# Pressure based levelling vs. Height based levelling. WHich is better?



## fenny (Jan 26, 2011)

I understand the concept, but what are the cons of each. I'm still learning.


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## Slamtastic (Jul 24, 2010)

Height hands down.

Pressure can be extremely inaccurate. It changes with weather conditions and doesn't take load changes into account.

Height will always be the same if the temperature changes and when load changes in the car, the height based system will correct itself.


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## bagged337 (May 11, 2011)

dubbin18 said:


> Height hands down.
> 
> Pressure can be extremely inaccurate. It changes with weather conditions and doesn't take load changes into account.
> 
> Height will always be the same if the temperature changes and when load changes in the car, the height based system will correct itself.



It sounds like someone is a little bias with thole "EXTREMELY INACCURATE". The new v2 seems to be very accurate.I have read alot of complaints about height based systems always making little pointless adjustments. I personally have delt with both installing and the hight based system was 10x easier to install by far 2 grounds, 2 possitives, air lines and your done. Both are cery cool though:snowcool:


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## son of planrforrobert (Dec 21, 2009)

bagged337 said:


> I personally have delt with both installing and the hight based system was 10x easier to install by far 2 grounds, 2 possitives, air lines and your done. Both are cery cool though:snowcool:


I think you have that backwards, you're describing a pressure-based system.


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## bagged337 (May 11, 2011)

son of planrforrobert said:


> I think you have that backwards, you're describing a pressure-based system.


holy backwards batman your right, thank you :beer:


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## [email protected] (Aug 22, 2006)

hey mate, check out our AIR101 MGMT section! :thumbup::beer:


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## gtipwnz (Jun 6, 2010)

Do the height based systems take pressure into account? I have E-level, and no way to see pressures. Will I be fine, or could I be potentially going beyond the recommended pressures?


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## .Ant (Jun 7, 2011)

gtipwnz said:


> Do the height based systems take pressure into account? I have E-level, and no way to see pressures. Will I be fine, or could I be potentially going beyond the recommended pressures?


I think after e level calibrates it knows the max psi. Once it hits that pressure it stops sending air to the bag.


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## gunch (Mar 16, 2008)

But, does it stop based on pressure or height? Not knowing the limits of each bag, will the management be the cause of a over filled/ruptured bag? Just throwing it out there....


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

When you first calibrate an e-level system, you have the option to do a manual calibration.

This means you will define the limits of the suspension before the 'brain' starts learning the characteristics of your system. At this point you set your max pressure (or the maximum pressure you would ever want e-level to use) in your bags. 

Next the system will calibrate, but it will never try to lift the car beyond the height you set. This avoids all issues with over-filling bags.


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## President Lincoln (Jun 27, 2005)

I've never heard of problems with e-level over filling bags. How do you know if a bag is over filled?


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

I think he was talking about the system filling the bags beyond the manufacturers rated pressure. The only way you would know this for sure is if you had gauges or a pressure read out, but it's pretty straight forward to setup e-level using manual calibration.


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## gtipwnz (Jun 6, 2010)

.Ant said:


> I think after e level calibrates it knows the max psi. Once it hits that pressure it stops sending air to the bag.


Yeah, I thought when it calibrated it was using the limits of the height sensors. I was just curious.. I'm sure that if you get the bags for the correct application it'd be fine.


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## ericshell (Dec 22, 2011)

theres a good video out that I can't seem to find the link for at the moment of airlift showing how accurate their new v2 system is. They have it on a silver madza3 and air the car up down and up and measure it both times and its exactly the same. They have a digital readout of everything that happens too, its some really good information.

edit: found it!


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## bubuski (Jun 14, 2001)

ericshell said:


> theres a good video out that I can't seem to find the link for at the moment of airlift showing how accurate their new v2 system is. They have it on a silver madza3 and air the car up down and up and measure it both times and its exactly the same. They have a digital readout of everything that happens too, its some really good information.
> 
> edit: found it!



But doesn't the pressure accuracy change between winter and summer...Or when there is an extra person, or two in the car.


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

bubuski said:


> But doesn't the pressure accuracy change between winter and summer...Or when there is an extra person, or two in the car.


Yes, it does change based on the temp outside but only by a very small margin.

When you add weight/passengers to the car is where the convenience of a height based system really shines. But with the AutoPilot V2 you get eight presets so you can plan ahead for those occasions when you'll have various numbers of passengers by saving a couple presets with people in the car. 

:beer:


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## bagged_hag (Oct 30, 2005)

The biggest advantage I see to a height based system is that most of here are all about the "stance" of our cars. But setting the height of the suspension at that set stance, the car will always achieve that no matter if there is nothing more then you in the car, or if you have a fully loaded car going on a trip. The pressure will then self accomodate to achieve that height giving you the same look and same "stance" time in and time out. To me height based systems, such as the E-Level, are the only way to go. :thumbup:


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

I believe height based systems are far better for many reasons. A few of them being:
- no matter what load you have in your car you will always ride at the same ride height. With a pressure based system your "ride height 2" setting will be at a different height if you add 400 lbs to your car (3 hot chicks)
- If you own a set of retrofit headlights you will never need to reaim them after putting heavy stuff in your trunk or when you are going on a road trip. Your headlights will always be perfectly aimed
- Due to temperature fluctuations, especially in my area (-40c to +35c) the ride heights will be completely different, yes it is easy to reprogram the ride heights but again using a height based system just makes this one less thing to do.
- You will NEVER worry about your ride height being too low for certain parts of town and you wont have to worry about any leaking bags because the ecu will keep the bag at the correct height.

