UPDATED: The Droptop from Hell - America's first....

[S133P3R]

ahhhh, yes. if my car looked any where near as good as AZ's id be all over this... thanks for the info, sorry for the threadjack, Im out.

[AZhitman]

B is absolutely correct.

Weight? Not much more than the coilovers that came off it. The tank, lines, and such weagh a little more, but then again, the bags weigh less than coils.

So it may be pretty negligible.

[S133P3R]

PICS! plz?

[AZhitman]

Ok, ok, ok... Gimme a chance to load them.

Full article w/pics on the way, trying to get them all transferred.

[S133P3R]

nice, i figured as much from a "CEO"... im just really impatient!

[AZhitman]

Article with build pics is still being formatted.

Here's a few garage pics I snapped yesterday:

[S133P3R]

MOAR MOAR MOAR!

[AZ89two4Tsx]

She needs a bath too!

[wmdavis007]

Baller!! That's just sick Greg! I love it! Post a pic of it pumped up...like it would be when you have to pull it in your drive...just want to see how much of a change it is. Lookin' nice man !

[AZhitman]

It's hilarious at full-height.

Looks like a damn '85 Monte Carlo.

I need a pachuco hat and some d!ck shorts.

[S133P3R]

and some knock off daytons with super negative off set. odelay.

[leesredgt]

Looks good Greg!

Got a question.

Is there like a preset height button you can push that will always take you back to your cruising height?

I mean say if your going over a speed hump and have to lift the car up,and after you get over the hump,you go to let it back down,do you have to just look and gauge how low the car is?Or is there a preset height ,that way it would keep tire wear down to a minimum.

[AZhitman]

Gotta check the gauge.

I'm still learning it, and will prob make more adjustements. I'm not happy with the camber in front or the balance side-to-side.

[leesredgt]

Gotcha! Im assumeing you have like a dash mounted gauge right?

[S133P3R]

< fo' shizzle!

[ViolentRunning13]

Yeah that's not that low. Conservative though.

[GoinTopless240]

Greg, That set-up is awesome. I'm looking at something similar in the D2's. Interesting on the "cruise" height. I wonder if there is a way to have a preset type switch that you can hit and find that magic height at a touch of a button. How is the ride? How is the performance (ie drift or autocross). Do the bags have the ability to have a rebound type adjustment? I'm looking at the set-up for many of the same reasons as you did. My driveway is a killer (my interior light flashes at me every time i pull out - backing up and at angle) and I don't even have a body kit yet. Sorry about all the questions. Just trying to get the info from a reliable source that knows what I might be asking. On a side note, will the CEO and the famous Vert be gracing us at Roebling this month?

[EPD]

Shocker was sooo 2007 lol

[BRosa]

Greg, That set-up is awesome. I'm looking at something similar in the D2's. Interesting on the "cruise" height. I wonder if there is a way to have a preset type switch that you can hit and find that magic height at a touch of a button. How is the ride? How is the performance (ie drift or autocross). Do the bags have the ability to have a rebound type adjustment?

As far as a "memory" type switch goes...there are quite a few different controllers available online that have target pressure settings and saved settings so you can just push a button to get your desired settings. Something like this.. (http://www.accuairsuspension.com/produc ... _tpad.html). Any air ride accessory can be integrated into the Ksport system.

When you ask about the rebound type adjustment on the bag...are you referring to what would be preload on a spring?

[GoinTopless240]

My understanding of preload is if you have a (example) 2000 lb spring and you preload the spring with a setting of 1000 lb you would in essence make the spring set part way through it's stroke (put it already in it's stiff part of it's absorption), but you lose travel in effect and have a faster/stiffer spring. Rebound would be how quickly the spring/ returns to it's static height/setting with the shock absorber. Too much rebound and the a** end or front end would almost bounce back to static, too little and the car would almost skip across the pavement because the spring would return too slow and provide limited contact. If it has some sort of adjustment for this it would be a more versatile. Having a suspension that can have a somewhat reasonable ride on the road, have the ability to be stiff enough for drifting (more rebound) and medium for autocross. I see a few guys at the autocrosses here with drift set-ups and the cars always to poorly because their suspensions are wayy to stiff. I'm hoping my understanding and use of terms is correct, but this is what I was looking for. Knowing that there is a type of 'memory" set-up is great. I travel through some rough driveways and speed"humps" and being able to get the ride correct for the rest of the drive is great to have. Thanks for the info.

[BRosa]

Preload simply put is loading the spring while the rest of the suspension is 'unloaded'. While there are a few different reasons for doing so, your understanding of it is correct.

The best way for me to put it; look at it like a coilover set up with a spring. Except you can change the spring rate on the fly (PSI inside the bag). The damper has rebound and compression adjustments just like the coilovers do so to answer your question....yes they do have a rebound adjustment.

When we did the R&D on this kit I installed them into our GS400. I was very curious to see how they would handle as I've ridden in a bagged car many times before and it was very stiff and unresponsive. We had our coilovers on it before the bags and honestly, the air bags at full PSI (about 165psi) were quite a bit stiffer than the coilovers (with a 13K 8K spring rate). The shocks felt under damped and the car felt like it was on air (go figure). When the pressure dropped in the bags to down around 110 psi, the car felt and responded almost exactly like it did with the coilovers, with minimal body roll and a nice responsive feel. I was pleasantly surprised at how they felt and handled. When it was lower in pressure for freeway cruising (95psi) the car felt like a cadillac on stock suspension (relatively speaking), absorbed the road well and was actually comfortable. I hope this can give you a little insight as to how they ride.
Modified by BRosa at 9:45 AM 3/5/2009

[Stripes]

Hey man, what kind of hood do you have? It looks like a pop up style version of an origin type 2.

[audtatious]

It's a VIS carbon-fiber hood. It's discussed in part VIII of the buildup series

FWIW, the bagged suspension buildup is part X:

http://www.nicoclub.com/articl...shtml

[sijia10358]

car looks awesome!!! what cover is that coving the rear seats and the top?!?!

[audtatious]

He has no top. He has a cover to make it a roadster.

[AZhitman]

It's a VIS carbon-fiber hood. It's discussed in part VIII of the buildup serieshttp://www.nicoclub.com/articl...shtml

That was the old hood (the one that hit my skull at 80mph).

New one is Origin.

[mmm240]

That was the old hood (the one that hit my skull at 80mph).

Wait, what!?! Are you saying it flew off and cracked you in the dome?

[audtatious]

That was the old hood (the one that hit my skull at 80mph).

New one is Origin.

Oh yeah. I forgot that you tried to kill our NICO model with your hood that day.

[AZhitman]

Yep.

Drilled me and Amanda at 80mph. Shattered the windshield, bent the windshield header frame, knocked us both out for a sec, and I still managed (miracle) to get us to the side of the road safely.

Drivers behind us said it looked like an explosion (white *poof*). I thought I'd been shot. Very, very surreal.

[audtatious]

At least you didn't have to hit her with a brick