Questions about Air Ride suspension ask here
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,205
Likes: 23
From: bay area
from the looks of it. being that is has that plug and play box that has the compressor and valves in it. i believe that is the AIM setup. AIM being the brand/company that makes the kit. and i would not even suggest AIM products to my worst enemy. they are terrible quality and they have horrible customer service.
Kenny, do you know of any good bay area shops that would do some real good legit work installing these kits? I have a friend with a 2007 BMW 550i that wants to bag his car. I know this isn't a bimmer forum but you seem very knowledgeable with air suspension so i'd thought i'd ask you. He's aware of the maintenance work but is willing to pay to get it installed and get maintenance work done right for reasonable prices. Also any recommendations on which kit to get?
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,205
Likes: 23
From: bay area
the kit i would recommend is the one i put together in the second post.
the closest shops that i can recommend from personal experience are down in fresno area. i have never worked with any of the shops in the bay area. when i was real big into air ride there wasnt really any bay area shops that knew much about doing installs or that did them correctly. so i never did business with them regardless of it being an install or just buying a part
the closest shops that i can recommend from personal experience are down in fresno area. i have never worked with any of the shops in the bay area. when i was real big into air ride there wasnt really any bay area shops that knew much about doing installs or that did them correctly. so i never did business with them regardless of it being an install or just buying a part
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,205
Likes: 23
From: bay area
poor installation will definatly cause leaks. if you dont seat the airline all the way into the fittings or if the ends of the airline werent cut perfectly straight.
also after a long while the valves can start to leak from calcium buildup. which is caused because when the compressors fill the tank up it creates moisture in the air that its pumping into the tank and you can push water through the lines and the water will then settle and dry up on the valve internals which causes calcium buildup and wont let the valve close all the way. and in some cases it can even cause them to stick open or closed. they do sell valve rebuild kits though for super cheap. or you can just take them apart and clean them real good.
also most of the compressors these days have check valves on the end of the leader hoses that come off of them so that air doesnt push back out of the tank into the compressor. and those check valves do go bad after a while so you might fill the tank up and in the morning the tank will be empty. then you look for air leaks in all the fittings and cant find any. its most likely that check valve. the way to check that is to fill the tank up using the compressor and then unscrew the leader hose from the compressor leaving it attatched to the tank. hold your thumb over the open end for about 30 seconds and then remove it. if you hear a burst of air come out of the leader hose then the check valve is bad. this wont happen though for about 1.5-2 years of use and it also depends on what pressure switch you are using. if you are using a 200psi pressure switch then it will happen faster than if you are using a 145 or a 160 pressure switch
bags themselves leaking is very common. on a really old bag that has been weathered can start to crack because the rubber will start to get warn out. but that wont really cause a leak. more of a full out bag failure. but that could take years. and if the bag is rubbing on something then it can cause rips or leaks. if you notice the bag is rubbing on ANYTHING, even if its not metal, CHANGE THE BAG AND FIX WHATEVER IS MAKING IT RUB. do not think oh it doesnt look to bad it will be fine. because i promise you have a bag failure at some point and it will most likely be while you are driving. which is very dangerous. there really isnt anything that the bags should be rubbing on though on the G. if it is rubbing on something then it was installed wrong.
also after a long while the valves can start to leak from calcium buildup. which is caused because when the compressors fill the tank up it creates moisture in the air that its pumping into the tank and you can push water through the lines and the water will then settle and dry up on the valve internals which causes calcium buildup and wont let the valve close all the way. and in some cases it can even cause them to stick open or closed. they do sell valve rebuild kits though for super cheap. or you can just take them apart and clean them real good.
also most of the compressors these days have check valves on the end of the leader hoses that come off of them so that air doesnt push back out of the tank into the compressor. and those check valves do go bad after a while so you might fill the tank up and in the morning the tank will be empty. then you look for air leaks in all the fittings and cant find any. its most likely that check valve. the way to check that is to fill the tank up using the compressor and then unscrew the leader hose from the compressor leaving it attatched to the tank. hold your thumb over the open end for about 30 seconds and then remove it. if you hear a burst of air come out of the leader hose then the check valve is bad. this wont happen though for about 1.5-2 years of use and it also depends on what pressure switch you are using. if you are using a 200psi pressure switch then it will happen faster than if you are using a 145 or a 160 pressure switch
bags themselves leaking is very common. on a really old bag that has been weathered can start to crack because the rubber will start to get warn out. but that wont really cause a leak. more of a full out bag failure. but that could take years. and if the bag is rubbing on something then it can cause rips or leaks. if you notice the bag is rubbing on ANYTHING, even if its not metal, CHANGE THE BAG AND FIX WHATEVER IS MAKING IT RUB. do not think oh it doesnt look to bad it will be fine. because i promise you have a bag failure at some point and it will most likely be while you are driving. which is very dangerous. there really isnt anything that the bags should be rubbing on though on the G. if it is rubbing on something then it was installed wrong.
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,205
Likes: 23
From: bay area
^ what he said....
you could easily run a 3 gallon tank and be fine. and if you have compressors that have a 100% duty cycle then it really doesnt matter if they kick on a lot.
pros
its smaller and you save space
its cheaper
cons
you run out of air quicker and your compressors have to kick on sooner(not really a big deal though, i wouldnt be concerned about it)
you could easily run a 3 gallon tank and be fine. and if you have compressors that have a 100% duty cycle then it really doesnt matter if they kick on a lot.
pros
its smaller and you save space
its cheaper
cons
you run out of air quicker and your compressors have to kick on sooner(not really a big deal though, i wouldnt be concerned about it)
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,205
Likes: 23
From: bay area
valve and air line sizes make the speed.
big valves/line = fast
small valves/line = slow
for the G i would say 1/4 inch valves and line.
if you want to hop. which i dont see why anyone would do that in a G then run 1/2 valves and lines and 200psi pressure switch.
big valves/line = fast
small valves/line = slow
for the G i would say 1/4 inch valves and line.
if you want to hop. which i dont see why anyone would do that in a G then run 1/2 valves and lines and 200psi pressure switch.
i disagree. the reason that the psi in the bags fluctuate when you take a turn is because mose people take the easy way out and put all the valves in the trunk. which is kinda silly if you ask me. if you do it that way and lets say your gauge reads 50psi in each bag. well realistically its 50psi in each bag AND that same 50 psi is also whats in the airline thats running from the valve thats way back in the trunk all the way to the front of the car where the bag is. if you put the valve as close as possible to the bag. you will have VERY VERY minimal psi fluctuation.
