Air Suspension Tech – The Guide To Air Ride Suspension, Air Bag Lift Kits and Drop Kits!

A recent story crossed our desk that we found a little worrisome. We have several cars and trucks that we’ve enhanced over the years with some great add-ons, such as custom HALO CCFL projector headlights, turbochargers and trick exhausts. We also own a large cabin cruiser and, guess what, we’ve souped up that bad boy as well. Well, a recent press release alerted us to a potential safety hazard with certain replacement marine turbochargers manufactured by an obscure Russian firm. The company released two Alert Service Bulletins last June covering the ships refitted with their turbochargers. Luckily, our boat’s add-on twin turbos came from a different source of aftermarket parts, one that we’ve used for years and trust.
Apparently, there was a defect that affected the safety and safe operations of these Russian turbochargers. All vessel operators of Lloyd’s Register-classed ships fitted with these turbos were notified to take certain precautions:

1. No personnel should go near the turbocharger when it is operating at 60 percent or greater engine load.
2. The inspection and maintenance schedule specified in the turbocharger operating manual should be strictly followed.
3. All records of inspection and maintenance activity related to the aforementioned turbochargers should be retained for later review by Lloyd’s Register.

For those of you unfamiliar with the design and function of turbochargers, these are turbines consisting of a wheel and housing that converts engine exhaust into power that drives a compressor. The exhaust gas experiences a drop in temperature and pressure within the housing that results in the kinetic energy needed to turn the wheel. Axial turbos direct gas flow in the axial direction only, whereas for radial flow models, inflow is centripetal. Radials are used for wheel diameters of 160 mm or less. Above 300 mm, axial turbos rule.
In marine applications involving diesel engines, a pulsed turbocharger is used, configured with twin-entry turbines. This allows for the optimization of exhaust gas pulses, and a high pressure is quickly attained. In this case, both the pressure ratio and the efficiency rises at the same time, a definite plus for low-speed torque. Cylinder interference is avoided by connecting the three cylinders to one exhaust gas manifold. The twin-entry turbines then supply separate gas flows through the turbine.
Turbochargers get hot, and in a ship’s engine room, that can spell trouble. Fire is a definite safety risk when surfaces on a ship get hot. Therefore, marine engines are fitted with water-cooled turbo housings or housings that have a coating of insulating material. Before the advent of water-cooled housings, a few turbocharged ships were lost at sea due to fires and explosions. Also, there was the safety hazard to engineers who frequently suffered burns by inadvertent contact with super-hot turbochargers. The industry worked hard to design the proper solutions to these safety hazards, and cooled housings are now the rule in marine applications. We’re not sure whether the Russian parts firm got the memo.
The bottom line is to only by aftermarket parts from someone you trust, whether it’s for your vehicle or you boat. If you’re looking to equip your current vehicle chassis with custom HALO CCFL projector headlights, you have options. Check out some of the aftermarket shops that offer this system at reasonable prices.

There are many types of valves that can be used for FBSS air suspension. These aftermarket air valves come in many different styles like brass, plastic, single valves, 3 way valves, and even all in one units that can control 4 bags in one sealed unit. These larger valve blocks which control your entire vehicle are referred to as air engines, 8 valve blocks, or VU4 Valves. When choosing your valves be sure to consider your location. In some cases it is more economical to install all the air management components in the same location. Having your air valves, tank and compressors in the same general location keeps your installation clean, easy to service, and avoids long runs of air line that can get damaged. The 3 standard air valve assemblies we offer at X2 Industries, are single brass air valves, large speed controllable air engine manifolds, or the smaller VU4 manifolds.

The stand along independent valves tend to be the old school method of valving your air suspension system. They are a very durable way to outfit your air ride system, as they have a very basic system of components so failure is slim. They use a magnetized plunger and diaphragm to open and close to allow air to travel, very simple, hence the reliability. As for the valve blocks or 3 way valves, there are many more pieces to wear out which will need replaced if they go bad. These valves include seals, o-rings and other components that might create problems in high humidity, freezing areas which will require an extremely efficient water/moisture removal system.

Be sure to ask a lot of questions when considering your options, as they will both work but only one might work better for you!

Many custom car enthusiasts may be wondering what the big deal with projector head lighting is. Visibility during the night is an extremely important safety factor when purchasing a vehicle especially considering more accidents happen during the evening hours. Many of these custom looking factory projectors are found on luxury vehicles in today’s market.

Unlike traditional dual filament bulbs, most factory projector headlights use a cutoff shield to limit light for your vehicle’s low beam output and mechanically move the shield allowing more light to pass through for the high beams. This setup is very common if you purchased your vehicle with the projector system installed from the manufacturer, this allows for a cost effective bulb replacement, as there are only single filament bulbs that utilize the mechanical shutter.

This is not the case with aftermarket; most of the custom projector systems on the market today include a dual filament bulb or High Intensity Discharge Conversion Kit that has a high and low beam, minimizing the mechanical parts in these lights. This design makes it more cost effective to build and limits the overall maintenance that the owner will need to do to keep them running efficiently.

Are you looking for a good place to shop online? I have a great one here, they claim to be the number one aftermarket parts shop, and i can see they are almost there!

CHECK’EM OUT BELOW!

I have been scouring the net for an honest trustworthy eCommerce site that I could purchase all of my air ride parts, custom parts and possibly even get some help at the same time! Well I finally found X2! They are great, they helped me with my installation, gave me an awesome price and had no problem discounting my entire purchase even further!

In some cases the front end of these air ride kits will not lower you to the point that the back is at.. If this is the case with your vehicle and lowering capability’s then an additional lowering spindle or alternate custom drop component would be required to get this fixed. It would all depend on the vehicle type and how low you need to go.. In some cases you can trim the front bag brackets to compensate. Either way your even slam job is definately doable with the right custom parts!