BAG RIDERS - Subaru Impreza Air Ride Info

[tnguyen600]

I'm considering bagging my hatchback but i'm concerned about who would do the work and cabin noise when the compressor is running.

Can anyone share any of their experience with the noise?

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[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by tnguyen600

I'm considering bagging my hatchback but i'm concerned about who would do the work and cabin noise when the compressor is running.

Can anyone share any of their experience with the noise?

I have a 2007 Wagon with (2) 400C compressors mounted in the spare tire compartment using the AccuAir EXO Mounts



The 400C is the loudest and fastest VIAIR compressor we sell. I used to have (1) 400C in my spare compartment, which was NOT EXO Mounted. This single pump configuration was actually louder than my current DUAL pump setup. This goes to show how big of a difference the EXO Mount system really makes.

Compressor noise is largely determined by how you mount the compressor. The EXO Mount system is a great solution, but I've seen plenty of creative solutions that use bits of foam or carpeted MDF that help to quiet down noisy compressors. Personally, I love the exo mount system!


AccuAir EXO Mount System on BagRiders.com

I will post up a video showing the compressor noise in my cabin. We will be releasing a Before/After video showing my old setup vs my current setup as soon as our media intern gets around to editing the footage

[Januch09]

Hey guys & gals. So I already talked to John a lot about my setup, but would like some feedback from GR WRX/STI members who are bagged and are running somewhat of a similar setup to me.

This is how I want my car to be: (if possible)
Basically for daily driving, I want my car to have no wheel gap (I'll add a picture of how it sits now and I want it to be the same way on bags for DD), simply flush, no tucking on a 18x10+30 255/35/18, around -2 camber. Still want to have a real nice contact pad for driving. Once I'm aired out, I want it to tuck real nice. Close to fender on wheel lip. It doesn't have to be sitting on the lip, but pretty damn close. A typical tuck of an air-ride car.

My question for you guys is, what control arms, lateral link, bushings are going to do the best job for a non-rediculous price? I like GTSpecs parts a lot. As far as pulling fenders, how much of a pull will help me achieve my stance of only -2 camber when driving and tucked when aired out? Fender liners (cut, eliminate, shave, etc)?

All feedback will be helpful.

Feel free to pm me so I don't cram up this thread with info specifically for me, unless you feel the community would also appreciate the info.

Thanks

Here's my car as it sits now. No wheel gap, -2 degrees camber, BC BR Coils, stock wheels and tires, no spacer. Just to get an idea of how "low" I want to be when driving the car on bags.

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Januch09

Once I'm aired out, I want it to tuck real nice. Close to fender on wheel lip. It doesn't have to be sitting on the lip, but pretty damn close.

This part in particular means you will have to have a little bit of poke while driving around. As you air out, your front wheels are going to move inward (towards the tranny) a bit as the distance between the tranny and rotor decreases (i.e., axle becomes shorter).

I suggest picking up a pile of 3mm and 5mm spacers from your local auto parts store and having a field day in your garage testing fitment. The spacers are pretty cheap and really it is the best way to guarantee fitment with your vehicle and wheel choice. This is always what I do and it works every time

Originally Posted by Januch09

As far as pulling fenders, how much of a pull will help me achieve my stance of only -2 camber when driving and tucked when aired out?

I can't say exactly how much pull you'll need (if any), but whenever I need just slight pull to fit a wheel on a vehicle equipped with air suspension, I'll take some cardboard and form it over the top of the tire/wheel face where the fender will make contact. With this cardboard in place, I slowly air the car out onto the cardboard which gently massages the fender.

Originally Posted by Januch09

Fender liners (cut, eliminate, shave, etc)?

I would say cut out the very top, where the top of the tire will make contact. There is a slight gap between the fender liner and the wheel well, and resting the weight of the vehicle on this point will stress the clips which hold the fender liner to the fender/bumper.

[LOWEST]

I noticed that most of the blob eyes and hawk eyes aren't able to make lip to fender contact up front, or tuck their front wheels. What determines how low they go up front?

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by LOWEST

I noticed that most of the blob eyes and hawk eyes aren't able to make lip to fender contact up front, or tuck their front wheels. What determines how low they go up front?

There are a few major blockades that hold up the front of the 02-07 (GD/GG) chassis. I'll shine some light on how to get lower, but first a disclaimer! For legal reasons, I (nor Bag Riders LLC) do NOT recommend any chassis modifications, so do so at your own risk!

