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Anyone retrofitted air suspension? Or done a custom airbag setup?

Discussion in 'Model S: Driving Dynamics' started by selfbp, Mar 7, 2018.

  1. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    Uncle Paul, the trade-in value of my 2017 MS 75D with 150K km is NOT worth attempting. I would have to fork over another C$30K to $50K (US$22K to $37K) to get a newer MS. I have it setup with an excellent custom stereo, FSD HW 3.0, MCU2 and 72A charger upgrades and a carbon fibre wide-body kit, so I am keeping this one. The suspension upgrade is about C$5K or US$3.7K, which is not bad IMHO.
     
  2. Aggmeister2010

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    If you do invest in aftermarket air suspension, I STRONGLY recommend a managed system like the Accuair (RIP) iLevel system, or the Airlift Performance 3P system that has ride height sensors. Otherwise, you'll constantly be fiddling with each switch to get the car level....and then do it all over again any time you have to raise/lower it.
     
  3. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    Earlier in this thread, I mentioned I was looking at upgrading with coil-overs and Hybrid-Air bags; however, I could not find a suitable solution, so I looked elsewhere. Just bought the Air Tekk Stage 3 Air Struts with Air Lift Performance 3P management system (Stage 3 management kit). I will be installing it in the rear trunk foot weel beside my car audio system upgrade in November 2020. I will provide pics and review once installed.
    Air Tekk Logo.jpg IMG_0720 Model S Right Front View(LowRes Medium size).jpg AirTekk Model S Air Struts.jpg Air Lift 3P Box.jpg
     
    • Like x 1
  4. Aggmeister2010

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    If I could offer a suggestion, you may want to consider putting the tank and compressors in the frunk, or at least put the tank in the rear footwell and mount the compressors outside the cabin, behind the bumper.

    I have aftermarket air ride on another car, and we toyed with the idea of keeping everything in the cabin, but the compressors are LOUD when they're in the cabin...even if you have that foam divider between you and the compressor.
     
  5. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    Mounting the compressors in the footwell isn't too bad. Good isolation feet on them keep the drone down, (FYI, see my setup starting around Post #5 of this thread.)

    Try to upgrade from the3P system to the 3H system. These cars are heavy as hell so a 10-15 degree temperature difference will even show a height difference when you're dealing with pressure-based only.

    I too have the AirTekk struts. I used the factory Tesla air struts (got them from a wrecked Tesla) for close to two years but one (driver's side, rear) started sticking after being pancaked a while. Especially during the summer after pancaking in the morning and allowing the car to sit in a hot parking lot all day... metal expands when heated. :)

    I found the AirTekk struts early this year and ordered them the day I discovered them. Again, our car is heavy as hell and I think the bags on them are really undersized. I was trying to build a custom strut when I got the car but the bellows that would work is the next size up from the bellows onthe AirTekks. Right off the bat, go ahead and set the dampers on SOFT because we don't have access to it once they're on the car. You can drill a hole into the shock tower up front but trust me there's no need. If you have the same experience I had your car is going to ride HARD AS HELL even set on soft. I mean, it reminded me of my old hydraulic days. Get ready to install a couple of ping tanks in the rear to try to soften it up some. I'm up to 2-gallon tanks right now and it's still no where near as comfortable as factory.

    Anyway, that's enough for now. Let us know how things are going with the install when you get to it. :)
     
  6. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    Thanks for the feedback.
     
  7. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    Thanks for the info tsmithlxix. I had been told that the 3H would be hard to install in my car because of long linkage travel; do you have any tips about installing the 3H? I would like to auto-leveling for sure. I never thought of ping tanks, but I don't want a bone-jarring ride, so I will look into those. I know that they go after the manifold and should be near the strut; what did you use and where did you install them?
    Thanks again.
     
  8. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    I wouldn't worry about linkage length. I think mine in the rear are in the 4"-6" range and my fronts are around 8". They're the longest links I've ever had to use but I've never had a problem with them.

    Yeah, it was pretty bone-jarring when I first installed them. Like I said, I think the bellows on those are pretty undersized. I've tried to get in touch with AirTekk since purchasing them but haven't been able to get a response. I think that they think I'm calling to bitch and complain. LOL! (Full disclosure... I haven't tried very had. I've sent one email and left one voice mail.) I simply just wanted to ask them about ping tank sizing, whether they've tried the next bellows size up and what type of feedback they've gotten from customers. Oh well... anyway...

