What does an air suspension kit offer on installation?
– Better vehicle control
– More efficiency
– Comfort during driving
– Effective versatility
– Less or no shocks
Only real car enthusiasts tend to squeeze every last bit of its performance. We meet those wanderlust guys each day. When you install an air suspension, the work doesn’t end at the instalments only. Only the real geeks understand the issues, especially when they want to have a personalised comfort position.
The idea goes like this-How can I put my Volkswagen’s sub-frame on the ground, making it roar on the road?
In this article, we are talking solely about the technical part of air suspension, so if you’re a pro player in the game, stay. If you’re a new guy or less technical person, the article may be confusing on first read.
With all that is said, let’s dive deep.
Why You Should Not Apply One For All Instalment Setting?
First, understand that there’s no ideal setting fit-for-all. The idea of picking up the right comfortable standard makes it super personal. Only you can decide what suits your driving the best. If you have spent nights experimenting with your wrench, congratulations, you’re on the right path.
In this article, we will discuss a few major factors that would personalise your driving, which are:
- Spring Pressure
- Damping Settings
- Anti-Roll Bars
- End Links
- Design of the Suspension
Spring Pressure and Its Impact on Ride Quality:
Spring Pressure is a special beneficiary only available to the Air Suspension system. Spring pressure allows the vehicle to get the right ride height by increasing the pressure. The air spring gets stiffer with the insertion of air and release of it.
Having control over the air pressure gives you flexibility to change the ride height as desired.
The ride height and amount of pressure needed to depend on the suspension design and what kind of vehicle you’re driving. An ideal spring pressure varies from one to the next.
1. Adjusting Air Springs:
Suppose you have got a vehicle, directly from the garage and so you have decided not to customise the suspension setting, such as Lower Mounts or Spring Perches.
Though you have checked and customised the vehicle’s height aesthetically and what seems good to you.
Now the test drive!
While test-driving the vehicle, you will see the real difference between what you imagined is right and what would be the real deal.
You feel that the springs are softer. So your car has too much baby roll. You increase the air spring pressure and find the perfect firmness of the suspension.
When you return to your home, you find your vehicle’s height is increased and has more wheel gap.
No worries. Note that. That’s your personal four corner air spring pressure.
When parking or shutting off your car, shorten the suspension to get back to its original state.
Seems your wrench will have a lot of tasks to complete.
( Also Read More – Exploring the Necessity of Airbag Suspension for Towing Heavy and Uneven Loads )
2. Damping Settings:
Damping can be controlled by setting up a shock absorber. Inside the shock absorber system, there is a small orifice whose job is to restrict the flow of fluid during compression and rebound strokes. This restriction gives the desired damping.
The modern damping control mechanism involves a shock absorber with an orifice valve and a damping adjustment knob.
The adjustment knob controls the size of the orifice which restricts the hydraulic fluid flow, respectively. The smaller the orifice, the greater restrictions there will be.
But how does damping work in reality?
Whenever your vehicle hits a bump on the road, it experiences a shock, the spring will happily continue contracting and expanding, proceeding to release the energy for a long time after the bump. This is an example of underdamped.
On the other hand, the extreme opposite of an overdamped situation is also not favorable for a vehicle. In that case, the suspension loses its ability to come back to its original position.
3. Anti-Roll Bars:
Anti-roll bars connect the left and right sides of the suspension. It minimises body roll every time you corner your vehicle.
You, as per your comfort, can adjust the stiffness of the anti-roll bars, which will offer better control & support, especially during sharp turns on the roads.
A soft setting allows for more flexibility and body roll, which offer a smoother ride. On the other hand, a stiffer setting offers less control to you and offers stability during cornering.
Anti-roll bars affect the vehicle’s handling and tailor it to your preferences.
4. End Links:
End Links connect anti-roll bars to the suspension components. The end link length can alter the preload on the anti-roll bars, which affects their efficiency of controlling body roll.
Shorter end links increase preload and make anti-rolls stiffer whereas longer end links make them softer & flexible.
5. Design of the Suspension:
The overall design of the suspension you’re using affects the whole idea of the suspension process. It involves air spring types, shock absorbers, and control algorithms which heavily personalise the comfort & control of driving.
Modern suspension systems also include some advanced features, such as
- Automatic adjustable ride height facility.
- Advanced systems for different driving modes – comfort, eco, sport etc. for different conditions.
Understand the variations of different air suspension components, and you can modify them to get your personalised suspension comfort.
Conclusion:
Air suspension systems are subjective to people’s personal choices and the best experience will always be your personalised one, catered only to you.
But how can you achieve it?
In this article, we have discussed the air spring adjustment, damping settings, anti-roll bars, end link, and most importantly, design of the suspension system.
Understanding each one of them and adjusting them to your personal comfort will give you the best experience of driving ever.