The first point of interest is a big square chunk of metal that juts down into the wheel well. You can cut this out and reweld the wheel well, or hammer it out. Here is a picture:



Next up, your axle is going to hit your subframe and prevent you from going lower. The solution to this is a "C" Notch in your subframe. Here is a picture of my notch.



The last stopping point is going to be your control arms hitting your subframe. This is incredibly obvious with the wheel off by jacking up the hub. I used a cutoff wheel to make a small (1/2") notch for the control arm. I'll get a picture of this ASAP.

Hope that helps!

[champwhteek]

So we have to do the cut on the wheel wale for both sides?? Hope that's not a stupid question

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by champwhteek

So we have to do the cut on the wheel wale for both sides?? Hope that's not a stupid question

Yep, the offending metal chunk is indeed on both sides. It is where the fuse box and battery sit. I actually raised my entire well by about 1.5" by cutting out around the base and re-welding everything with an additional strip of metal, akin to raising a strut tower. I feel like I should reiterate that this is by NO MEANS required nor can I recommend modifying your chassis! Mod at your own risk

[Chasewrx]

Can you post pictures of where the control arm hits the frame? Having serious issues getting my friends car lower on bags and nothing seems to be hitting so we'd like to see exactly what you're talking about

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Chasewrx

Can you post pictures of where the control arm hits the frame? Having serious issues getting my friends car lower on bags and nothing seems to be hitting so we'd like to see exactly what you're talking about

Here ya go! The camera is basically next to the rotor, this is the driver side front. Follow the control arm from the hub to where it attaches to the subframe, that point is shown in this picture. I made the notch PLENTY big enough, probably could do with 1/2 this size.

[Chasewrx]

Originally Posted by Bag Riders Air Ride

Here ya go! The camera is basically next to the rotor, this is the driver side front. Follow the control arm from the hub to where it attaches to the subframe, that point is shown in this picture. I made the notch PLENTY big enough, probably could do with 1/2 this size.

Thanks, Damn that's what we cut today, the frame is c-notched at the axles and there's enough gap between the wheel and the top of the tires to fit a finger so we don't need to cut it out at the top of the wheel well but he's still about an inch off the ground. We're running out of ideas lol

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Chasewrx

Thanks, Damn that's what we cut today, the frame is c-notched at the axles and there's enough gap between the wheel and the top of the tires to fit a finger so we don't need to cut it out at the top of the wheel well but he's still about an inch off the ground. We're running out of ideas lol

How far do you have the struts threaded down? I have mine threaded nearly to the CV boot which is just enough to get the car to lay subframe on flat ground (our shop). Wheels are 18x9.5 with 215/40 Hankook Ventus V12 tires. 17's should be a bit easier.

[Chasewrx]

Originally Posted by Bag Riders Air Ride

How far do you have the struts threaded down? I have mine threaded nearly to the CV boot which is just enough to get the car to lay subframe on flat ground (our shop). Wheels are 18x9.5 with 215/40 Hankook Ventus V12 tires. 17's should be a bit easier.

Spun down as much as they can go and it doesn't help, we can't see anything at all that it would be hitting

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Chasewrx

Spun down as much as they can go and it doesn't help, we can't see anything at all that it would be hitting

Hmm it's an 02-07? When I was getting mine down the last few millimeters I had my entire front end off (bumper cover and fenders), which made it incredibly easy to find spots that were holding me up. I air out the car and try to run a ziptie all the way around the top side of the wheel. If it gets caught at any point, lift the car back up and hammer the spot!

What size wheel/tire are you running? It's gotta be caught on something... if it's not the axle on the subframe or the control arm hitting the subframe, or the limit of the suspension, it has to be the wheel hitting something in the wheel well. Did you hammer or cut out the corners in the top of the wheel well where the battery/fuse box and intake box sit?

[Chasewrx]

Originally Posted by Bag Riders Air Ride

Hmm it's an 02-07? When I was getting mine down the last few millimeters I had my entire front end off (bumper cover and fenders), which made it incredibly easy to find spots that were holding me up. I air out the car and try to run a ziptie all the way around the top side of the wheel. If it gets caught at any point, lift the car back up and hammer the spot!

What size wheel/tire are you running? It's gotta be caught on something... if it's not the axle on the subframe or the control arm hitting the subframe, or the limit of the suspension, it has to be the wheel hitting something in the wheel well. Did you hammer or cut out the corners in the top of the wheel well where the battery/fuse box and intake box sit?

