Can any body tell me
The length of standard air bags compressed and extended Please.?
by what ive read the valving setup etc is not very reliable , but
what do people think of the suspension itself , ?
Larry.
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Air bag suspension
Moderator: Micka
Well, its pretty hard to pin a particular length on an airbag.... For a start, are you talking RRC airbags. or P38 airbags? Either way, the compressed length of either of those is not necessarily the lowest height it can go, likewise the raised height is not neccesarily as high as it can go, its a function of how much pressure you put in them. A rough guide would be to say at lowest height, a Hiline rangie with 2-3 inch lowering springs, and at full factory spec extension about 2-3 inch taller springs.
As far as the bags themselves go, they perish and begin to leak after about 6 or 7 years. The valveblocks are filled with millions of o-rings which are supposed to seal the air in, but over time they go hard and don't seal anymore. Driver boxes, for a P38 are over $900, while not being the most common fault, still occur often enough to warrant a mention here. The Drier (supposed to keep moisture out of the air) is filled with (I believe) silicon dessicant, which can break up, then releasing dust all the way through the system, jamming valves open and clogging exhaust suppressors. Pumps wear out over time, as you'd expect.
If you are intending to convert to air suspension for standard ride, and occasionally a bit of lift, don't bother. If you want to run an adjustable setup for serious offroading, I'd say stay away from the rover gear - use the air tank from the Rover EAS setup, but run truck/bus airbags, use perhaps an ARB or similar air compressor, and have a toggle switch and pressure gauge setup for each bag, allowing you to vary each corner individually to whatever height you require. A note here though, its not recommended to lift an EAS rangie by the chassis, as its possible to pop an airbag off its metal seat. In other words, you'd want to be very careful to select shocks which will not allow the bag to extend past a 'safe' point, or limit downtravel in some other fashion.
In short, the air suspension setup is a brilliant concept, with a lot of merit and possibility, but the standard rover setup is flawed by being overly complex - which, in fareness, it has to be to account for the fact that it must be idiot proof, and simple for your average driver, who just wants to push a button and have it happen.
As far as the bags themselves go, they perish and begin to leak after about 6 or 7 years. The valveblocks are filled with millions of o-rings which are supposed to seal the air in, but over time they go hard and don't seal anymore. Driver boxes, for a P38 are over $900, while not being the most common fault, still occur often enough to warrant a mention here. The Drier (supposed to keep moisture out of the air) is filled with (I believe) silicon dessicant, which can break up, then releasing dust all the way through the system, jamming valves open and clogging exhaust suppressors. Pumps wear out over time, as you'd expect.
If you are intending to convert to air suspension for standard ride, and occasionally a bit of lift, don't bother. If you want to run an adjustable setup for serious offroading, I'd say stay away from the rover gear - use the air tank from the Rover EAS setup, but run truck/bus airbags, use perhaps an ARB or similar air compressor, and have a toggle switch and pressure gauge setup for each bag, allowing you to vary each corner individually to whatever height you require. A note here though, its not recommended to lift an EAS rangie by the chassis, as its possible to pop an airbag off its metal seat. In other words, you'd want to be very careful to select shocks which will not allow the bag to extend past a 'safe' point, or limit downtravel in some other fashion.
In short, the air suspension setup is a brilliant concept, with a lot of merit and possibility, but the standard rover setup is flawed by being overly complex - which, in fareness, it has to be to account for the fact that it must be idiot proof, and simple for your average driver, who just wants to push a button and have it happen.
84 Rangie, 3 inch spring lift, 2 inch body, Megasquirted 4.6, R380, rear Maxi, 34x11.5 JT2s. Simex FM installed.
Nice maverick, i had a look at the other thread as well ,
Your getting some good travel there .
Are you using the standard type Rover bags or another type ,
I got the specs on the rover bags , and i also found one with a little more length , but less max weight rating ,
as my Mange rover is 500ks lighter then most , they look promising , Just waiting for a reply from there tech department for more info,
About $130 au each for the longer ones plus shipping,
any thoughts on setting up a simple valveing system ?
Larry
Your getting some good travel there .
Are you using the standard type Rover bags or another type ,
I got the specs on the rover bags , and i also found one with a little more length , but less max weight rating ,
as my Mange rover is 500ks lighter then most , they look promising , Just waiting for a reply from there tech department for more info,
About $130 au each for the longer ones plus shipping,
any thoughts on setting up a simple valveing system ?
Larry
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All depends how simple you want but the most simple is....
Air supply into a oneway valve into a regulator with gauge. Output of regulator to the airbag via a on/off tap. When reducing the air pressure the excess vents from the reg.
One circuit required for each corner if you want to adjust each. However, you could common the rears together then use 3 regs, or common the fronts as well and use 2 regs. This will give you front/rear adjustment but not side/side.
Using such a simple system does have the advantage that there are now valves, solenoids or electronic controllers to go wrong but it's not bling !!!
Cheers,
Andy
Air supply into a oneway valve into a regulator with gauge. Output of regulator to the airbag via a on/off tap. When reducing the air pressure the excess vents from the reg.
One circuit required for each corner if you want to adjust each. However, you could common the rears together then use 3 regs, or common the fronts as well and use 2 regs. This will give you front/rear adjustment but not side/side.
Using such a simple system does have the advantage that there are now valves, solenoids or electronic controllers to go wrong but it's not bling !!!
Cheers,
Andy
Last edited by Uklandyandy on Mon Sep 26, 2005 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
for top quality control blocks have a look at air ride inc in the US then you can dial more air on the low side of a side slope and level the car on the move, good source for a compressor is endless air - I cant recommend them enough 0061 0395 844785, you get the added benifit of being able to reseat popped tyres 
Nothing exceeds like excess......
not too many of them in breakers in the northern hemisphere, as an off the shelf solution I like it, no preoilers, no messing,
£160+tax for an ARB piece of crap that takes a week to fill a tyre, can't reseat a bead and freaks out at the sight of water or £280 for an endless,
if you can do it out of a breakers and save yourself some coin then fair play just not an option for us
£160+tax for an ARB piece of crap that takes a week to fill a tyre, can't reseat a bead and freaks out at the sight of water or £280 for an endless,
if you can do it out of a breakers and save yourself some coin then fair play just not an option for us
Nothing exceeds like excess......
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