Rear spring/airbag setups?

[isuzurover]

I have a county with +2" (soft) king springs and no load leveller.

The soft springs gave good flex offroad, and was stiff enough for load carrying until a recent trip with 4 people and plenty of gear, food and fuel on board (not to mention a couple of ebay 8274s we picked up along the way - certainly didn't help). JC and Matt will attest to how low it was in the rear!!!

So - the options are, to fit stiffer rear springs each time we go touring, or to fit airbags.

What sort of lifespan can I expect from airbags???

Conversely - what rear springs do you have in your county/110, what sort of load do you carry touring, and are you happy?

[Bearman]

Ben,
I used to have polyair bags in my county rear but they perished and didnt last that long so I experimented with a set of ex army perentie RFSV springs (double spring). I normally run on the outer coil only and when going on long trips with heavy loads I fit the inner coils. Seems to be a good combination. Bit hard on your back when empty if you leave the inner coils in............Brian

[rijidij]

I have King KLRR-05HD's on the rear of the County and OME766's on the front. The rears are fairly heavy, but the car is permanently loaded with all the camping/touring gear as I've got another car as a daily driver. I've never had a problem with the rear sagging or anything. They probably don't have the travel of a softer spring, but they're still pretty good.......and front and rear Maxi's make up for the rest. ;)

[isuzurover]

Ben,
I used to have polyair bags in my county rear but they perished and didnt last that long so I experimented with a set of ex army perentie RFSV springs (double spring). I normally run on the outer coil only and when going on long trips with heavy loads I fit the inner coils. Seems to be a good combination. Bit hard on your back when empty if you leave the inner coils in............Brian

Where did you get the RFSV springs?


Does anyone have firestone airbags? Are they any better than polyairs?

[abaddonxi]

Ben,
I used to have polyair bags in my county rear but they perished and didnt last that long so I experimented with a set of ex army perentie RFSV springs (double spring). I normally run on the outer coil only and when going on long trips with heavy loads I fit the inner coils. Seems to be a good combination. Bit hard on your back when empty if you leave the inner coils in............Brian

Are they the same as 130 dual springs?

I had a look around and found this (http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Perentie_tech.htm)-


Suspension:
The front suspension is similar to the civilian specification but has been upgraded. The Station Wagon utilises unlevelled suspension. Spring specifications are the same on all variants with the rear springs being identical from side to side.

Which doesn't really say anything.

And this (http://www.springerlink.com/content/h3p0v867426111gq/), which is way off topic, and you need a subscription to get at it, but looks very interesting. Talks about developing ROPS for 4wds and Perentie development.

Simon

[Panya]

I've used airbags from Airlift in 2 x 110 Defender and 1 x D1. Seem to be a robust piece of kit, easy to install and work very well. All cars standard height suspension but one set in Defender lasted > 8 years (compressor went), one still going strong in D1 > 12 years and the other Defender > 2 years. Worth checking if they do a set for a longer coil - I know they make a wide range for other cars so likely to do something that will fit.

[87County]

I've used airbags from Airlift in 2 x 110 Defender and 1 x D1. Seem to be a robust piece of kit, easy to install and work very well. All cars standard height suspension but one set in Defender lasted > 8 years (compressor went), one still going strong in D1 > 12 years and the other Defender > 2 years. Worth checking if they do a set for a longer coil - I know they make a wide range for other cars so likely to do something that will fit.

could you please let us know where the Airlift bags can be bought?

thanks - L

[Panya]

I bought them over the net in UK and had them sent to me in Kenya; not much help for you guys! Sorry!;)

[The Mutt]

Does anyone have firestone airbags? Are they any better than polyairs?

We replaced the Rangies coil springs with Firestones, can't give much of a report yet as I have only driven it home from installing the springs and 4BD1 also had a trip to get the exhaust system done. No experience directly with Polyairs thou I know one guy who had one blow, he had been told to use a Hayman Reece Load Leveller for his 28ft caravan and redistribute the load not to throw everything in the front of the caravan, he knew better and pumped up the Polyairs to rock mode!

Glenn

[87County]

Does anybody know if there is a Firestone bag for the rear of the 110/defender and what is ref # is ?

I know that Polyair are available but they are much dearer than Firestones if bought direct from US

They only seem to list for discos & rrs....

thanks - Laurie

[Bearman]

Where did you get the RFSV springs?


Does anyone have firestone airbags? Are they any better than polyairs?

I managed to pick them up from British offroad in Qld some years ago when they were called Landrover Land. They bought several rolled Army perenties and one of them was a Norforce RFSV. The outer coil is the standard perentie one AYG7167 (19.3mm coil thickness and 410mm long) and the inner coil is RRC3266. There is a special retainer that fits into the hole in the chassis spring bracket to locate this spring (RRC3352). I know that WB Statesman V8 front springs are the same as these inners.

[Tusker]

There is a Firestone kit, ask a dealer. I looked into this a yr or two ago.

But Polyairs are the go. I've never had any trouble in 10+ yrs I've had them. Very versatile, easy to adjust. They'd be my suggestion.

Regards
Max P

[weeds]

What sort of lifespan can I expect from airbags???

Conversely - what rear springs do you have in your county/110, what sort of load do you carry touring, and are you happy?

well i was real happy with the polyairs that were fitted to my defender until the other day i discovered one had been holed

i think i brought the defender in 05 and up until the other day i had no problems, i reckon the previous owner install had then install for a number of years, a rough gues would be 8 years

i have standard 110 springs with polyairs fitted, i have been happy with this combination. i toured the simpson desert fully loaded and the rig sat level and rode well, i did have to let a bit of air out when i was in the sand and wombat holes for comfort reasons more than anything. i also tow our caravan a few time a year with a reasonably high tow ball weight

i now have to source some new air bag, the U.S. is loking good, my only concern is warranty

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/01/745.jpg

[rick130]

could you please let us know where the Airlift bags can be bought?

thanks - L


Timbren, Hellwig Helper Springs, Bilstein Shocks, Firestone, Air Spring Kits, Mile Marker Winch (http://www.truckspring.com/)

And there's a few pretty long discussions of air bags here
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/47979-airbags-polyair-firestone.html

[87County]

Timbren, Hellwig Helper Springs, Bilstein Shocks, Firestone, Air Spring Kits, Mile Marker Winch (http://www.truckspring.com/)

And there's a few pretty long discussions of air bags here
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/47979-airbags-polyair-firestone.html

thannks for that rick130 - L

[abaddonxi]

Are they the same as 130 dual springs?

I had a look around and found this (http://www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Perentie_tech.htm)-



Which doesn't really say anything.

And this (http://www.springerlink.com/content/h3p0v867426111gq/), which is way off topic, and you need a subscription to get at it, but looks very interesting. Talks about developing ROPS for 4wds and Perentie development.

Simon

I had a read of the second link. It's all about roll over protection systems (obviously) for Perentie and Bushranger vehicles. Lots of pictures of crashes and test set ups.

[Bush65]

I have had polyair and firestone for disco I side by side for comparison, and can't see anything that would make one better or more robust than the other.

What is the inside diameter of 110 rear coils? I have some polyairs for 80 series landcruiser and wondering if they might suit (approx 5-1/2" 140mm inside coil and about 9-1/2" 240mm tall (not including blocks)).