Growing up doesn't have to suck

[iamdub]

Just remember the more weight you throw on the back the more it will try to inflate to keep the same height

Right. But these bags are supposed to lift and level the rear of a loaded truck and provide up to 1,000 additional lbs. of capacity with no more than 35 psi. I don't ever see me putting anywhere near 1,000 lbs. in or on the rear of my Tahoe. Maybe half that at most. So, it should not get anywhere near 35 psi for lifting 500 lbs. They're not able to expand beyond their normal range (which would lead to exploding) because they pretty much fill the inside of the coil at ride height. So, any additional weight would squash the bags. The compressor adding even a small amount of air should provide the extra spring rate to lift the rear back to it's ride height, which is also the normal height of the air bag and not beyond that. Sure, it will expand outward a little and slightly bulge between the coils. But this is normal operation and it's not a whole lot of expansion.

Me lowering it an additional inch or so with a shorter coil to make it a 5" drop would compress the bag a little. Having the compressor add air to pick it up that inch for a 4" net drop would put the bag back at it's normal height, but with a little more pressure in it which increases the firmness a little and (hopefully) right where I want it.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Word.


I just got back from getting dinner. I measured from ground to fender and it was 1/8" lower than where it was when I parked it Sunday night. I started it and put my tape measure to it. The compressor kicked on and it rose ~1/16". On the drive to the pizza place, it felt like it did when I drove it last. When I got back in it at the pizza place and started it, the compressor came on for about five seconds and I even felt the vibes in the seat. The ride home was a little more firm, not uncomfortable by any means. It felt more balanced with how the front rides. I did the hard slalom motions with the steering wheel and it was noticeably more controlled- less wag and quicker, almost immediate recovery and settling. When I got home and parked, I measured it again and found it was now 1/2" higher than when I started. Where I parked at the pizza place, it was an incline with a shallow dip running widthwise, like the Tahoe was parked over a ditch with the front wheels on one side and the rear over the other. I'm wondering if this loaded/squatted the rear a little more and the compressor put more air into it to pick it up. The extra air would've firmed up the ride which would make it feel more like the front as well as make it more stable against swaying. I liked the feel and handling, just not the lifted height.

So now I have to (1) Find out how much pressure it put in the bags to accomplish this firmness. (2) Lower it an additional 1" - 1.25". (3) Mark the sensors and adjust the links so that it airs up to this same sensor position.

This would give me my 4" net drop AND the desired spring rate (the slightly firmer one I had on the ride home) with the bags inflated to what the ALC system detects as "normal". Everything hinges on the amount of pressure being used...

1. You guys have pizza there?!

2. You performed slalom tests with a pizza in the truck?!

3. If you came up here, you could use a pizza to test how much weight the air ride could handle.

 

[iamdub]

1. You guys have pizza there?!

2. You performed slalom tests with a pizza in the truck?!

3. If you came up here, you could use a pizza to test how much weight the air ride could handle.

1. Place called "Movie Barn". Yeah, they still rented DVDs up until about a year ago. They also sold DirecTV. They sell fireworks during those seasons and seem to be quite the mover of Circle E candles. Anyway, they have a pizza oven and sell Hunts Brothers pizzas. They pretty much have nothing to do with movies any more and just sling pizzas. Being the only pizza option for miles out here, they have the market cornered.

2. I put a hand on 'em in the passenger seat. They seemed fine. Who needs two hands to huck a Tahoe, anyway?

3.

 

[iamdub]

Coonass spring settling method: 100 quart crawfish pot filled with water.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Coonass spring settling method: 100 quart crawfish pot filled with water.

View attachment 241122

That's only 200 lbs. Get the cooler!

 

[iamdub]

That's only 200 lbs. Get the cooler!

It dropped about 3/4" and stayed for the two days I left it, then went up maybe 5/8" after I drained it and made a lap around the block. A week later, it's still exactly where it was. I've decided that the 3"/4" drop just isn't quite enough. I'm looking for another set of TJ coils to cut 1 coil from which should give them the same spring rate and load capacity as the stock coils, but a 4"+ drop. How much over 4" is a guess. I'm hoping for a full inch. It'll always be easy to space it back up to fine-tune the net drop if it's a little too much.

