OEM Air Suspension ride height links below car..adjustable?
02-24-13, 12:39 PM
#46
Instructor
My understanding is that the Skipper links are like what you pictured...adjustable links. I think I understand how to do this. I have some mechanical knowledge/skills. Although, my education is in civil not mechanical engineering...one type is dynamic (mech) while the other is static (civil). The OEM links are adjustable, but just not easily done. Getting to the links is a lot harder than the pictures show. May try this today. We will see. Thanks for all the advice.
02-24-13, 03:59 PM
#48
Just an update to this. I ended up being able to look at the fronts and it's a little more complicated than the rears.
First here's the pic
So in that pic, the piece we all thought we had to move is a little off. That bracket cannot move because as you can see, it's attached to the arm. In fact - it's the link above it - it looks like O=------=O
Anyways, this link is exactly like the skipper lowering links - I'm not sure what the difference is if both are adjustable. This is the piece that you have to lengthen or shorten. It is also attached to another movable sensor which is what senses the height.
I ended up lengthening it and shortening it and testing but found no difference - perhaps I didn't do it enough, but with about an inch in lengthening and shortening, there was no difference in height, thus I left it alone.
Hope that helps everyone.
First here's the pic
So in that pic, the piece we all thought we had to move is a little off. That bracket cannot move because as you can see, it's attached to the arm. In fact - it's the link above it - it looks like O=------=O
Anyways, this link is exactly like the skipper lowering links - I'm not sure what the difference is if both are adjustable. This is the piece that you have to lengthen or shorten. It is also attached to another movable sensor which is what senses the height.
I ended up lengthening it and shortening it and testing but found no difference - perhaps I didn't do it enough, but with about an inch in lengthening and shortening, there was no difference in height, thus I left it alone.
Hope that helps everyone.
02-24-13, 05:11 PM
#49
Just an update to this. I ended up being able to look at the fronts and it's a little more complicated than the rears.
First here's the pic
So in that pic, the piece we all thought we had to move is a little off. That bracket cannot move because as you can see, it's attached to the arm. In fact - it's the link above it - it looks like O=------=O
Anyways, this link is exactly like the skipper lowering links - I'm not sure what the difference is if both are adjustable. This is the piece that you have to lengthen or shorten. It is also attached to another movable sensor which is what senses the height.
I ended up lengthening it and shortening it and testing but found no difference - perhaps I didn't do it enough, but with about an inch in lengthening and shortening, there was no difference in height, thus I left it alone.
Hope that helps everyone.
First here's the pic
So in that pic, the piece we all thought we had to move is a little off. That bracket cannot move because as you can see, it's attached to the arm. In fact - it's the link above it - it looks like O=------=O
Anyways, this link is exactly like the skipper lowering links - I'm not sure what the difference is if both are adjustable. This is the piece that you have to lengthen or shorten. It is also attached to another movable sensor which is what senses the height.
I ended up lengthening it and shortening it and testing but found no difference - perhaps I didn't do it enough, but with about an inch in lengthening and shortening, there was no difference in height, thus I left it alone.
Hope that helps everyone.
02-24-13, 07:37 PM
#50
Your research makes me think about this even more wondering if this can really be done. I did notice when I removed the front wheel link the other day and left it off for a few minutes unbolted to the car, the car lowered considerably...maybe an inch. It made it that much harder to get under the car to re-attach it. I will keep thinking about this. The OP stated that you only need to move it a little. Maybe that only applies to the back. After fiddling with it, were you able to get within normal tolerance easily?
I believe after playing around with it, all the sensors do is tell the vehicle what height it is at. The rears look like you can trick it into being lower than it thinks but the fronts seem as though it doesn't change much. Another thing to note is that this could also confuse the controller's "height setting" where it tells you what each corner is at. I've come to the conclusion that my issue where my controller was telling me it was higher on some corners than others is the sensor's fault - not that it was actually wrong.
