Suspension........ airbags or coils

wombat50 · Veteran Member

Suspension........ airbags or coils

Are We Lost · Guru

wombat50 wrote:

EBH. when unloaded Front..500 Rear..500...... Loaded.. Front 520.....Rear 480

What is EBH? Are these measurements of 500mm etc? "When unloaded" ... do you mean when the van is not connected?

Anyway, such measurements are not the way to assess what is going on. You need weighbridge figures of each axle with the van disconnected, and then again when attached (before using the WDH). Do this when laden as you would be for travel.

The suspension places obviously want to sell you their services. If the steering is light it sounds like you need more tension on the WDH. New springs and airbags are not going to do anything to resolve that.

erad · Guru

There is a lot of discussion on all sorts of sites about airbags etc. I used airbags on my Pajero when towing my caravan. The OEM springs were not up to the job. Because of the arrangement of my driveway crossing, I couldn't fit a WDH - the drawbar dragged n the ground without a hitch, and the hitch would have been at least 25 mm lower again.

Airbags are a good move to ease, but not cure, suspension sag. When you fit airbags, you raise the rear of the car, but it still does nothing to help the loading on the rear wheels. All the airbags do is effectively stiffen the spring rate. However, the shock absorber characteristics are still suited to the original (softer) spring rate, and in certain conditions, you can get a porpoising effect (bouncing up and down) as you drive on very smooth surfaces. When you drive without the van, the ride will be harsher, so you can deflate the airbags to partially compensate for this. However, you cannot completely deflate the airbags or the bag may get caught between the spring coils. Manufacturer recommends keeping at least 4 psi in the bags for this reason. Even 4 psi resulted in a noticeably stiffer ride in my Pajero, but I accepted this trade-off because the rear springs were not suited to towing my caravan.

Another reason to use airbags is tyre wear. When you load a caravan on the rear of the Pajero, the rear wheels develop a significant negative camber ie they lean in at the top. This causes excessive wear on the inner edge of the rear tyre treads. Airbags, by maintaining normal ride height, will help reduce this.

If you intend to tow the an a lot, then stiffer springs are probably the better option, but I found the airbags a good compromise. Many years ago, I was having trouble with the rear springs on my old Range Rover - they were far too soft, so as a temporary measure, I bought about 20 cheapie tennis balls from a $2 shop. I jacked the Rangie up to full stretch and popped the balls in betwen the spring coils. About 10 each side. Lower the car down, and it sat more than 25 mm higher, and didn't bottom out on highway bumps. The balls lasted the rest of that trip and a few of them actually popped in service. I then bought proper air bags and fitted them. A better, more permanent option....

Rodsvan · Veteran Member

If you install good quality new springs and shock absorbers they should make your car a lot more comfortable even though they are heavier duty. I've done this with all of my towing cars and found a massive improvement in ride quality (both with and without the caravan) as well as the ability to handle the heavier loads without sagging. I opted for standard height aftermarket springs & shock absorbers on my current car and I found that it lifted the car back up to the height that it had been when new. I hadn't realised how much the original suspension had sagged.

I had an earlier 2005 model Pajero and followed the general consensus at the time in the Pajero forum which was that installing Lovells springs, Bilstein shock absorbers as well as airbags was the best towing combination for that model. I was very happy after making the improvements - comfort was much better as well as eliminating sag. My Pajero handbook did stipulate use of a weight distribution hitch.

I'd suggest seeking advice on the Pajero forum and if you do opt for upgrading your suspension you can get info from the forum on the best type to use for your model Pajero.
www.pajeroforum.com.au/