Push Button Cruisin'

The Easiest Way to Pre-Set Your Truck's Ride Height

By William Mooreland

You have to wonder if the Chevrolet engineers that designed the Suburban ever thought that it could look like this. And if the Cal-Trans orange paint and '99 Supra taillights aren't enough to make them smile, maybe triggering the ride height control system from the key-chain remote will do the trick. This is the AccuAir demo vehicle for 2003. They wanted to give us a chance to see how their system works, and how it installs on a vehicle, which many of our readers can relate with. Dustin Heon, design engineer at AccuAir explains, "Classic truck owners are the perfect audience for our system because it works off of direct measurement. It is the answer for a truck that is air ride equipped. When you put a load in your truck, our system will compensate."

Lets start by explaining how the system works. It uses a small onboard computer that reads position sensors mounted at each corner of the suspension to determine the height of your car. You still have manual air control, but the system gives you the ability to save any three of your favorite heights and re-obtain them at the touch of a button. To set your favorite positions, you first bring the vehicle to a desired height using the manual control buttons. Then simply hold the numbered button that you wish to save this position as; similar to setting a stereo preset.

The key to the AccuAir system is the fact that it bases measurements on height, not air pressure. If you load the vehicle with passengers or cargo, the system compensates after you hit one of the height buttons. The advantage for those of you that wish to avoid tire wear and poor handling is that you can now have the vehicle aligned at one of the positions and repeatedly obtain this "drive-height" for the life of the vehicle. Having preset heights is especially useful when approaching an obstacle like a speed bump, because you can obtain a higher stance by hitting only one button. An "all-down" function airs the vehicle down at the touch of a button for parking lots. The system also has a "lift on start" feature that you can use if preferred. It allows you to tee into the starter solenoid wire, so that your vehicle automatically obtains your "drive-height" every time you start it.

AccuAir has designed their system to compliment all other air ride packages on the market that use solenoids. Depending on the plumbing arrangement that you are using, the system can be ordered with one, two, three or four sensors. With the AccuAir system, pressure gauges are no longer necessary. You have the option of using the standard rocker switches and adding a few extra buttons for the heights, or eliminating those switches to use their state-of-the-art billet aluminum control panel. This compact unit is backlit with fiber optics that are available in a variety of colors. This backlighting turns on with your headlights or dash lights. They put threaded holes in the back of the control panel, and sized it to take the spot of a standard sized stereo face so that it can mount on a dash or console. They also offer a key-chain remote control that triggers your three favorite positions and the all-down function from a distance.

Understanding sensor mounting is the key to installing the AccuAir system. The Ford position sensors that they use have a total travel of 3.25 inches. Most air bag suspensions move the tires a total of 6 - 9 inches. So a spot closer to the arm's pivot point that moves only 3 - 3.25 inches must be found to mount the lower ball stud. "A sensor can be smashed or pulled apart if your measurements are incorrect". Heon warned, 'The best way to determine where to mount the sensors is by having the car or truck on an automotive lift with ramps, so you can run the vehicle up and down while you are underneath." They suggest looking at their website for examples of sensor installation for different suspension configurations.

Art Langtry, head engineer at AccuAir explains, "Customer satisfaction is our primary goal. We can make changes to your computer routine to meet your specific desires." He explained an example where a customer had a small compressor and tank and was having to wait too long for the front to lift, so he needed a routine written for better air consumption. They made a special program for that customer that lifts the front first, and then the rear.

That old phraxe "you get what you pay for" is something that the AccuAir system stands true for. You can look forward to seeing their systems operating on many of the pro-built hotrods and daily-driven vehicles with air bags. Although they are concentrating on the control system portion of air ride, they can also supply you with solenoids, compressors, tanks and plumbing. Heon hinted at an improved design on the solenoids commonly used today; they should have this product ready for the market in the spring of 2003.