The controller stated that all corners were uneven today, but after checking with a measuring tape - all is well. I think the height setting isn't something I'm going to be referencing from now on because it just makes me paranoid lol.
Anyways - my conclusion is that it is not worth adjusting unless your height is off or gets messed up. Unless the corners are uneven - it's not worth touching.
02-24-13, 08:04 PM
#52
02-25-13, 10:08 AM
#53
Moderator
Thread Starter
Interesting. So, when you put the data controller on NORMAL SELECT, how does the car sit? I would be curious to know that. The front adjustment seems some what locked in..so without a skipper link setup in line, I don't see how you could adjust that unless you took the little hook part out , but that could be bad since there is nothing locking it in place..then again, the rears are at the mercy of how hard you tighten that bolt on that bracket..hmm
02-25-13, 10:15 AM
#54
Moderator
Thread Starter
Ok, just looking at the pics of the front link. Is my assumption correct that in order to lower the front you would loosen the bolt highlighted in green cirlce, then rotate the link in the direction the red arrow is going to about where the BLUE area is, then retighten bolt? Or does that piece allow you to rotate when the bolt is released, leaving the little hook part in the control arm?
02-25-13, 10:16 AM
#55
Interesting. So, when you put the data controller on NORMAL SELECT, how does the car sit? I would be curious to know that. The front adjustment seems some what locked in..so without a skipper link setup in line, I don't see how you could adjust that unless you took the little hook part out , but that could be bad since there is nothing locking it in place..then again, the rears are at the mercy of how hard you tighten that bolt on that bracket..hmm
NORMAL SELECT is not a mode, it's simply the end of the menu to select your memories. As per Prestigious Society, it does not change anything with the ride height. What does NORMAL SELECT do for you?
Also - I'm no genius but I'm pretty sure the skipper lowering links are the exact same design as the stock links. If you look at the picture, the links show that they can be shortened or lengthened - the stock links can also be shortened and lengthened the same amount - it seems to me that the links are just a more expensive and beefier version of stock links. The hook piece is merely a bracket to hold the link in place and has no role in adjusting the height of the car.
02-25-13, 10:21 AM
#56
Moderator
Thread Starter
Perhaps it's just me but just to clear things up here -
NORMAL SELECT is not a mode, it's simply the end of the menu to select your memories. As per Prestigious Society, it does not change anything with the ride height. What does NORMAL SELECT do for you?
Also - I'm no genius but I'm pretty sure the skipper lowering links are the exact same design as the stock links. If you look at the picture, the links show that they can be shortened or lengthened - the stock links can also be shortened and lengthened the same amount - it seems to me that the links are just a more expensive and beefier version of stock links. The hook piece is merely a bracket to hold the link in place and has no role in adjusting the height of the car.
NORMAL SELECT is not a mode, it's simply the end of the menu to select your memories. As per Prestigious Society, it does not change anything with the ride height. What does NORMAL SELECT do for you?
Also - I'm no genius but I'm pretty sure the skipper lowering links are the exact same design as the stock links. If you look at the picture, the links show that they can be shortened or lengthened - the stock links can also be shortened and lengthened the same amount - it seems to me that the links are just a more expensive and beefier version of stock links. The hook piece is merely a bracket to hold the link in place and has no role in adjusting the height of the car.
Last edited by CJITTY; 02-25-13 at 10:30 AM.
02-25-13, 10:46 AM
#57
Instructor
Ok, just looking at the pics of the front link. Is my assumption correct that in order to lower the front you would loosen the bolt highlighted in green cirlce, then rotate the link in the direction the red arrow is going to about where the BLUE area is, then retighten bolt? Or does that piece allow you to rotate when the bolt is released, leaving the little hook part in the control arm?
