Defender on air

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Discussion

Samee

Original Poster:

24 posts

107 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
quotequote all
Call me crazy but would it be possible to put a RRC air suspension defender then I'd be able to get it into parking garages and also have a comfy ride for a defender on the motorway for my 1200 mile treks across europe?

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
quotequote all
Samee said:
Call me crazy but would it be possible to put a RRC air suspension defender then I'd be able to get it into parking garages and also have a comfy ride for a defender on the motorway for my 1200 mile treks across europe?
How much £££ do you want to spend?

Not sure it would really improve ride quality though. The early air systems were a bit of a compromise.

But yes it is possible and other alternatives, lots of air ride kits and controllers available in the USA that could be retro fitted.

Samee

Original Poster:

24 posts

107 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
quotequote all
I was hoping to spend less than a grand and try to do it on a budget so I can park it indoors during the winter so I dont have to deal with defrosting in in -5 degree winters and waiting for it to heat up properly

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

189 months

Sunday 23rd February 2020
quotequote all
I'm more familiar with the p38 setup over the RRC LSE. The p38 uses a compressor, an air drier, an air tank, a valve block, 4 height sensors and 4 air springs. Plus an ECU to control it and some sensors.

The sensors in this case allow the vehicle to sit level front and back and generally not worry about the actual psi in each air spring. i.e. it might take more air air in the right spring vs the left spring. The valve block allows it to send air to individual air springs in order for it to maintain a level stance, as well as automatically raise and lower it set speeds. Also with 3 pre-set height levels and 1 extra automatically activated one.

The system isn't overly complex, but buying all the bits alone will likely consume your budget. And that would be before getting it installed and working. The Disco 2 also used a very similar setup on the rear. So you'll need to think about upper and lower spring seats.

I think the LSE did use more of a direct spring replacement in the same location with its air springs. The downside of all of these setups are, when you lower the you get soft squidgy suspension. Quite good for comfort, but less good for handling. And when you raise it to off road height the springs get hard and give a horrid bouncy ride and less articulation.

I'm guessing the controller for the LSE setup is maybe more simple than the p38. Best bet is to sit down with a spreadsheet and price all the parts up that are available. Then figure out some R&D costs for any bespoke bits. Chances are you are going to need some kind of diagnostic tooling if you are going electronically and sensor controlled, this alone might suck up £300-600.


There are quite a few air ride kits in the USA that run simple pressure controllers. You can preset them, then manually tweak them, so you'd just have the front and rear. It should be fine, but less able to keep the vehicle level if it is heavier on one side vs the other.

Have a look here:
https://www.airliftcompany.com/products/compressor...

They do some interesting stuff. Suspect you might be able to use the LR air springs, although the air hose size is different to that used in the USA, so you may need to find some line adapters.

But even doing it this way I think you'll be well over your budget.

There was a post in this off road section of the forum during the past 12 months about a UK company offering an air spring conversion kit, but it was something stupid like £5000 starting price.

Samee

Original Poster:

24 posts

107 months

Thursday 7th May 2020
quotequote all
Thank you for the detailed response!
however, I've since bought an '10 XF S 275 as I dont think I'd be able to stomach the mpg on my trips to the czech republic, so it will remain at home (North england) as a 2nd car.
I'll be starting a build thread soon where it will receive a 4.6 4hp22 1.2tc combo, lpg and perhaps an emerald ecu.