Air Bag tech.

[muppet_man67]

My Dad is looking into some sort of suspension lift for his 95 classic range rover. He his quite satisfied with the advantages of Air suspension and so will be working to improve the height of the Air bags rather then replacing them with coils.

The two options that we have are to either simply lift the airbag mounts or replace with longer bags. In both cases we believe that bump stop extention are required. Longer bags would be the preffered option over lifting however My dad has been told (by people who should know what they are talking about) that it is not advised to install longer bags as when they deflate they will roll too far down the cones and risk damage. However if the bumptops are lengthened equal to the lengthening of the bags then I see no risk of this. Am I mistaken?

[Slunnie]

If you do the bumpstops it should be ok. A lot of D2 owners put spacers between the airbags and the axle then alter the sensor to give the extra ride height.

[muppet_man67]

yes altering the sensors is part of the plan either by altering the length of the sensors, or through reprograming. The way I see it is that longer air bags are the better option over spacers as equal heights will require less psi in the bag and therefore a more comfortable ride and better offroad performance. Howevere perhaps my thinking is wrong.

[Hardy]

Indeed, a conundrum. Problem is where do you get the stuff and how much have you got to spend...

Longer bags are the ideal solution, giving more travel. But if you go with much longer bags (50mm+) then you'll need longer pistons. Definately no good having bags slob out over axles under compression.
Bumpstop adjustment may be required to prevent pistons smacking into top caps under compression - and YES, if adjusted by same distance as new pistons or spacer lift then both above are problems solved in one go.

Spacer lift with std bags is simple & cheap but will not give additional travel, only increased ground clearance - provided sensors lengthened or EAS re-programmed. The latter being much easier than dicking around with the former.

Another trick is obtaining longer bags & new pistons for rear, then swap existing up to front - works for P38, not sure about Classic.

Whatever you do, the key to extending wheel travel is to carefully select correct stroke shock absorbers - ie compressed stroke less than axle on bumpstop, extended stroke limited enough to stop bags ripping off pistons.

Airbag Man in Brisbane should by now have longer travel bags for Classic & D2 - or his P38 bags may fit Classic.
OGDEN Air in the UK has hardcore stuff for Classic.

Owzat?

[muppet_man67]

cheers for that. We have heard that it is possible to fit p38 rears which are longer and classic rears up front. Would this work?

[Hardy]

Most probably.
To get the best result, carry over the matching pistons too.
Then check your bumpstops to stop pistons smacking top caps.
Then see if new shocks will maximise available travel.

Cool!

[muppet_man67]

cool thankyou.