CJITTY, great pic. Thats exactly whats done to lower the front. Only thing is that the tab thats in the hole of the control arm has to be straightend because it will not end up in a hole. It'll end up on a flat part of the arm. Best way to go about it, is to turn the wheel out so you have more clearence under there. Its a 10mm nut and I used a ratched and turned it in incriments of what would be equal to 5 minutes on a clock and would drive the car around the block then let it sit for a couple of minutes until it was where I wanted it.
02-25-13, 11:56 AM
#58
Ok, just looking at the pics of the front link. Is my assumption correct that in order to lower the front you would loosen the bolt highlighted in green cirlce, then rotate the link in the direction the red arrow is going to about where the BLUE area is, then retighten bolt? Or does that piece allow you to rotate when the bolt is released, leaving the little hook part in the control arm?
CJITTY, great pic. Thats exactly whats done to lower the front. Only thing is that the tab thats in the hole of the control arm has to be straightend because it will not end up in a hole. It'll end up on a flat part of the arm. Best way to go about it, is to turn the wheel out so you have more clearence under there. Its a 10mm nut and I used a ratched and turned it in incriments of what would be equal to 5 minutes on a clock and would drive the car around the block then let it sit for a couple of minutes until it was where I wanted it.
The purpose of turning the bracket is to bring the link down (clockwise in that pic). That bracket should stay in that hole because if that isn't, then you have two pivoting pieces which can possibly confuse the ECU.
See the diagram below. The piece that is not pictured in my original picture is another bracket that pivots. By lengthening or shortening the link, it will push the bracket up or down respectively.
02-25-13, 12:01 PM
#59
I can say with 100% certainty that putting my car in normal select raises or lowers my car to stock height depending on where the car is...when I am on the highway, the car behaves as it does from OEM A/S ECU setup and lowers down once I hit 65. It may be putting it at zero position on all 4 corners, not 100% sure, but I know if I am at level 4 and put the car to normal select, I am not on any of the 5 settings but the car will go back to normal. I was thinking it was a pass through mode and 100% oem at that point..at least the car behaves that way. Maybe later when I have time, I will go out and change my 1, 2 and 3 memory positions to be no less than 4. My position 1 is zero's all the way around assuming that is stock height. But this way, if the car goes back up on NORMAL SELECT, then I think it is safe to say the controller is putting the car back to normal height and it is acting as a pass through or ZERO height mode. Japanese to English translatons aside, why would they use the word NORMAL for that screen anyway if that wasn't what the controller was doing..being in a NORMAL state..just something to think about
02-25-13, 01:41 PM
#60
Moderator
Thread Starter
Interesting. I'll have to give it a try. It's funny because there are two normal selects - when you go all the way past M1 and all the way past M5. There is also no indication of the car doing anything (usually it blinks the wheel that it's adjusting). Do you just leave it saying "NORMAL SELECT"?
NORMAL
SELECT
I leave it just like that when I go on road trips or going to be driving the car all over town over bad roads and such. When I am doing my daily back and forth on roads I know, I leave mine on memory position 4 which for me is 4 front, 3 rear, which to me is right on the line to where any lower it really doesn't ride as nice. I guess if you wanted to test, preset your memory position one to like 5 all around. Let it get to that level. Then dial up on the arrow to get NORMAL SELECT and the car should raise to stock height...my guess is that the controller is in a neutral state awaiting input..again, just going off the word NORMAL being used. I could be a coincidence, I don't know. I wish I could get that entire manual translated becuase I am trying to figure out what speedometer thing is all about. I left that unplugged..I guess you can trigger the levels at certain speeds or something..i dunno.
My Memory Settings are:
Normal Select I assume is 0 Front, 0 Rear
Memory 1 is 1 Front, 0 Rear
Memory 2 is 2 Front, 1 Rear
Memory 3 is 3 Front, 2 Rear
Memory 4 is 4 Front, 3 Rear
Memory 5 is Super Low mode for meets, etc
Last edited by CJITTY; 02-25-13 at 01:49 PM.