reliable bags of air

[schmoogene]

hi all,

My wife used to work for a tour company in the Kimberley and because of the 'ungraded' tracks in the wild west, the biggest problem was the corrugations and electrics.

the owner converted one lc troopy to air suspension (albeit a very primative version compared to the D3) and ta dummmm, no more electrical problems. he said the air suspension didn't shake the car as much as a traditional set up.

since the d3 and RR are charged spaggetti on wheels, i though this would be pertinent. long live LRs running air suspension!!

[rmp]

Air suspension (actually air springs, not dampers) is perfectly reliable. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be used on heavy goods vehicles. Some air spring models were prone to damage of the airbag, but with the D3 that's not an issue as they are well protected. The ability to vary the car's height pays huge dividends when it is a dual on-off road vehicle, and the self-levelling is again a major benefit considering the payload variation and towball mass when towing.

Air springs or equivalent is IMHO the way of the future for vehicles of this nature.

Most aftermarket kits deal only with the rear as it's easier, and they typically do not protect the airbag in the way Land Rover has done (on the newer cars anyway).

[TDV6]

An uncle owned a lot of interstate semi's with air suspension and told me the major pay off for him was less breakages from the smoother ride.

[Utemad]

On the transport industry side of things, we used to use TNT and I asked them why they had air springs on their trucks. They said a lot of their customers specified the trucks had to be air sprung on the contracts.

[CaverD3]

D3 air suspension is the best i have ever driven for corrugations (like they are not there) . Early models had issues but are fixed now. Land Rover have got this one right.:D