Since the front coils are stock, I'd like the rear to have the stock rate so it feels as balanced as a totally stock Tahoe. As it is now, I can feel the slight difference when hitting bumps/cracks in the road- The rear rides ever-so-slightly softer. I'd like to make the front match the rear, but that's not gonna happen so I'll just have to be satisfied with a stock ride.

For the front, after I resolve the mild rubbing issue, I'll remove the 1/2" spacer from the left side that I put in to even out the Chevy Lean. I have an idea to lower the right side an inch that won't require any special parts, just some careful modifying.

I'm thinking I'll end up with a 4"/5" drop, but it may be somewhere around 3.5"/4.5" and I think I could live with that. I feel I'm just a hair into the "too much fender gap" point.


I want a ~4/5 drop with totally stock ride quality or better, no more than 3/4" rake, left-to-right level within 1/8", no rubbing and, if possible, a functioning ALC system.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

It dropped about 3/4" and stayed for the two days I left it, then went up maybe 5/8" after I drained it and made a lap around the block. A week later, it's still exactly where it was. I've decided that the 3"/4" drop just isn't quite enough. I'm looking for another set of TJ coils to cut 1 coil from which should give them the same spring rate and load capacity as the stock coils, but a 4"+ drop. How much over 4" is a guess. I'm hoping for a full inch. It'll always be easy to space it back up to fine-tune the net drop if it's a little too much.

Since the front coils are stock, I'd like the rear to have the stock rate so it feels as balanced as a totally stock Tahoe. As it is now, I can feel the slight difference when hitting bumps/cracks in the road- The rear rides ever-so-slightly softer. I'd like to make the front match the rear, but that's not gonna happen so I'll just have to be satisfied with a stock ride.

For the front, after I resolve the mild rubbing issue, I'll remove the 1/2" spacer from the left side that I put in to even out the Chevy Lean. I have an idea to lower the right side an inch that won't require any special parts, just some careful modifying.

I'm thinking I'll end up with a 4"/5" drop, but it may be somewhere around 3.5"/4.5" and I think I could live with that. I feel I'm just a hair into the "too much fender gap" point.


I want a ~4/5 drop with totally stock ride quality or better, no more than 3/4" rake, left-to-right level within 1/8", no rubbing and, if possible, a functioning ALC system.

Just out of curiosity, what's your fender gap:sidewall ratio?

 

[iamdub]

Just out of curiosity, what's your fender gap:sidewall ratio?

Never put numbers to it, going purely by eye with it since that's what matters to me. Just for the whimsy and scientific mockery of expressing it as a ratio, I'll take some measurements. It'd be a better "WTF?" item in my sig than "Italian Throttle Mod".

 

[HiHoeSilver]

Never put numbers to it, going purely by eye with it since that's what matters to me. Just for the whimsy and scientific mockery of expressing it as a ratio, I'll take some measurements. It'd be a better "WTF?" item in my sig than "Italian Throttle Mod".

Lol. Well, we haven't seen a pic of this thing in quite a while, so I'm not 100% how she's sitting atm.

It has been "stated" that the fender gap should be under 1:1 with the tire sidewall, but I'm betting you're already lower than that...now give us that ratio!

 

[iamdub]

Lol. Well, we haven't seen a pic of this thing in quite a while, so I'm not 100% how she's sitting atm.

It has been "stated" that the fender gap should be under 1:1 with the tire sidewall, but I'm betting you're already lower than that...now give us that ratio!

Interesting. I never knew there was an established ratio. I thought you were being facetious about my specific goals and methods, so I was playing along.

By that, I'm now a little proud to say that I am under that ratio. But the 285/45-22 has (IMO) a tall sidewall. ...Yeah, I can't give myself any credit- always focusing on what needs to be rather than what is. I swear it's lifting itself and getting higher every time I look at it.

I'll be backing it outta the shop sometime this weekend to perform a 5K service on Jenn's car. If I remember, I'll snap a current pic.