I’ve been working on building out the rear of my 2020 Defender for camping and have a niche feature request. Independent control of the air lift for each tire/side. It would be great if there were a camping mode or something that would level the car when parked on slightly uneven ground (or a way to manually adjust the height over each tire or side when parked. I’ve got blocks I’ve used in other vehicles but it would be so convenient to be able to utilize the car’s own system here. Assume I know nothing about the mechanics of the system, because I don’t.

 

Great idea! Totally agree.

 

The primary theory behind the variation in ride height between right and left is to emulate as closely as possible a solid axle. This provides those who have a history of traditional 4x4s the easiest transition into the new reality of 4x4 vehicles with independent suspension.

To achieve this, the right and left are linked by a transfer line / valve which shifts air from the lowering suspension side to the rising suspension one. So when the land drops away from one side, as in entering a hole on one side of the vehicle, the wheel on the hole side descends, fed by air from the other side. The load carried by the wheel still in ground contact increases, providing an immediate, proportional force to pump the air to the other side.

Thus, within the realm of the available articulation, a solid axle and JLR independent suspension behaves similarly. One side goes up, the other must go down or vice versa. To design in what is suggested, shut - off / one-way valves would need to be added which would complicate the system, and add the risk of having a real and present problem when off-road.

This is my understanding of the question. I think it is generally accurate.

 

Thank you for the thorough feedback!

 

Ahoj všichni,
Jan Staněk (Europe/CZECH) vyvinul toto zařízení pro Discovery 3 a Discovery 4. Funguje skvěle a není drahé. Počkejte, určitě bude za nového obránce :-)

https://www.xlifter.com/cs/?wmc-currency=USD

 

Translated:
Hello, everyone,
Jan Staněk developed this device for Discovery 3 and Discovery 4. It works excellently and is not expensive. Hang on, he'll definitely be for the New Defender :-)

Looks very promising. Hope it gets programmed for the Defender.