It's an 04 we hammered out the wheel well a little bit and everything else is cut out ill try the culture idea soon

[Micker72]

Anyone have any shots of how they tucked their harness out of the way that runs through the drivers side inner-fender area?

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Micker72

Anyone have any shots of how they tucked their harness out of the way that runs through the drivers side inner-fender area?

Check out these photos:


Driver Side factory routing (may contact the tire at low drive heights)


Remove the fender, this bracket needs some slight tweeking to re-route the harness:


Bending the bracket helps prevent damage to the harness:


Note the hood release cable was also re-routed:


The passenger side is easy to re-route without removing the fender:

[Eric310]

im considering an air ride system for my 05, just a few questions, so if I buy a kit from you guys thats pretty much everything included that I would need for a basic set up?

Any upgrades worth doing that will help prevent any leaks or any other accidents since its my DD?

And I saw that you guy sell hose and other accessories for air tools, how good would air tools run from the set up? What would be needed to make that happen?

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by Eric310

im considering an air ride system for my 05, just a few questions, so if I buy a kit from you guys thats pretty much everything included that I would need for a basic set up?

Any upgrades worth doing that will help prevent any leaks or any other accidents since its my DD?

And I saw that you guy sell hose and other accessories for air tools, how good would air tools run from the set up? What would be needed to make that happen?

Eric,

Our kits include everything you need for the installation besides a power kit, since so many enthusiasts have already installed a power kit for an aftermarket audio setup. If that doesn't describe you, then a power kit is the only "extra" thing that you will need.

There is one major part that I recommend upgrading, which is the VIAIR compressor check valve. These check valves are notorious for freezing in cold climates, or just leaking in general which causes your tank to slowly drain through the compressor. For every project we build here, we always replace the compressor check valve before ever installing the compressor in the car.

We do indeed have the parts for air tools! With a 5 gallon air tank at 150psi (default setting out of the box) you can easily fill tires or even power air tools if that's your goal. 5 gallons of air isn't a terribly large amount of air, but you can definitely power pneumatic tools with an air setup. What you will need is the following:

Street Elbow (I do this so the coupler points "up" rather than straight out of the tank): http://bagriders.com/modlab/products/STREET-ELBOW.html

Air Tool Coupler (male NPT): http://bagriders.com/modlab/products...L-COUPLER.html
Air Tool Hose (include fittings): http://bagriders.com/modlab/products/AIR-TOOL-HOSE.html

With that, you'll have a tool port on the tank and a 25" hose with a tool port on the end. Then you can install male air tool plugs onto your pneumatic tools and plug them into the hose coupler. For example, we have this tire chuck + male plug combo for $10.00 that would plug into the end of the air tool hose and allow you to fill your tires: http://bagriders.com/modlab/products/TIRE-CHUCK.html

I hope that information helps! Feel free to post here or shoot me a PM if you have any further questions!

Cheers,
John

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Had my WRX on the lift this weekend, before notching for the control arm I marked the spot with a paint marker and took a photo to share here



This is the last spot that will prevent a GD/GG from laying subframe.

Legal/Insurance disclaimer: Bag Riders LLC does not recommend chassis modifications - do so at your own risk!

[allmotorvr]

What would cause the v2 to constantly need to be calibrated? I calibrate my system and a couple days later at most my presets won't work cause it says it needs to be calibrated again.

[25rsti]

Is everyone with GD subarus mounting their height sensors exactly the same and in same locations?

We need more talk going on in here.

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by 25rsti

Is everyone with GD subarus mounting their height sensors exactly the same and in same locations?

We need more talk going on in here.

I agree, more traffic would be nice Kevin and I mounted our height sensors in the exact same location- there isn't all that much you can do in terms of different locations on the GD/GG Chassis. I haven't messed around with the new e-Level sensors which may present other possible mounting locations, but overall the chassis is pretty easy to "e-Level" in regards to the sensor not being affected terribly by sheer. There isn't really any secret to mounting the sensors, just measure at least three times Having a friend/extra set of hands is very handy as well! PM me if you have any questions of course

[25rsti]

Thank you. Hoping to start the install this weekend if everything lines up lol.

[Bag Riders Air Ride]

Originally Posted by 25rsti

Thank you. Hoping to start the install this weekend if everything lines up lol.

Nice, good luck! If you have any questions shoot me a PM I'm usually online here and there during the weekends. I'll be out of town on Sunday, however. Our phone lines are open M-F 9am-5pm EST 802 735 2574, always happy to chat about Subaru stuff!