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Air Assist Suspension for the piste ? Air Assist Suspension for the piste ?
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Equipping the Overland Vehicle Vehicle accessories - Making your home away from home comfortable, safe and reliable.
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  #1  
Old 3 Dec 2006
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Air Assist Suspension for the piste ?
Hi all,

I recently got a hdj 80 with quite new +4cm yellow springs + kony heavy track shocks, however, when the hdj is loaded still swings quite a lot in paved curves. And I'm afraid the kony shocks can go to their limit in heavy conditions (the normal conditions in pistes in the Sahara) .

Since upgrading to something really good (Blistein is commonly used in Spain for hdj's ) is far from my possibilities I was thinking in upgrading the suspension by using those AIR ASSIST SUSPENSION FOR COILS from Airbagman in Australia.

Those Air Bags go inside of the existing coil.
(price 215 Australian dollars + 80 AUD. shipping to Europe)

I wonder if anyone can share any experience or opinions with those air bags things. Are they reliable in heavy conditions ? Do they really help the existing coils and shocks ?...

Thanks in advance.
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  #2  
Old 3 Dec 2006
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airbags...
I haven't had experience myself but i know a man who has...

From what he has told me, and he fits and kits out cars for trips, they are not a good idea because they push a lot of energy/stress onto the chassis and on the cars he has seen that have them fitted, the chassis cracks and in several cases the cracks have been catastrophic.

They seem like a god idea and I'm sure there will be othere here who have fitted them but having seen enough photographic evidence, I certainly won't be going down this route.

Get bigger springs and shocks and keep the weight down. And maybe adjust your bump stops.
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  #3  
Old 3 Dec 2006
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Hi. I sell these. I have some fitted on my 80. I have fitted many to overland vehicles. They are VERY good. If you fit HD springs you have a hard ride when you have no weight in. With the air helpers you simply let them down so it is comfy again. When you have weight in you simply inflate them and they will get your vehicle back to being level and they will make the ride firmer. If you over inflate them you can smash up the poly end caps on the air springs.
Let me know if you want some, I can't remember the price (as they are special order) but I think they are about £120, maybe less.
I would not advise getting even stronger springs, this just creates more stress on the axle and chassis. In fact I would advise getting standard (or maybe +1 or +2 inch) springs. I think +4 inch to too much. There is a lot more stress on the universal joints, suspension bushes and the steering geometry is never quite the same. Oh, and at +4 inch the centre of gravity is not in the best place!
Very best regards,
Matt Savage

www.mattsavage.com
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  #4  
Old 4 Dec 2006
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Matt,

Quote:
If you over inflate them you can smash up the poly end caps on the air springs.
Which brand are you talking about? Can you explain about the poly caps?

Quote:
I would not advise getting even stronger springs, this just creates more stress on the axle and chassis.
That's another way of warning against overloading the vehicle. I still believe
springs that are too soft are a greater risk.

Armadillo,

Quote:
And I'm afraid the kony shocks can go to their limit in heavy conditions
With higher springs you need also to extend bump stops to prevent the springs from binding and the shocks from bottoming out.

I would also recommend fitting limiting straps on both axles to protect the shocks from being overloaded in the other direction.

I have air bags fitted but not yet tested in the wild. I assume that can't be a liability (except the cost) because even if they fail through rubbing or puncture the original springs are still there. You will need to trim the rubber cones inside the springs to adjust them for the length of the bags.
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  #5  
Old 4 Dec 2006
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Hi Roman. I'm taking about 'Air Lift'. They've been making air helper springs since the dawn of time! On the HDJ80 you have to remove the bump stop that's inside the rear coil and put the air helper there. The poly (polyurethane) end caps are discs that sit on the top and bottom of the air helper spring.
I have a picture on my web site of the rear of a 110 with these fitted, the HDJ80 is just the same.

See y'all,
Matt

PS, my comment on getting even stronger springs was in relation to the strong springs that were/are already fitted. I mean, certainly have stronger springs, but not too strong.

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  #6  
Old 4 Dec 2006
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Matt,

Quote:
The poly (polyurethane) end caps are discs that sit on the top and bottom of the air helper spring.
When I was fitting my AirLift 1000 kit it did not come with poly end caps. These were not mentioned in the fitting instructions, either.

What I did was cutting off a lenght of the rubber bump stop inside the springs to compensite for the lift.

Is there going to be any problem with this installation, or are the end caps an after-after market item?
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