Airbag man rear suspension fitted

[simmo]

hi guys just a short report on the fitting etc of my new rear suspension.
Fitting the bags is fairly straight forward, follow the instructions.
I fitted them a couple of days ago and there's no change in pressure so no leaks, all good so far.

The change in ride with the airbags is very noticeable, I had OME 2" lift kit and shockers all round, and that was a great improvement in the original land rover suspension, ( the gut busters!). But the ride was still fairly choppy at light load, especially at the back.
I initially tried 28.5 LHS and 30psi RHS as a starting point , but landy was slighlty down at the back. ( fuel tanks almost empty.)

I'm now at 35 psi both sides both tanks full, ( std main tank & 42 liter sill tanks on RHS), and landy is slightly up at the back, ( maybe a couple of cm.). When put the spirit level across the roof she's dead level. but when measured on the bump stops shes down on the RHS a few mm.
Currently I'm adjusting the bags using an air compressor manually, but the D-2 guy are the doyens of air ride, and they are helping work out an in cabin system using D-2 parts.

My impression so far is good, much smoother riding, and standard looking ride height, before landy always rode a bit high at the back unless loaded. So at the back I have the best of both worlds, I can drive around comfortably and normal ride height, ( about +2 "), and have not have the choppy ride at the back. When i load up just add some air to maintain the ride height.
Ben and Leon at airbag man have always been available on the phone to offer advice, and the dispatch service was very good.

next thing to try is to lower the suspension onto the bump stops to see if the car will fit under the house. cheers simmo

[simmo]

some defender Tdi, 110 ride heights for you interest;

OME; 2" lift
Back of the roof height; light load, half fuel tanks recovery gear some spares etc. (LL)about 1980 mm. makes you very nervous in the car parks, you can notice the car is higher at the back.

air bag suspension;

at about 35 psi; full fuel tanks, back of car roof at 1940 or 1950 car looks original and level, maybe up at the back slightly by a cm.

at 10 psi the car is on the rear bump stops back of the car is 1860 high. A reduction of 5" over the OME, for parking under the house. the highest part of the car is now the roof above the drivers door, about 1900.

[Babs]

Are you guys talking about replacing springs with an airbag set up or are you adding airbags inside the back coils❓

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[furianer]

Simmo,

Have you tested the setup on a stretch of corrugated road fully loaded

The D2 rear air suspension system is brilliant, having a simplified system in a 110 or Disco1 would be one of the more useful accessories

[Ranga]

Are you guys talking about replacing springs with an airbag set up or are you adding airbags inside the back coils❓

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Good question - Simmo, you got inner coil bags or coil replacements?

I've got full coil replacements, and on the 130 are great for the vastly differing load weights.

[Babs]

Good question - Simmo, you got inner coil bags or coil replacements? I've got full coil replacements, and on the 130 are great for the vastly differing load weights.

Thanks Ranga.

Did you lose or gain any wheel travel with the airbags replacing the coils?

Do you have airbags right round or just the back?

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[Chenz]

I fitted them inside the upgraded coils on my 130 to accommodate the extra load of the Trayon camper.

When loaded up I run them at about 35psi and it is very smooth. With the dual shocks it cuts out the bounce when going over uneven ground. Good thing is when I drop off the camper I let them down to about 15psi and it rides smooth as a sedan.

It has made such a difference to the ride. I could not recommend them highly enough

[simmo]

on the back axle I have full airbag replacement, no springs, the OME shockers seem to be working OK with the airbags, though we haven't done anything demanding yet.
I have the solenoids etc from a D=2, but have some questions about that. what fitting fits into the solenoid valves, so you can join the hoses (1/4")?.

my solenoids were supplied bare with no hoses or connection fittings in the solenoid blocks. ( might have to consult the masters on D-2 forum)

I have a controller with rocker switches and a dual needle pressure gauge, and have made the circuit diagram, we plan to set the whole thing up on an old door for test then transfer to the car. But have many things to do, and need to wait until people are back at work, to get the fittings etc. cheers simmo

[defmec]

What is the body roll like with the airbags?

[simmo]

Hi defmec, I can't say I notice any difference with body roll. My defender has no anti roll bars front or rear. I'm not sure if they should be there or not. They weren't there when I got he car. she does lean a bit in the corners but probably less than the early RRCs I drove.