Looking for comfort!

andytlman · Oct 16, 2009

I have a 2002 p38 with about 90k miles on it. What I'm looking for is more comfort in the suspension department. i find the car crashes over bumps does not seem to absorb the small ripples. Now i know the car has a vast amount of unsprung weight but surely it must be made to absorb bumps better. i have played with tyre pressures to no avail and found with pirelli st std pressures work best. Would changing the bags and dampers for new one's make the suspension more supple? I don't won't better handling so no koni's for me just more comfort. I do not have any suspension issues just not happy with the ride.

Datatek · Oct 16, 2009

If your airbags are old, the rubber hardens I think, the ride on mine was more supple after I fitted Arnott Gen2's

gtland · Oct 16, 2009

What wheels & tyres are you running? If big wheels with low profiles the ride will be harsher than standard. If any thing the weight should help at absorbing ripples; Rollers & Yank tanks give a good go with their weight! Have you driven other P38s to compare their comfort, or has yours progressively worsened?

rangiegal · Oct 16, 2009

gtland said:
What wheels & tyres are you running? If big wheels with low profiles the ride will be harsher than standard. If any thing the weight should help at absorbing ripples; Rollers & Yank tanks give a good go with their weight! Have you driven other P38s to compare their comfort, or has yours progressively worsened?

The Konis improve the comfort and stability greatly - I've just had some fitted and they are much smoother and more comfortable than the original shocks...plus of course, the wheels and tyres....P38s are really fussy about tyres and pressures....

andytlman · Oct 17, 2009

wheels are standard running 28 front 38 rear i was thinking maybe the bags do need replacing as they may of gone hard which may affect the ride are gen 2's an improvment over std i won't be doing off road so extra travel is no advantage just looking for supple ride

gtland · Oct 17, 2009

I have no personal experience of Arnott compared to original Dunlop, but I`m sure they`ll be some comment on soon from others. I replaced my old bags with Dunlops a coupla years ago. I can`t honestly say I noticed any difference in ride quality between old `n` new. At 9/10 yrs your air-bags are prob. getting near end of useful life anyway. Likely they will be drying out, the same way old tyres dry out, and suffer cracked side walls. Try putting Eas on high setting and crawling under car with a torch; the worst cracking is normally around thr lowest part of bag where it rubs against piston. road grime gets trapped here causing wear. If they are worn they timely replacement will help premature wear of air pump, as it works overtime to replace air lost through porosity. Dunlop or Arnott ? Your choice... One word of caution I would be hesitant about `life time guarantees`: I ain`t no lawyer but UK/Eu laws say guarantees are responsibility of retailer; Arnott (manufactuer) advertises this guarantee on a US website..... By all accounts Arnott produce good quality well made goods, but a lifetime guarantee? If it sounds too good to be true , it probably is!

gtland · Oct 17, 2009

Re Shock absorbers: I`m running up-rated shocks on mine. had to replace them about 3 yr ago. The ride is now firmer with less roll. If you want a smoother ride, at the expence of more roll, tnen maybe a set of expensive adjustable shocks could help; just adjust the shocks towards a softer , rather than the firmer setting as many poeple would?

fortgrange · Oct 17, 2009

I have Gen 3's and the ride is far more composed through the twisty stuff, with no loss of comfort. The Gen 2's are basically an OE air spring with a lifetime warranty, where as the Gen 3's have a different spring rating, hence the more composed ride. If you have ever ridden in an L322, thats what riding in a p38 feels like with Gen 3's, far less body roll.

I use boge shocks (OEM) and run general grabber UHP's and fairly happy with my ride.

I think you have to be realistic and except you are never going to return a 10 year old RR to its original factory 'tightness' (for want of a better word)

Datatek · Oct 17, 2009

fortgrange said:
I have Gen 3's and the ride is far more composed through the twisty stuff, with no loss of comfort. The Gen 2's are basically an OE air spring with a lifetime warranty, where as the Gen 3's have a different spring rating, hence the more composed ride. If you have ever ridden in an L322, thats what riding in a p38 feels like with Gen 3's, far less body roll.

I use boge shocks (OEM) and run general grabber UHP's and fairly happy with my ride.

I think you have to be realistic and except you are never going to return a 10 year old RR to its original factory 'tightness' (for want of a better word)

Sorry Gen 2 Arnotts are nothing like OE in construction, for a start they have a crimped top plus they are rising rate due to the piston design. the rubber is different too. Definately more supple the the OE I replaced.

fortgrange · Oct 17, 2009

Datatek said:
Sorry Gen 2 Arnotts are nothing like OE in construction.

I couldn't agree more, they are constructed far more robustly than OE, which is why they come with a lifetime warranty. But there design means they basically operate the same as OE.

Replacing any 8 to 10 year old air spring with OE, Gen 2 or Gen 3 you are going to notice an improvement, the same as when you replace worn out tyres.

Gen 3's (like any new air spring) whilst providing a general improvement, also vastly improve handling, something a Gen 2 will not do.

Khryztal · Oct 18, 2009

'Life time guarantee' Is a term widely used now, by a lot of companies. And yes they are lifetime. But only for the original buyer. So as long as you own the product be it EAS parts or a snap off socket the guarantee applies. But it expires the second you sell the item.

996TURBO · Oct 18, 2009

Datatek said:
Sorry Gen 2 Arnotts are nothing like OE in construction, for a start they have a crimped top plus they are rising rate due to the piston design. the rubber is different too. Definately more supple the the OE I replaced.

I'm sorry but :
Gen3 Arnotts are different rate due to the piston design
http://www.arnottindustries.com/file.asp?Schematic=TRUE&ProductID=173&Size=SMALL
Gen2 have same rates as OEM, sturdy built but same rates.
http://www.arnottindustries.com/file.asp?Schematic=TRUE&ProductID=160&Size=SMALL

I've sold many of both so i know pretty well that stuff

Datatek · Oct 18, 2009

996TURBO said:
I'm sorry but :
Gen3 Arnotts are different rate due to the piston design
http://www.arnottindustries.com/file.asp?Schematic=TRUE&ProductID=173&Size=SMALL
Gen2 have same rates as OEM, sturdy built but same rates.
http://www.arnottindustries.com/file.asp?Schematic=TRUE&ProductID=160&Size=SMALL

I've sold many of both so i know pretty well that stuff

Those details that you have posted above are nothing like the current Gen 2's in shape and certainly nothing like the Gen 2's I fitted. Second generation Gen 2's have a tapered bladder which affects the spring rate as it compresses.

996TURBO · Oct 19, 2009

Datatek said:
Those details that you have posted above are nothing like the current Gen 2's in shape and certainly nothing like the Gen 2's I fitted. Second generation Gen 2's have a tapered bladder which affects the spring rate as it compresses.

Seriously there's not 2 generation of Gen2s.

Those details from Arnott shows the airspring shape when inflated and installed on a vehicle which is completely different from the out of the box photos
See :

You've either Gen3 or Gen2.:alien:
It's not the bladder that affects the spring rate on a airspring but the piston design and all airsprings (even OEM Dunlop) have different rates affected by the height you select.
See :
Arnott Generation III Air Springs

Looking for comfort!

andytlman

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gtland

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