    Ping tanks don't HAVE to be near the strut. They only need to be inline between the valve and strut. Currently mine are located in the trunk on each side near the back seat. I haven't painted/mounted them yet though because I've just been testing different-sized tanks. I'm at 2-gallon now. I may try 3-gal but I don't want to lose my trunk because of shitty struts. (I hate to say it but it is what it is.) I had a second 5-gal tank against the back seat for 10-gals of storage but removed it since I've had to do the pings. Sucks, but I didn't want a trunk full of tanks.

    At some point I may have someone crack open one of the factory struts to see what may be causing it to stick on the low end. It could be metal-to-metal or sticking on an internal bump stop. I'll find out one day. And if it can be corrected I may put those back on. We'll see.
     
  9. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    That's good to know.
    With my carbon fiber wide-body kit installed, I lost about an inch of road clearance, so I am looking to gain some height back. Do the AirTekk struts go an inch or two above factory ride height, which is what I need to clear bumps and steep driveways?
    Cheers
     
  10. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    I now have a chin spoiler that sits a half-inch off the ground so I know what you mean. The AirTekk struts probably give you a couple of inches above factory. Of course, that really depends on where you set your bottomed out height.
     
  11. MaxTorque

    MaxTorque Member

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    That's great; thanks.
     
  12. IchDochNicht

    IchDochNicht Member

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    All I want to know: Does a conversion - be it factory or aftermarket - make the ride softer? One of the few things I don't like about my car is how stiff it is over small bumps - particularly at city speeds.
     
  13. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    That would be up to you. Our cars are heavy as hell be we all love them low, so air ride or not it's going to have a stiffer ride. You 'can' soften your ride with an air setup but it would take the right height (typically higher), the right air bags (more than likely sleeves) and the right pressure (I'm guessing 80's front, 60's rear) and a few gallons of accumulation for each corner (2 to 5 gallon ping tanks inline between each valve and airbag). And there ya go, softer air ride setup. :)
     
  14. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    Any luck with getting your struts installed yet?
    I just spoke with someone from AirTekk who stated that we should just play around with different heights for the struts to try to dampen the ride. He stated that a couple of his Model S customers have found luck with raising the height of the strut and moving the damping closer to the Hard setting. Sounds like raising the car close to ride height instead of slammed may be the trick; which means that our bottomed out height may be closer to where your car is now in order to get a decent ride... maybe. I may start playing around with it but unfortunately any setting changes for us require almost a complete removal of the strut.
     
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  15. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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  16. sundoc

    sundoc Member

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    Just read through this thread... gotta say you guys are awesome for the stuff you're doing to your cars!
    I've got a really basic Q. Hoping someone can answer.

    My rear air struts have started leaking, car will sag when parked for a couple of days.

    Tesla SC says not covered under warranty and I'm getting mixed info re: swapping out the air strut module.
    One side says its not doable, because Tesla needs to reprogram afterwards. The other side says thats nonsense and can just swap out the struts with a salvaged set.

    From reading this thread, it seems I can swab them out without any need for programming. Am I understanding correctly? Thanks in advance!
     
  17. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    My car did not come with air ride so I have no factory air ride experience. But I have about 30 years of custom hydraulics/air ride experience. :) When I first installed air on my Model S I bought a salvage set of air struts because no one was making aftermarket air ride struts for the Tesla. From what I can tell from studying Tesla's air ride system and the struts that I have, there's no reprogramming involved with replacing a like-for-like strut. The system appears to mainly use the height sensors for ride height and (maybe) pressure for load equalization or to compensate for driving style. And blah blah blah...
    But anyway... before you start replacing a strut, you should check for other sources of the leak. It may or may not be the strut. You may want to start at the strut and spray some soapy water around the sir fitting to see if there's an air leak there. Then pull your frunk out and spray around the air manifold to see if there's a leak there. They're all push-to-connect fittings and 'generally' don't come loose or leak but sometimes things happen.
    So basically, check your air line at the startpoint and endpoint of its journey, before you start replacing parts. :)
     
  18. sundoc

    sundoc Member

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    Thanks! Much appreciated :)
     
  19. tsmithlxix

    tsmithlxix Member

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    Keep us posted. :)
     
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  20. SCharged

    SCharged Member

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    I'd be interested in doing this in the future since I don't have the factory air suspension.
     
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