Hi all just thought I'd give some feedback on how Koni Raid shocks work with air bag suspension front and rear, as when I was searching for answers I found bugger all! I purchased the 130 already converted to air bags and it had "ultimate suspension" shocks and the ride was very harsh over small bumps and generally felt more like and old leaf spung truck than a nice plush defender. I possibly could have got them re-valved but one rear shock was stuffed anyway.
After lots of measuring I was confident I could make the koni's fit with some modifications, even though the salesman wasn't too keen! The only thing I wasn't sure on was how the valving would suit air bags, but worst case they can be re-valved at a cost and I was keen on the koni raids for their very good tough reputation.
So I bit the bullet, ordered and installed the koni's. Very briefly, to suit the airbags own internal bumpstops and max extended length I matched the shock mounts to take advantage of the full stroke of the shock while having a 30mm safety margin when sitting on the chassis bumpstops. At the rear I had to lower the bumpstops, shorten the airbag spacer and lower the top shock mount, at the front I just had to raise the lower shock mount.
End result, night and day difference to old shocks, very happy. So much smoother over bumps and heaps less body roll on the road, has transformed the vehicle, well worth the effort. If anyone want's more details of the modifications let me know.
I have Airbagman air springs and Koni Raids on the rear of my 130 and have found them to be excellent, however I have not made any modifications (hopefully photo attached). My research prior to shelling out the dollars was that the springs and shocks were compatible as was, is there a specific reason you made your modifications?
Any more info on the raids , as in part numbers? Open and closed lengths if you could? I have the same set up (actually i think that used to be my front housing and turrets you have there)except coils, and I'd prefer some raids. Are they the same lengths as the old shocks?
Cheers
Hi Taylorslandy, thanks for this timely post. I have Firestone airbags in the rear of my 130 and the shock absorbers are about due for replacement. Any further information would be welcome. Cheers, 130man.
Any info about the mods is welcome! How much did you shorten the spacer, increase the bumps etc and also the shock mounts too. I will be doing this soon and already have the raids so I don't want to have to replace them
Firstly, I too have the air bag man kit in the rear and you obviously can simply bolt on the koni shocks and away you go. The reason I modified the mounts etc is because I wanted to take advantage of the full stroke of the shock giving the most wheel travel. The shocks are designed for coil springs, so if the vehicle ever hits the bump stops there is still about 30mm of compression left before the shock bottoms out to allow for compression of the bump stop to protect the shock. With the airbag kit fitted and standard bump stops, if you dump air out you will notice the vehicle will be sitting on the airbags own internal bump stops and there will be a gap of about 25mm between the standard chassis bump stop and diff. This is the difference. If you don't adjust the shock mounts the shock will have a fair bit of travel that will never be used due to the airbags bump stop, and you will be opperating near the top of the shocks stroke so when a wheel drops in a hole the shock wont have much travel left before being fully extended. It is reccomended to not rely on the airbag bump stops as they are very solid, so I wanted to have the chassis bump stop contact first and allow about a 15-20mm compression before hitting the airbag BS. So, to give the 20mm safety margin the standard bump stops would have to be lowered by the 25mm (gap under BS while sitting on airbag BS) plus 20mm = 45mm. BUT! I didn't want to have my standard ride height too high and didn't want to mess around lowering the shock mount too much, SO I decided to cut about 15mm out of the airbag spacer which allowed only a 30mm spacer to be added to the bump stops giving the required compression allowance before hitting the airbag BS.
To lower the top shock mount I simply used the "other" holes in the mount which lowered it by about 16mm. I just had to grind a small flat and drill a hole in the bottom of the mount and drill one hole through the chassis, was quite easy. The end result is, with the 130 sitting on its new 30mm lowered bump stops there is still 30mm of compression before the shock bottoms out, and on full extension the airbag is near its limit.
The front has turrets from Verns old rangie and axle housing with the factory air bag range rover shock mounts. I cut the mounts off and made new ones extending them up 55mm and out a bit to clear steering arms etc as the raids are big mothers. This new shock mount position still had a 30mm safety margin sitting on the bumpstops, and when fully extended the airbags are at their limit.
The Koni shocks have a fair bit less travel than the old "Ultimate Suspension" ones when compared out of the vehicle, but after all the mods the travel in the vehicle is actually about 10mm more with the Koni's because they are set up better.
Part numbers; Front= 90 5374 for 0-50mm lift Rear= 90 5401 for 40-60mm lift.
The shocks are adjustable but I have left them as they came which I believe is the softest setting. The ride is magic compared to how it was but still not classic rangie soft, but still very good, I'm happy
With the shortened spacer between the air spring and the spring perch, take care that the bellows doesn't rub against the spring perch, which is a little too narrow in that area. In service, the bellows will expand more that is when static.
I understand you don't want your "standard" ride height too high. If you raise the ride height when "off road", you will find that the extra volume of trapped air in the spring will improve the ride.
Does your control system allow different programmed height settings?
Master
Supporter
)except coils, and I'd prefer some raids. Are they the same lengths as the old shocks?
) turbo, p/steer, RFSV front axle/trutrack, HF, gullwing windows, double jerrys etc.
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