Air suspension
#11
It is my understanding (please confirm if you have experience) that the coils are offer substantial comfort and compliance (potentially less than air, however) and flatter cornering than air. Aside from the debate regardig long-term reliability, I have a question that has not yet been asked:
What is the weight savings on coils?
What is the weight savings on coils?
#12
I have the D90 with coils. We also have a D5 with air suspension. We like the comfort of the air suspension on the D5, though we rarely have used off road height (have only taken it off the beaten path a couple times in 4 years of ownership). It did feel a pretty bumpy ride on off-road height. Access height is indeed a very useful feature.
With the Defender the plan has always been to use it much more off road. Even though the air suspension offered some extra clearing and would probably be more comfortable in regular driving there were two reasons why we went with coils: a) reliability, not that I am saying air suspension is not reliable, but if it fails on the trail it's a big PITA, so we looked to be as less technology dependent as possible (hard to do these days anyway) b) the extra cost (yes, it's "only" $1,600 but given my previous point paying more did not make sense).
After 7,000 miles of driving in all types of surfaces (including many thousand on highway and daily driving) have no complaints about the ride quality of the coil suspension. The one thing I will say is Access height would probably be even more useful in the Defender than the D5.
With the Defender the plan has always been to use it much more off road. Even though the air suspension offered some extra clearing and would probably be more comfortable in regular driving there were two reasons why we went with coils: a) reliability, not that I am saying air suspension is not reliable, but if it fails on the trail it's a big PITA, so we looked to be as less technology dependent as possible (hard to do these days anyway) b) the extra cost (yes, it's "only" $1,600 but given my previous point paying more did not make sense).
After 7,000 miles of driving in all types of surfaces (including many thousand on highway and daily driving) have no complaints about the ride quality of the coil suspension. The one thing I will say is Access height would probably be even more useful in the Defender than the D5.
Last edited by Juancl; 10-02-2021 at 10:55 PM.
#13
#14
I found that reducing pressure from the normal load to the light load did make a pretty big difference to ride quality. I thought the quality in my Defender was already very good, even with normal load pressures and the optional Wrangler All Terrain Adventure off-road tires. Dropping pressure to light load made a noticeable difference - ride quality IMO is exceptional. And the off road tires are surprisingly quiet. If you haven’t done it (and you’re not loading up the Defender) it’s well worth trying the alternate setting. I’m very happy with the air suspension.
#15
Is it worth it? Yes!
It drives me nuts when parking, and someone opens their car door and dings/dents/chips your door. Although I always park at the outer reaches of a park lot, it still happens... Now I have an advantage - by raising the car up, I have so far avoid any knucklehead parking too close, and banging my door. Yay airbags!
Side note: in 1978, I had a brand new Saab 99 Turbo, and parked across two parking spaces - 200 yards away from the closest car in the lot. Went to a movie, came out and found a note on my car that said "you're obviously an a-hole - check your car for dents".
Best guess was a ladies high heel shoe that had left over 50 dents in the hood, roof, doors and boot lid. Bastards!
It drives me nuts when parking, and someone opens their car door and dings/dents/chips your door. Although I always park at the outer reaches of a park lot, it still happens... Now I have an advantage - by raising the car up, I have so far avoid any knucklehead parking too close, and banging my door. Yay airbags!
Side note: in 1978, I had a brand new Saab 99 Turbo, and parked across two parking spaces - 200 yards away from the closest car in the lot. Went to a movie, came out and found a note on my car that said "you're obviously an a-hole - check your car for dents".
Best guess was a ladies high heel shoe that had left over 50 dents in the hood, roof, doors and boot lid. Bastards!
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CincyRovers (08-30-2024)
#17
#18
I am finalizing the build on my defender 90. I am torn between coil or air suspension. I mainly will use the car on the road and for inclement weather. Anticipate little hard core off roading, if any. Mainly want it for poor roads and bad weather driving mercedes service dubai. I know the air suspension is expensive if out of warranty repair needed. Is is worth the $1600 cost for on the road ride and handling?
#19
I drove both coils and air before I made my order. There is a different feel, with the air having more float and tippiness (which I didn't entirely like), and the coils feeling perhaps a little more stable with a bit more bounce. Because of the shorter wheelbase, these effects might be more pronounced on a 90. But still, the over-all difference is surprisingly minor, and both are very comfortable on the road.
If access (entry and exit) are issues for you, then get the air. If not, coils totally suffice.
Since my prior LR's, including an OG D90, all came with coils, I didn't spend much time considering air, but I'm totally happy with the coils. It has a very nice and compliant ride, and I don't have as much to worry about down the road.
You really don't need to worry about ride quality, etc., with coils if that's your choice, and their "handling" might even be slightly better.
If access (entry and exit) are issues for you, then get the air. If not, coils totally suffice.
Since my prior LR's, including an OG D90, all came with coils, I didn't spend much time considering air, but I'm totally happy with the coils. It has a very nice and compliant ride, and I don't have as much to worry about down the road.
You really don't need to worry about ride quality, etc., with coils if that's your choice, and their "handling" might even be slightly better.
Last edited by Zondar; 08-30-2024 at 06:43 PM.
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ba_ (08-30-2024)
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