FTAO ppl on air

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Jonni

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Is the ride quality / handling reduced when been on air . how do you find the handling when its sitting at normal ride height is there much roll with it been on bags rather than springs etc thanks
 
There are 3 or 4 guys over on edition 38 who have air on S3's. Might have more luck over there. There is a new kit out now which allows you to keep your anti roll bars and everyone says handling and ride is superb. :)
 
I can also report as of saturday when i get mine with the new bags and struts :)
 
Thanks guys keep me posted. N8 have you gone for the new kit which allows you to keep the arb on the car ?
 
Yes, I've had air since 2010 & last winter I've upgraded management and now upgraded the front struts along with ARBs (H&R), rear is on, front is due to go in, also fully polybushed, once the car is back and fully setup then I will do a comprehensive writeup.
 
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Can you pass MOT's with your old struts and no ARB as I thought it was a requirement for the MOT to have an ARB?
 
N8 said:
Yes, I've had air since 2010 & last winter I've upgraded management and now upgraded the front struts along with ARBs (H&R), rear is on, front is due to go in, also fully polybushed, once the car is back and fully setup then I will do a comprehensive writeup.
Click to expand...

looking forward to the write up Nathan, its been a while since your last. :) x
 
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Which kit are you running N8 ? Airlift ?
 
Is it expensive to get done? how much work was involved? its something I've always liked, as the stance is second to none.
 
Depends what setup you go for. Like everything in life, there are positives & negatives, air has it's plus' & its drawbacks. But it's practicality outweighs the static lows as it's so much more usuable & smooth to drive.

I'd over you a ride out in mine, but your quite far from Manchester :laugh:
 
yea positives you can get overspeed bumps when riding low lol, im on coilovers at the moment and is fairly stiff ride, i think ill just have to save my pennies and get it done at some point lol, did you fit it all yourself or put it into a garage. yea im a fair distance from manchester lol :yes:
 
Plush Automotive installed mine, Low Standard Designs have worked on it since, fair few companies around now who specialize in this..
 
stuartm said:
yea positives you can get overspeed bumps when riding low lol, im on coilovers at the moment and is fairly stiff ride, i think ill just have to save my pennies and get it done at some point lol, did you fit it all yourself or put it into a garage. yea im a fair distance from manchester lol :yes:
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I will be down Manchester soon getting my tbe from awesome lol
 
Think ill need to start looking into it, see how much it will cost all in including fitting, I emailed that airlift company but they didn't get back to me on it lol.

The accuair E-level is that the one that set the ride height as you start driving? Do you need the arches rolled to get the wheels tucked?
 
All down to your fitment, and what wheels you are running whether you need to roll arches, if your looking to run poke or tuck.

E-level has sensors added to the struts to find its own level, i.e if you are at your riding height and you pick up three mates the car will automatically top the air in each corner to bring it to the correct height without touching anything. I wanted e level but couldnt stretch my budget that far.

I have gone for airlift v2 which is a totally different management system but has 8 preset levels so you can set 8 different presets on the controller which are accessible at the press of a button.

If you have the money to spare id go e level. it worked out about another £6-700 for the e level over v2 for me.
 
That is a fair amount of money, but all worth it I'm sure. I would want to go for the tucked look. I'm starting to like that the more I see it. I would also need someone close by who could fit and set it all up for me. Couldn't do that myself hehe

Sorry for being nosey how much did the airlift v2 come in at?

What is the handling and comfort ride like mate?
 
Yeah its alot of money, but then its alot of kit really. I got shiv at design4automotive to do mine in the end and hes been a top guy so far.

I can't comment on how it rides as i dont pick it up until saturday!

I won't disclose exactly how much mine is all i will say is speak to a few companys about different kits and what your after with the kit. i.e 2 compressors what tank, what sort of build your going for stealth/show etc and they will give you a better idea.

Places like

Design4
Plush
Low standard design
All stance

Theres alot of companys doing it at the minute so get emailing they are all good and get back to you with a free quote!
 
Josh williams said:
Yeah its alot of money, but then its alot of kit really. I got shiv at design4automotive to do mine in the end and hes been a top guy so far.

I can't comment on how it rides as i dont pick it up until saturday!

I won't disclose exactly how much mine is all i will say is speak to a few companys about different kits and what your after with the kit. i.e 2 compressors what tank, what sort of build your going for stealth/show etc and they will give you a better idea.

Places like

Design4
Plush
Low standard design
All stance

Theres alot of companys doing it at the minute so get emailing they are all good and get back to you with a free quote!
Click to expand...

Aw excellent mate thanks for the advice. I will get emailing about and see what is the best price, and for me it would be all about stealth :) was more just a rough price than what you actually paid mate :)
 
What is the ride like? Is it as stiff as coilovers? What are the sensor for, if I had the money I'd have it when you locked the car it would drop the the floor too.

Im really interested in the air ride set up :)
 
stuartm said:
What is the ride like? Is it as stiff as coilovers? What are the sensor for, if I had the money I'd have it when you locked the car it would drop the the floor too.

Im really interested in the air ride set up :)
Click to expand...

