air suspension- necesary?

[Steve R]

Hey Humm-budz,

Seems like there's a bit of confusion about the air suspension/compressor situation on our badd-ass rigs. In order to prevent an overly long post, I'll try to just smack-down on issues machine-gun style:

The air suspension is basically the same thing Chevy/GMC offers as their "Auto-Ride" feature. In this capacity it offers us a 'smoother and nicer' ride then conventional shocks. They claim you can feel the difference in ride.

They (GM) also modified this system with a handy little button that, when pushed, allows the rear-end to be jacked up to its fullest extension. This feature adds additional clearance to our H2's. It's very handy and even today made the difference for me in getting over a big obstacle while offroading. Not only good for offroading, you can also jack-up the rear for goofing-off (it puts the butt in the air like a dragster?) For safety reasons, this lift feature de-activate at speeds over 20mph.

The hissing and discharge is VERY cool and well worth the coin alone. Definite cool-points!

Because the air-suspension uses air, there is an air compressor involved. Someone at GM had the insight to make the air pressure from this system available for use for inflating tires and other such things. The Enoy/Trailblazer have this too. This feature is just a side-benefit of having an existing air compressor onboard.

The air-suspension will automatically adjust to keep the back level. The manual indicates that when towing heavy loads, the rear-lift button feature SHOULD NOT BE USED. You only lift the rear for offroading or showing-off.

As for the tow/haul mode, it merely adjusts the shifting pattern of the tranny. That's all. When towing heavy loads, it is advantageous to allow the engine to rev a bit higher before shifting, this helps the engine not work so hard.

The air-suspension package comes standard with the ADVENTURE package, otherwise it can be ordered seperately. I particularly advise bachelors to opt for this feature; that way they can re-inflate their dates should they spring a leak! (Low-blow...but ya gotta admit its funny). [img]/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]