Custom Air Suspension

A step-by-step guide to DIY air suspension for your road car. Manufacturers like Mercedes, Tesla, Audi and Cadillac choose air suspension because they can achieve the highest quality in ride and handling, but until now, there hasn’t been a book that shows you how to get the best from aftermarket air suspension for your road car. This book covers both theory and practice – from the technical advantages of air suspension through to detailed coverage of the development, installation and tuning of a custom air suspension system. It looks at wiring and plumbing, covers a brilliant new low cost electronic air suspension controller, and even shows how to source low-cost components from cars originally sold with air suspension. Want to buy an air suspension kit off the shelf? That’s covered as well, with the six key questions to ask before buying. Written by a prolific hands-on modifier, who has designed and fitted air suspension to his own car, this book is a practical, easy-to-follow guide. Whether you’re after the best ride and handling, or simply like being able to raise or lower your car at the turn of a knob, this book will show you how to do it.

Custom Air Suspension is a step-by-step guide to DIY air suspension for your road car. Manufacturers like Mercedes, Tesla, Audi and Cadillac choose air suspension because they can achieve the highest quality in ride and handling, but until now, there hasn’t been a book that shows you how to get the best from aftermarket air suspension for your road car. This book covers both theory and practice - from the technical advantages of air suspension through to detailed coverage of the development, installation and tuning of a custom air suspension system. It looks at wiring and plumbing, covers a brilliant new low-cost electronic air suspension controller, and even shows how to source low-cost components from cars originally sold with air suspension. Want to buy an air suspension kit off the shelf? That’s covered as well, with the six key questions to ask before buying. Whether you’re after the best ride and handling, or simply like being able to raise or lower your car at the turn of a knob, this book will show you how to do it.

Learn everything there is to know about how to install a versatile and capable air ride system. Air suspension used to be expensive, difficult to install, and complex to understand. However, that was years ago. Today, thanks to kits made for virtually every make and model of car and truck, plus the popularization of automatic levelling kits, it’s easier than ever to take a vehicle and put it on the ground. With properly installed air ride suspension, you can set the height wherever you like, lay your ride on the asphalt when you want, and even tear through the corners like you’re driving a slot car. However, here’s the most important part: it’s just cool. Having an airbagged vehicle isn’t restricted to one vehicle class or another. While it originally became popular with mini trucks, it soon caught on with street rods, cars, and motorcycles, and even traditional lowriders have embraced the scene. That’s because where previous adjustable suspensions had their problems, air ride setups are quite often cleaner and easier to maintain. It all depends on how it’s installed and how you manage it. In How to Install Air Ride Suspension Systems, air ride veteran Kevin Whipps walks you through everything you need to know about installing an air suspension onto pretty much anything. After going through the basics of each component, he explains how they all work in harmony in easy-to-understand terms that make it simple for even the mechanically challenged to grasp. By the end of it all, you’ll know more about air suspension than you thought was possible and have a clear understanding of what you need to do to bag your ride.

Discussing custom, lowered, automotive rear suspension design for daily-driven use; focussing specifically on air-sprung suspensions.

Japanese Custom Motorcycles is the first book to show the evolution of the Japanese cruiser in the ‘metric’ custom scene. The growing trend of customising metric bikes into choppers, bobbers, et al – be they high-end bikes, garage-built beauties, or more recent Japanese cruisers – is superbly illustrated with examples from all over the world. Featuring owner’s stories and technical descriptions, Japanese Custom Motorcycles is guaranteed to interest metric bike fans and members of the custom scene alike. From singles, twins, triples, fours, and sixes – see the custom side of Japanese motorcycles.

This unique handbook assumes no starting knowledge of vehicle aerodynamics. It begins with simple ideas and finishes with sophisticated and effective aerodynamic modifications that work. Three major chapters cover on-road testing techniques that give you all the information you need to decide what modifications you should make – and, after you’ve made them, how well they work. Low-cost techniques allow you to visualise the patterns of airflow over your car so that you can actually see the problem areas that need improvement. Uniquely, you’re also shown how to measure aerodynamic pressures, so you can determine which body surfaces are creating lift, drag and downforce. Want to work out where a wing should be placed? On-road testing to find that out is covered as well. The book also shows you how to measure downforce to see if that wing is actually working! If you wish to reduce drag, more than ten different areas are covered. Reducing frontal area, lowering cooling system drag, optimising vehicle ride height and rake, reducing the strength of the wake, achieving clean airflow separation and optimising wheel designs – they’re all covered using the latest research findings. And if you’re a performance driver, there’s a major chapter devoted to reducing lift and improving stability. This chapter includes the design and development of undertrays and diffusers, wings and spoilers. The example car developed measurable downforce when fitted with an undertray and rear diffuser, something that transformed its on-road handling. The author has been writing about the aerodynamics of road cars for more than 25 years. He is also an experienced and proficient car modifier who has performed numerous aerodynamic modifications and upgrades to his own cars. The book’s technical consultant, RH Barnard, is an acknowledged world leading automotive aerodynamicist. If you want a practical, hands-on guide that demystifies and explains car aerodynamics, and shows you how to make effective aerodynamic modifications to your car, this book is for you.