Sorry i didnt mean they were attatched to the struts, as if they were that would just be pointless haha. The sensors are to monitor the ride height as far as i know (correct me if im wrong nath) But i was told the sensors work as in if your at your low ride height and you pick some people up the back end will automatically raise up to compensate for the weight that has just got in and pushed the car down so you do not have to worry about manually airing it up to compensate.

With v2 you would have to create a preset for this and trial and error it until it was right. E level in my opinion is the best kit however its the most expensive, you pay for what you get.

Nath how many compressors are you runnning?

jonny1985 said:
Any updates guys
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Picked my car up yesterday mate with the new struts and kept my anti roll bars, i can honestly say the ride with the bags has made hardly any difference to what it was before on H&R springs! Also the new struts are based on a coilover design with dampening and camber adjustment!

Think i have got that right im sure nath will come along and tell me i have it all wrong though :laugh:
 
Josh williams said:
Sorry i didnt mean they were attatched to the struts, as if they were that would just be pointless haha. The sensors are to monitor the ride height as far as i know (correct me if im wrong nath) But i was told the sensors work as in if your at your low ride height and you pick some people up the back end will automatically raise up to compensate for the weight that has just got in and pushed the car down so you do not have to worry about manually airing it up to compensate.

With v2 you would have to create a preset for this and trial and error it until it was right. E level in my opinion is the best kit however its the most expensive, you pay for what you get.

Nath how many compressors are you runnning?



Picked my car up yesterday mate with the new struts and kept my anti roll bars, i can honestly say the ride with the bags has made hardly any difference to what it was before on H&R springs! Also the new struts are based on a coilover design with dampening and camber adjustment!

Think i have got that right im sure nath will come along and tell me i have it all wrong though :laugh:
Click to expand...

thanks for the reply mate, think ill save up for the e-level. Don't think I could be bothered with the manual airing every time someone gets in.

I seem a bit on you tube that you can use your iPhone to raise and lower it with an add on receiver too.

Like you say mate you get what you pay for. I would need to find a good reputable company to put my car into to get it done too. Wouldn't tackle that job myself lol.
 
Having had my previous golf as a low static daily, its safe to say that i much prefer the A3 on air! So much so i went straight for air and didnt waste my pennies on Coilovers.

The handling is just as good as if it was on coils, better than standard set up, but it is harsher. Im running accuair e level with air lift struts (old style.) I think having the new style bags enabling you to retain the arb would be far preferable, as when air'd up it can feel quite loose when cornering, i never feel confident to push it too hard and mine is quattro at that.

E-Level is so easy to use though. I love it :) (my girlfriend can even use it :p)
 
audi upgrades
I do wish now i went for e level i must admit, just for the controller. However v2 now im getting to grips with it is good for me.

If i get the spare cash i may upgrade the management to e level. With the new bags i must admit i have gave it a little around a corner in the s3 and it hasnt made me think im pushing it to far!

Nath if you see this mail me a photo of your boot set up :)
 
whats the noise of the compressors like to live with everyday? its the one thing that puts me off having that noise in the boot all the time.

How often do they kick in?
 
Mines pretty loud, louder than i though although i suppose they could be sunk into boxes as long as they have ventilation as they get quite hot.

Ive got one compressor but will soon be adding another and then maybe another lol.
 
Is it better to have more than one pump? I'm sure you would get used to the noise or just turn the music up lol.

How are yours set up? Did you go for the tucked look or poked?
 
Josh williams said:
Sorry i didnt mean they were attatched to the struts, as if they were that would just be pointless haha. The sensors are to monitor the ride height as far as i know (correct me if im wrong nath) But i was told the sensors work as in if your at your low ride height and you pick some people up the back end will automatically raise up to compensate for the weight that has just got in and pushed the car down so you do not have to worry about manually airing it up to compensate.

With v2 you would have to create a preset for this and trial and error it until it was right. E level in my opinion is the best kit however its the most expensive, you pay for what you get.

Nath how many compressors are you runnning?



Picked my car up yesterday mate with the new struts and kept my anti roll bars, i can honestly say the ride with the bags has made hardly any difference to what it was before on H&R springs! Also the new struts are based on a coilover design with dampening and camber adjustment!

Think i have got that right im sure nath will come along and tell me i have it all wrong though :laugh:
Click to expand...
Thanks Josh so what is the full run down of the kit you have as I am wanting to keep the ARB on mine lo cheers
 
Oh my god nath haven't seen that before! Need to up my compressor game!! How long does yours take to fill with them?

Johnny mine is airlift v2 management with the new performance struts, I opted for skinny 5galon tank. The benefit of more compressors is less make up time which means less of the compressor noise. Ill be adding some soon. If you speak to shiv at design 4 say I sent you and your looking for what I have or similar, ill pop some photos up of mine later with the air ride and the build as mine is just stealth
 
Josh williams said:
Oh my god nath haven't seen that before! Need to up my compressor game!! How long does yours take to fill with them?

Johnny mine is airlift v2 management with the new performance struts, I opted for skinny 5galon tank. The benefit of more compressors is less make up time which means less of the compressor noise. Ill be adding some soon. If you speak to shiv at design 4 say I sent you and your looking for what I have or similar, ill pop some photos up of mine later with the air ride and the build as mine is just stealth
Click to expand...
Cool thanks Josh I think I am gunna go stealth aswell all tho N8's picture above looks awesome hmm lol
 
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