This is based on my experience with e-level and my friends experiences with autopilot


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## ericshell (Dec 22, 2011)

i'll throw my .02 in here. I honestly don't mind pressure my pressure system at all. I know approximately where my car should be pressure wise to be drivable. It's never bothered me that its not EXACTLY PERFECT each time. I feel like this is getting a little too hyped up and people researching in this thread will be mislead by some of the info in here. Pressure based systems are perfectly fine while height based systems are nice for the certain people who are looking for the accuracy.


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## Miguel Lopez Ma (Mar 12, 2007)

ericshell said:


> i'll throw my .02 in here. I honestly don't mind pressure my pressure system at all. I know approximately where my car should be pressure wise to be drivable. It's never bothered me that its not EXACTLY PERFECT each time. I feel like this is getting a little too hyped up and people researching in this thread will be mislead by some of the info in here. Pressure based systems are perfectly fine while height based systems are nice for the certain people who are looking for the accuracy.


+1.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

ericshell said:


> i'll throw my .02 in here. I honestly don't mind pressure my pressure system at all. I know approximately where my car should be pressure wise to be drivable. It's never bothered me that its not EXACTLY PERFECT each time. I feel like this is getting a little too hyped up and people researching in this thread will be mislead by some of the info in here. Pressure based systems are perfectly fine while height based systems are nice for the certain people who are looking for the accuracy.


People who are extremely anal about details will appreciate a height based sensor and get very frustrated with a pressure based one.....AKA the dials do not read the same number so you fiddle to adjust it so it reads the same and then the height is different on all corners. Never ending battle in which e-level takes away one of the differences and says "don't worry, i got it under control" :laugh:


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## gtipwnz (Jun 6, 2010)

MechEngg said:


> I believe height based systems are far better for many reasons. A few of them being:
> - no matter what load you have in your car you will always ride at the same ride height. With a pressure based system your "ride height 2" setting will be at a different height if you add 400 lbs to your car (3 hot chicks)


:laugh:


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## Monkeykungfu (May 15, 2009)

MechEngg said:


> People who are extremely anal about details will appreciate a height based sensor and get very frustrated with a pressure based one.....AKA the dials do not read the same number so you fiddle to adjust it so it reads the same and then the height is different on all corners. Never ending battle in which e-level takes away one of the differences and says "don't worry, i got it under control" :laugh:


Is there really no rhyme or reason to it & you're always guessing if you're level with a pressure based system? 

I'm obviously still a noob to air-ride, but from what I gather, operating a pressure based system successfully is primarily based off of experience with your system & "knowing" what heights to expect from certain pressures. If this is a consistent process, I could see this being very manageable. If it's not consistent & your always out of whack no matter how well your learn your system, I could see it being really frustrating. 

Say hypothetically, your height to fender is 32.5" from the ground at 50 psi & it's 70 degrees when you first make your first lift. Will your height be 32.5" tomorrow when you do the same thing (same temp)? Also, if a front right bag is reading 3 psi less than the front left bag to be level today, can I count it being the same 3 psi less than the front left tomorrow?

How much variation can you see in situations where you "think" you should be level & you're not? Is it approx a 1/2",1", or 2", more? I would think anything under 1" would be tolerable.

Do analog systems (V2?) offer more accuracy than a manual setup, or do they exhibit similar accuracy?

Appreciate the input. :thumbup:


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## spitfire481 (Mar 21, 2007)

my dakota digital setup has pressure and height sensors. i never switch the screen over to the pressure display. its useless. the front pressures are usually about the same from side to side, but the rears are a good bit off at the same height because of fuel/cargo. and as far as a height based system correcting itself all the time, that's false unless other systems than what i run do for some reason (and there is no reason for that). i can drive from Baltimore to Georgia for sowo and the only time the system adjusts is when we stop to fill up on fuel (only from almost dead empty up to full). never needed to correct itself on the road.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

Monkeykungfu said:


> Is there really no rhyme or reason to it & you're always guessing if you're level with a pressure based system?
> 
> I'm obviously still a noob to air-ride, but from what I gather, operating a pressure based system successfully is primarily based off of experience with your system & "knowing" what heights to expect from certain pressures. If this is a consistent process, I could see this being very manageable. If it's not consistent & your always out of whack no matter how well your learn your system, I could see it being really frustrating.
> 
> ...


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## Monkeykungfu (May 15, 2009)

MechEngg said:


>


Appreciate it, thanks a bunch! :thumbup:


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## mike.snipe (Jan 17, 2012)

This is a really helpful post. I am new to air and really want to install it on my Mk4 GTI. I have heard of guys tracking cars on air suspension. Is this doable? Or is it all for show?

