Disco 2 Air Bags To Coil Springs

Guys
If I fit coil springs at the rear do I have do the same at the front ?

any guides anywhere ?

The D2 already has coils on the front. Why do you want to remove the rear bags?

this is the second time that I have had to replace them, must be leaking

Are you sure it's the bags and not some of the pipework?

Taza said:

this is the second time that I have had to replace them, must be leaking

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The second time in how long?
The bags don't last forever, they can be expected to have a life of about between five and ten years; the rubber can become hardened with age which can lead to cracks, especially in the folds which can in turn lead to leaks and some strange behaviour.

And are you using a good brand, dunlop etc? not the cheap ebay ones? And of course.. if it is actually the bags leaking.
After getting mine back on air, previous owner had put it on springs I can honestly say I would never go back to them! The difference in ride quality is massive.. the self leveling.. the ability to get that extra lift.. and so on.

Yup would be madness to change to springs because of a leak.

Jamiegreen said:

And are you using a good brand, dunlop etc? not the cheap ebay ones? And of course.. if it is actually the bags leaking.
After getting mine back on air, previous owner had put it on springs I can honestly say I would never go back to them! The difference in ride quality is massive.. the self leveling.. the ability to get that extra lift.. and so on.

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I changed from airbags to springs and there was no noticeable difference in the ride quality. Perhaps the springs that were fitted on yours were the wrong type. After all the shocks have more effect on ride quality than springs which is all air bags are. They do have advantages for towing - self-levelling and altering the height for off-road.

brianconwy said:

I changed from airbags to springs and there was no noticeable difference in the ride quality. Perhaps the springs that were fitted on yours were the wrong type. After all the shocks have more effect on ride quality than springs which is all air bags are. They do have advantages for towing - self-levelling and altering the height for off-road.

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Yes, admittedly I believe it was towing springs that were fitted, they were a hard ride. But my last disco had normal springs, and im sorry I have to disagree with no difference in quality of ride, potholes and general driving is all much smoother with bags fitted in my experience.

The only true test is if you were driving cars that you didn't know whether coil springs or air springs are fitted. Neither bottom out on pot-holes. There is no reason why there should be a difference. There are coil springs at the front anyway. Does the front of your car ride badly? I doubt it.

brianconwy said:

The only true test is if you were driving cars that you didn't know whether coil springs or air springs are fitted. Neither bottom out on pot-holes. There is no reason why there should be a difference. There are coil springs at the front anyway. Does the front of your car ride badly? I doubt it.

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Honestly, it doesn't take much to work out if its sitting on air or not. And I do feel the difference from how the front goes in and out of potholes compared to the back, but its minimal, and not a very good comparison given the massive weight difference from front to back. And not just ride quality, they seem to reduce body roll a fair bit too, I've been running with no arbs for a little while and found the sway was less severe with air.
Anyway.. not to go off topic.. just my 2 cents.

I converted my D2 to springs a few months ago there is not much difference in ride quality if your
on a nice smooth motorway run, but B roads with poor quality repairs & pot holes you can feel
& hear the difference, with springs there is a thump on hitting a pot hole where as the bags would
soak it up.

Imo air is much nicer to drive with keep the air I wish I did.

kevstar said:

I converted my D2 to springs a few months ago there is not much difference in ride quality if your
on a nice smooth motorway run, but B roads with poor quality repairs & pot holes you can feel
& hear the difference, with springs there is a thump on hitting a pot hole where as the bags would
soak it up.

Imo air is much nicer to drive with keep the air I wish I did.

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It's never too late haha!
I guess I payed about 400 to convert mine to air, cause I needed a complete new pipe harness that goes for about 100 quid genuine. And quality bags etc.. and quality sensors, that was a mistake of mine..

Last year we bought a LOT of wood flooring.

Filled up the back, the worn out worker who loaded the D2 was a little surprised when I let it self level.

400kg in the back and the car was level.

MJI said:

Last year we bought a LOT of wood flooring.

Filled up the back, the worn out worker who loaded the D2 was a little surprised when I let it self level.

400kg in the back and the car was level.

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Well there is a reason they are used on the majority of heavy goods vehicles, nothing really handles weight better.

A lot of wagons still use leaf springs!

Jamiegreen said:

It's never too late haha!
I guess I payed about 400 to convert mine to air, cause I needed a complete new pipe harness that goes for about 100 quid genuine. And quality bags etc.. and quality sensors, that was a mistake of mine..

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I cant convert it back to air ive given it away lol

kevstar said:

I cant convert it back to air ive given it away lol

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Giving a d2 away? Thats very kind of you!

Jamiegreen said:

Giving a d2 away? Thats very kind of you!

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It needed chassis welding for its next mot & I have too much going on atm so I gave it to a mate
as he needed a motor & he is going to do a chassis swap after the winter as the body was minted
but im looking for another D2

I keep obsessively repeating this and i apologise if it seems rude: from psychological point of view(i have a degree in it) saying that there's no noticeable difference in ride between SLS and coils it's considered "Cognitive dissonance - the engine of self justification"

... to reduce the impact of my rough diagnostic i accept that i have a partial borderline obsessive compulsive attitude when i see ''humiliated" D2s which were well enhanced from factory with SLS and ACE and ''downgraded'' by owners to a D1 suspension