Does anyone have any experience with airbags on their AM? Stock struts are feeling a bit stiff and I would like to get that nice soft ride to really enjoy driving my DB9 so I'm thinking of doing a full coil over airbag system on it.

I've seen an airrex system and a few others that I could easily fabricate to work. Just curious if anyone has done it that has suggestions or input about it.

Keep in mind I'm not racing this car, its already pretty customized and I drive the crap out of it, so I don't care about resale. I'm gonna drive this ***** 'till the $10k ADV1 wheels fall off!

 

Just an update since it doesn't seem anyone has done air. I decided to try out a spring swap first. I got a set of H & R springs and popped them in. It dropped the car 1 1/2 inches and I hated it, way too low for practical driving. So I fabricated some collars to get it back up a little. The new springs are way more comfortable than stock. It doesn't ride like a Cadillac or anything but it is a marked improvement. I would highly recommend them if you enjoy driving your AM regularly.

 

I know Stuart at Velocity AP made their own springs to combat the ride quality of the H&R ones. The VAP springs only drop the car .75in all the way around. Plus the spring rate increases as the compress, instead of being the same all the time. This allows for a smooth comfortable ride, but when pressed hard they will compensate for that. Not heard anyone on the forum complain about them, and they always say the ride improved drastically.

I am contemplating them, I would have ASAP got them, but very worried about ride height. Unique Situation---- I am in Afghanistan. I will be home too collect mine from TELUM01 in December. Then drive it for a month and leave it with my father for the next year. He will have to move it out of the garage and driveway from time to time, and the driveway has a slight angle. I don't want to worry about him not thinking and scraping the nose and new CF lip for a couple inches on the driveway if I don't have too. So might wait on those.

 

I'm sitting just over 5" under the front spoiler. Good enough for me.

Where are you in Afg? I've spent many o year in that joint.

 

If you don't want to go with a full air ride setup, I would recommend looking into a cup kit by Phantom suspension, Fortune Auto, or similar. From there, pair it with a proper coilover setup like KW, Ohlins [if they have a kit], and you get the best of both worlds. You end up with amazing handling, with the ease of air ride when you approach a speed bump, or a steep driveway. And you don't run the risks of an air ride setup with leaks, or a blown bag leaving you stranded.

 

The Phantom is not bad setup, except you have to completely fabricate everything yourself. They also focus more on racing and performance with the ability to lift over bumps and such. I was only interested in comfort. I'm happy with the H&R springs I put in, and they were only $500! You'd be looking at near 5k for a complete Phantom setup fab and all, or an unbelievable 8-9k for the AIRREX air setup that's a direct bolt in. I'll stick with what I've got.

 

funny, just googled air suspension myself last night and found that airex was really the only option, at that price though that's a huge pass for me.

 

Yea it's silly, especially since the identical kit is 2k for any normal car.

 

amen. a lot of folks i'm around are on airlift, including a 991 and m3 that had custom kits made for them that i'm sure were still well under that amount. may get to inquiring about one for my AM if i'm bored at some point.

 

If you do I'd recommend buying an universal air setup then just having a fab shop make the collars fit the mounts. That's what I was going to do but I'm happy with the ride quality of the H&R springs.

 

Competition is what keeps pricing fair. The fact that they're the only advertised bolt on kit is what creates that price. Also, the fact that your vehicle is a 6 figure car, they can get away with it a lot easier, since they expect big pockets.

As for Airrex being the only bold on kit available, thats simply not true. Its just the only kit you can buy as one single package. You can take any coilover out there for your vehicle, and get bags designed to replace the spring on your kit. And they're relatively cheap to, should be able to get all 4 bags for under $1,000. Then ~$2-3,000 for coilovers, $1,200 for a decent management system, tank(s), and compressor(s). And finally install at a local shop for around $1-2,000. Putting you out the door at $5-7,000 max. Cheaper if you can get a good deal on parts.

 

All true, and if you're a good bargin shopper you can probably get those parts even cheaper or during sales. I started this thread to get some people to weigh in and ultimately find people that had already done it, I still haven't found anyone with a DB9 that's done it other than the one in Thailand that supposedly used airrex.

In the end, the lack of Intel from other people trying to bag Aston's lead me to try springs first. I'm glad I did. The cost and the hassle difference is massive. Plus even if the air ride is amazing, the car is too light to get that cloud like Cadillac feel and it would handle like crap if it did. So I'm happy with what I've got.

 

The few DB9s that have gone far enough through modifications to go with air ride are more than likely corporate cars, or the owners already have connections/know how in the scene to do it without resulting in a forum. And they're too "high level" to take the time and post on a forum about their build.

As for your situation, I'm happy that you found springs that got the job done for you to keep costs down. My only recommendation at this point would be to look into a proper strut replacement to compliment the springs to lengthen the lifespan of your strut.

 

With comfort in mind what Strut should I be looking in to?

 

I cant say for sure, but Bilstein would be my first suggestion. The biggest reason for lifespan is that the stock strut is designed around the stock spring. Once you change the spring out, specially for a lowering spring, you're riding around partially compressed. At that point, you bottom out sooner/more often, and you wear the internal seals out faster in doing so.