I love to drive my car, it see's the track at least twice a month, and from what I am reading pressure isn't the way. Am I wrong? It makes more sense to me that the height based system would be the bee's knees for any application that the driver actually likes to really drive his car. 

Would the height based system help me save tires??? You know, like having my car aligned at whatever height is safe for driving. If the pressure based system isn't accurate every time I would think my alignment would be off every time I get in the car. Can someone better explain? 

More input on this matter please!!! I am looking to purchase a system asap, and am getting mixed thoughts.


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## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

mike.snipe said:


> This is a really helpful post. I am new to air and really want to install it on my Mk4 GTI. I have heard of guys tracking cars on air suspension. Is this doable? Or is it all for show?
> 
> I love to drive my car, it see's the track at least twice a month, and from what I am reading pressure isn't the way. Am I wrong? It makes more sense to me that the height based system would be the bee's knees for any application that the driver actually likes to really drive his car.
> 
> ...



Yes, cars on air are fine on the track if you have a proper setup. 


No a height based system won't improve your tire lifespan vs a pressure based system. The key is getting the alignment done right and driving at your aligned height. Both systems have the ability to get you to you're ride height and keep you there.

** I'm not saying the AutoPilot V2 will maintain a given preset when the load in your vehicle changes like the e-Level does. e-Level still wins as far as convenience goes. :thumbup:


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## g-black (Feb 25, 2011)

With out reading all the fine points of this thread, I mist say I'm very happy with my V1 Autopilot. My height accuracy is adjusted depending on how much I'm rubbing. If it rubs, lift it up a bit. If I take extra load in the back, wait till it rubs, then lift it up a bit. 

I had all the worries of it not being accurate when I first bought it, but I'm more than happy with it and the extra few $100 in my pocket


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## mike.snipe (Jan 17, 2012)

Ok after reading this post over again I am stricken with confusion. I really care about my car. I know there are others that feel the same, and apparently those that do not. 

It seems to me that a height based system is the only logical way to go if your a driver. After talking with my mechanic, I feel like I have a little more knowledge on the whole alignment thing. From what he's saying is your alignment will start to roll off with as little as a .75" variance.

Now with everyone saying they are cool with being up to an inch off, or just lift it enough to clear the tires, I'm not getting it. Are your cars properly aligned or just bagged. I know you have to pay to play. But I pay for my car so I respect my car, as an extension of my being. 

From what I am gathering if you want to know whats going on with your car at all times (your ride height) you really need to go height based and skip out on the pressure based systems. I'm not all about guessing, or just waiting to hear it rub to know that I need to add some pressure. There are to many variances involved going straight pressure. Like someone above said. You have to take air temp, added load, etc...

Taking what my mechanic is saying with the .75" drop starting to change your alignment a height based system would be even better at keeping alignment in check. Being able to adjust your height automatically for you based on load, air temp, whatever it is at your aligned height. 

I am still looking for the right answer I guess. I want to pull the trigger now, but I am still unsure. The price difference is kind of the hurdle I am trying to get over. If this is going to save me from buying tires twice a season I am def going with the E-level. Plus the safety aspect and the ability that anyone can take my car and drive safely without any worry is a huge factor in my book. 

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!! I want to bag my car in the next couple of weeks and I am just waiting on finding the best management out there.


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## kilimats (Mar 5, 2006)

mike.snipe said:


> *From what I am gathering if you want to know whats going on with your car at all times (your ride height) you really need to go height based and skip out on the pressure based systems. I'm not all about guessing, or just waiting to hear it rub to know that I need to add some pressure. There are to many variances involved going straight pressure. Like someone above said. You have to take air temp, added load, etc...*


Exactly, with pressure based you'll be guessing and double checking all the time, constant worry imo

As far as the alignment, some take it seriously and some like me don't. After installing my bags i did an alignement at the height i liked the most for cruising but since then I recalibrated a few time my setup with different preset but overall my cruising height is about the same, it's been months and my tire looks just fine

price diff between autopilot v2 and elevel rocker switch is about $600 or $800 if you take the touchpad.

Well worth the investement if you want a SET IT AND FORGET IT suspension upgrade :beer:


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

mike.snipe said:


> Ok after reading this post over again I am stricken with confusion. I really care about my car. I know there are others that feel the same, and apparently those that do not.
> 
> It seems to me that a height based system is the only logical way to go if your a driver. After talking with my mechanic, I feel like I have a little more knowledge on the whole alignment thing. From what he's saying is your alignment will start to roll off with as little as a .75" variance.
> 
> ...


Sorry i don't mean to be offensive in any way but you sound extremely anal, no pun intended. For somebody who will constantly worry about tire wear, loading, etc i HIGHLY recommend the e-level system just to save you all the worry. If you had autopilot, even V2, if you stopped to pick up a friend you would get out of the car to reset the passengers side pressure every time, then your drivers side would be off too because you aren't in the car. You would absolutely lose your mind 

If i am completely wrong about your personality then disregard this and do whatever your bank account says to do but as Matt said, e-level is the best set it and forget it system out there. It even raises to your ride height automatically when you start your car....amazing


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