Goodyear or Firestone Airbags

[Arcticdude]

Has anybody done a comparison or tried Goodyear airbags instead of Firestones? The 9457's have been on backorder for months now, so I'm looking at alternatives.

[patticake]

Have you tried oversize bag numbers? I had the same problem, and went with 358 8961. You can also use 358 9333. I think the last number is used on the Prevost. The ride and handling improved greatly using the oversize bags on the front. On these two sets of bags you will have to use bolts on the bottom, as they don't come with studs. Minor problem.

[patticake]

John, did you finally get some bags?

[Arcticdude]

Steve, not yet. I tried calling Firestone to see about just getting basic info on various bags (bellows) and the bags' attributes. They would only tell me to contact the manufacturer. I only wanted to find out if a given bellows would be stiffer in it's response or less stiff than the 9457 that's stock. They would not tell me anything. I wasn't even asking for a recommendation, only about the bag and how it would respond compared to a different bag. I've found at least one other bellows that has the same mounting plate on top and the ride height is pretty close, but it's bigger in diameter (~1") and is rated for a heavier load (~500# more). The bottom plates are interchangeable between a lot of bags and there's not much difference between what the larger bag comes with and what my oem bag has. (They mount to the bellows the same, it's only the frame mounting that varies.) So that should be an easy swap, if I could determine whether I'm helping the situation or not. There's nothing that has the same top mount and the same bottom mount, other than the oem bag.

I need to find a willing suspension engineer who would chat for a couple of minutes. I think I could at least make an educated decision and order bags that would work well and be more likely stocked someplace.

[patticake]

I had talked to Peter Haggins about this as he went through the same situation before I did, and he said they don't build the bags in large quanities, plus ours are in small demand compared to the ones the truckers use.
I waited a couple of months before they became available. Now, that was the oversize ones on the front. The back ones came within a couple of weeks. He thought the reason for the delay on the fronts was that Prevost used them and bought a lot of them at once.

[Arcticdude]

That's the problem I'm finding with the 9457 front bags. It appears they're only used by Bluebird, so nobody routinely buys them. That's why I was trying to find an alternative. How did you decide on the ones you chose?

[cmillsap]

John,

Are these the air springs you are looking for? If so, Truck Springs have 2 in stock...... Prevost uses these air springs on their busses with a stick axle. They may also have some in inventory.

https://www.truckspring.com/products/Fir...-9457.aspx

[patticake]

That is the company I went with. They had the lowest prices with good service. I went with the 8961 bags, because they were used on the Prevost and upon recommendation of Peter Haggins, who has a '96, and used them on his coach. After putting them on, the coach rode much better, cornered with less lean, and absorbed bumps better.
I did have to wait a bit as they were not in stock at that moment, but the company did not charge me until they were shipped, plus, they didn't charge any freight.

[Arcticdude]

Chuck,

Those are the ones. Except I need 4! The front axle has 4 bags on it. That's also who's been telling me about the longer and longer back order. I'm a little concerned that I'll end up with 2 bags that are several years old and 2 new bags. I haven't decided how much shelf time I'm willing to accept.

Steve,
I'll have to look at the 8961's. I haven't run across those in my looking.