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I was going to try to order some rav4 adventure springs for my nx, to help with a little bit of sag when towing the camper with passengers in the back of the car. However, i was concerned about the rav4 adventure springs because the rav4 and the nx already have different springs and the heights of the cars and their clearance rates are all different. Instead I found the firestone makes air bag helpers for rav4, the part number is 4174 and the cost is about $100. It looks to be the correct size and the include a black bolt protector to cover the large conical bolt at the top of the spring mounts in the nx. I am going to be installing these, hopefully it will warm up a bit in Chicago over the weekend, and I think these should solve my problem of a bit of excess sag.
I know another owner on here has put on a weight distribution hitch, but personally I think that is over kill for under 2000 lbs of towing and the way the weight distribution hitch works is it puts a lot of stress on the unibody by pushing it up at the rear to even out the car and distribute the weight to the rear of the camper and the front of the car. Not to mention extra equipment, which is quite heavy would have to be added to the car and the camper. The manual in the nx doesn't strictly forbid a weight distribution hitch, but it doesn't say its ok to use one either.
Whats nice about the firestone is you can fill them up while towing, and then deflate them to 5psi while not towing and its like they are not even there. From reviews online seems like they help a lot with the harsh ride and leveling of the car when towing.
More to follow after the install, trying to get this done before our last camping trip of the season so that we can test it out.
Did the install today, it required a lot of swearing, probably would have taken about the same amount of time to just unbolt and drop the suspension and take the spring out to put the airbag in. Anyway, seems to be working properly, when maxed out at 35psi it lifts the car up about an inch or so in the rear. I won't get to test it out with the camper for another 2 weeks or so.
Could that hose come out one of the other holes on the suspension arm? It looks like is very susceptible to damage from road debris with it coming out the bottom of the arm.
Could that hose come out one of the other holes on the suspension arm? It looks like is very susceptible to damage from road debris with it coming out the bottom of the arm.
Not really, that is the only direct access point I could find that didn't cause the hose to kink. I will carry a spare piece of hose, but this seems like the most common method in cars that don't allow you to run the hose through the top and I haven't read about any problems in my research. If it becomes and issue, i will have to think of something, but its not the lowest point in the suspension so i think i should be ok.
I was finally able to do a camping trip this past weekend to try out the car after the airbag install. The car felt more stable and less bouncy in the rear, also the front headlight aim is now correct and I didn't get anyone flashing me because the high beams were in their eyes like before. Overall i think it was a good mod.
10-18-18, 07:11 AM
Firestone coil-rite air bags
