Air piston lift system

It would be even better if itwas made by hotbits, then you could have the coilovers you want :lildevil:
 
Yes, it would ! I like the idea but think it would be more appropiate to have this piston lift on the lower spring seat so there would be no loss of stroke/wheel travel on compression.
 
I had a look at these style of kits.
https://www.s2carbonworks.com/coaircupkits1.html
https://www.stanceparts.com/
Price was the main put off for me, but I do like the idea of height adjustment. They increase the gap between the spring and tophat so when they are raised you would likely get spring block on full compression and loose travel. I don't think there is a way of getting height adjustment with out loosing travel in my case as I can't get any more extension and any spacers will eat into compression. Maybe your springs are further from spring block on full compression or you have another idea?
 
You're right Red, I have only about 2cm before spring block on full compression so that wouldn't help much for articulation but would still help for ground clearance and angles. It could also be set low (OEM height, better handling) for on road and high for off road.
 
Just buy a Landrover discovery. It comes standard. Reliability may be an issue for some but with what I've been reading on this forum about head gaskets on Subarus, maybe the difference is mostly perception.
 
Would be handy to temporarily lift the car to a 4" lift for the occasional obstacles and just leave it at 2" lift with full travel for the majority of the time.



Land Rover is another level of unreliable. The height adjustment on my mates Land Rover has failed and been repaired twice now. Not to mention the thousands of other things that have gone wrong with it. Also, a 2006 Forester with new Hotbits and the air cup height adjustment is under half the price of a 2006 Land Rover in Australia anyway.
 
Land Rovers are good for those wanting to see the great outdoors. The rest of us plan on returning.
 
:rotfl:
 
https://www.kwsuspensions.net/products/hydraulic_lift_system

This is the design I was thinking of, but air, not hydraulic. I already have an idea, two "U" shapes, the small sliding upside down inside the larger sitting on the spring seat. I will see with a friend how it is possible to make them, probably with billet aluminium and then anodized.
 
Either there is some internet issues or it's a blank web site.
 
Hmmmm....it works here.

Maybe google "KW hydraulic lift system"
 
jf1sf5 said:
https://www.kwsuspensions.net/products/hydraulic_lift_system

This is the design I was thinking of, but air, not hydraulic. I already have an idea, two "U" shapes, the small sliding upside down inside the larger sitting on the spring seat. I will see with a friend how it is possible to make them, probably with billet aluminium and then anodized.
Click to expand...

When I was a Kid, we had a DS Wagon. No jack required for wheel changes and we took that thing all over the place!
 
Link works for me.



That system looks good to me, looks like there are a few options out there. Just a matter of finding one that is the correct dimensions to work with Hotbits 2.5" diameter. I'm not sure what your Hotbits canister are like, but I wouldn't be able to fit anything bulky under the spring as canister gets in the way. All the systems seem to space between the spring and spring seat, which would lead to spring block. But that is probably better then spacing the entire shock assembly down and maxing out other suspension components. Guessing an air system in a lot cheaper then a hydraulic system as the ones in that link aren't cheap. I wonder if an air system would have enough compression under load to absorb shock from the spring block?
 
Yeah, Landrovers...nothing like a head gasket on old Subarus.

But the real question is whether any vehicle with a reliable air suspension exists. The Jeep Grand Cherokee certainly is not the one. And the problem is that all these systems drop you down to park mode when they fail, so that you can be assured to be left stuck.

By the way, does a car stay in alignment when lifted via the air suspension to an offroad setting?

I used to think that I want a vehicle with such a lift-on-demand suspension but I have learned better. At the end, any vehicle that can truly do it all would be way too expensive to be asked to do anything other than drive to a club house...

Last year at an autoshow, I took a very good look at the Lexus version of the 200-series Land Cruiser. I found it awful. It tries to be everything and is ultimately the best at nothing. Air lift but also retractable steps. That's just to sum it all up: a hodge-podge of incogruent ideas and components.

Now, a Porshe with air lift...that would be a different story: a true sports car with serious off-road ability. It does exist. But who wants to take a vehicle that expensive on a gnarly trail? Briefly, there was a VW version of the Porshe that was great on road and very capable offroad. But, it came with its own reliability problems and no aftermarket support. These can be had very cheaply now and I even entertained the idea (as a 3rd vehicle), but a 10+ year old VW tends to be a maintenance nightmare, so nope. Plus I was tired of car styling. I want a rectangular cargo area, period.
 
Yes, when lifted the alignment will change. That's not really an issue for offroad. You would set it up so in the lowered (default) position it's at a reliable height for normal driving & get it aligned like that. Then when offroad on a tricky section, lift it up as required. Best of both worlds! But an expensive option
 
NachaLuva said:
Yes, when lifted the alignment will change. That's not really an issue for offroad. You would set it up so in the lowered (default) position it's at a reliable height for normal driving & get it aligned like that. Then when offroad on a tricky section, lift it up as required. Best of both worlds! But an expensive option
Click to expand...


Thanks, so as I thought you cannot just keep it high when off-road, gotta limit the use to more "technical terrain."

After looking at all options from 400 to 3,000$ (there are some at 7,000 lol) for the future of my 4Runner, I simply ordered a pair of Dobinsons springs to replace my front OEM springs. The Dobinsons are 15% stiffer and give 0.75-1" of lift. The latter will mitigate the loss of clearance to my 3/16 steel skid while the former will hopefully help with the bouncy front when offroading.

When the stock suspension, which is otherwise perfectly capable and nice, wears out, then I will see what I do. Maybe even do Dobinsons remote reservoir shocks and add rear springs also.

But air suspensions? Nope. No desire. Too complex, too expensive, not reliable enough. That's partly why I went with the old school Prado derivative.

The fun fact is that I am sticking with OZ suspension products for now! I think they remain focused on use first and bling second. I am also fully armored underneath.
 
Thought about the air lift system this weekend and in fact, it could be done like the stanceparts cup design. The only differences are the outer diameter of the shaft (58mm for the HotBits housing but with a 60mm outer diameter sleeve screwed on it for a slick surface to act like a shaft) and a 90mm outer diameter cup. The side of the flat parts of the cups are 10mm thick to house a "U" seal and a dust seal. The air line would come from underneath or the side. All the aluminium parts would be anodised.
[MENTION=12952]Red XS[/MENTION] I have measured 8cm between the spring seat and the top of the canister on the front coilovers, just enough to fit the hypothetical lift system...the rear have waaay more space !
 
I don't have anywhere near that room.
FKfN2u2m.jpg



Air lift seems very possible and would be awesome!
 
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