if you decide to go with a custom wheel, knowing the offset will help you in purchasing the right beam for your ride. Here is a document to help you determine what offset of wheels you have, to better help you in how narrow you need to go on the beam. The new beam has most of the features as the standard air ride kit but it has a brand new narrowed beam with extended shock towers already made into it. It also will come a minimum of 2" narrower and up to 5" narrower depending on the application. We came out with this for several reasons. First, some people do not have a welder, so having an application that does not need welding is a plus. No welding to the chassis at all.Front ends can take an additional time due to fabrication.

1949-1968 Rear

Weld on Install Center

Early Beetle's have a swing axle rear suspension. To paint a picture, I compare it to a snow angel. When the car is all the way up your hands are by your sides, when you are all the way down, your hands are up in the air. This is a direct example of what will happen when you raise or lower your vehicle. With the earlier cars, negative camber (where the wheels tilt in) is inevitable. There is no way to fix that. So when your early beetle or Ghia is lying low, it will have the negative camber.

With a Swing axle air ride kit , welding is involved and it is recommended that you have the body off for this installation to go in nicely. Why, you might ask? Ease. Its tough enough trying to work on your back, you don't need to install an air ride suspension on your back. If you have a hydraulic lift, this makes the job easier but, it is still easier to install the kit with the body off.

A certified welder is recommended to ensure proper penetration of your welds. If you are not certified, please take it to one of our installers or a certified welder. 220 amp welders are recommended although a TIG or stick welder can do the job as well. Please, do not use a 110 amp welder to install this kit. It does not have the correct amperage to make the weld penetrate. If you want to run heaters, you will need to modify your heater boxes to do this. Slight notching and rerouting of the tubes are needed.

1969-1979 Rear

Weld on Install Center

They have 2 articulating joint also known as CV Joints. When these cars are lowered, the camber is half of that of the earlier beetles. These kits are only available one way and that is a weld on style. You need some skills to install this kit as it is the most difficult. Super Beetles, AKA 1302's, also have this style rear suspension

Air Management Kits Explained

There is 2 different air management kits available. I will explain each one for you. All kits will come with the same base parts but the valving will change in each kit. Each kit will come with a Viair 280 Compressor that is 12v. If you have a 6 volt system, you will need either a 12volt battery to run the system or change over your ride to 12 volt. We usually mount them on the opposite side of the master cylinder on the wing underneath the gas tank. This allows the compressor to get air and lesson any noise that can be had with them. The kit also comes with a 2 gallon tank. We usually install the tanks underneath the back seat so they can be hidden. This is not a must as anything can be installed anywhere you would like. An adjustable pressure switch along with a 12v relay and harness also accompany the kit. This allows you to adjust the speed and consistency of air management system. This switch sends a signal to the compressor to come on at a certain PSI so that you always have air in the tank when ever you need it. It’s what we call, ON DEMAND. Each kit contains a hardware pack and 1/4" fitting pack. It will also come with an est. 100 feet of 1/4" hose. You might ask why we use 1/4" line. One word, LIABILITY. Everybody that is in the mini truck industry, uses 3/8" or 1/2" maybe even bigger line to make there vehicle lift fast or even hop. This kit will not take that kind of abuse. If you attempt this the parts will fail, so use at your own risk.

Now on to the valving. Your basic 4 valve kit comes standard in each kit, , This will allow you to lift the front of the vehicle up and down as well as lift the rear up and down, as well as lift each wheel individually. This will give the car great handling characteristics. This is also a manual valve, air goes in as you lift the toggle up and when you depress the toggle, air comes out. This kit is outfitted with a dual need gauges to monitor pressures.

Next is the High end Electric 4 valve kit. This is the "Mac-Daddy" kit. Nothing kewler or higher end than this, period. Very similar to the 4 valve kit, only 100 years advanced. 4 electrically activated valves, GM wiring plugs with slip fit connectors.