# Inspection...



## Lkerobbins (Sep 25, 2011)

Any reason a car on bags would not pass maryland inspection if it was taken there at stock height? Thanks for any input.


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## Wobblenuts (Feb 5, 2007)

*FV-QR*

Ive always wondered the same thing.


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## Jayy (Jun 15, 2008)

they would fail you for upgrading your suspension?


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## Wobblenuts (Feb 5, 2007)

Plus when you put it on a lift you have to air out.


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## christanand (Aug 10, 2006)

different strokes for different folks.

heck insurance in parts of the country are so different...toronto, ontario, canada for instance has insurance companies that wont even think twice about hanging up the phone on you if you mention you have done ANYTHING to the stock suspension of the car


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## Lkerobbins (Sep 25, 2011)

I'm going to take it to the inspection station and see what happens. I'll let everyone know how it goes. If it doesn't I'm going to put the stock struts on and take it back. Why do you have to air out when you put it on a lift? New to air here.


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## Wobblenuts (Feb 5, 2007)

If there is air in the bags, and you life the car off the ground. Whether it be a lift or jack, you run the risk of ripping the bag. Especially with enough air in it to be at stock height. Bad idea. Anytime I take my car off the ground I air it out. I make sure that whatever corner is off the ground has no air in it.


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

if the bag is ripping due to lifting the wheels off the ground - you're doing something wrong

bags shouldn't see a difference between tension and compression when everything is installed correct

would be interested to hear more about where this idea came from...


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## Wobblenuts (Feb 5, 2007)

That's what I was always told. Mostly with the front air struts. The rears aren't like that. If this isn't true then I would like to know. Everything is installed correctly. 

Hell it actually happened to my friends car. His friend was jacking up one side and didn't know you had to let the air out. It ripped where the clamp is.


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## cstanley19 (Sep 23, 2006)

There is absolutely no way a bag would rip from the weight of a wheel. These bags are driven on by 1.5k lbs... hitting pot holes, bumps, rocks...if you really think that jacking the car up with air in it it will rip the bag, you need some better bags. You can call any company and they may "suggest" you air down but this is the most ridiculous thing I've heard. 

As for the MD inspection, there is no way they can fail you for having air. Cars come stock with air suspension, they can't fail you for that. Not to mention it's not a part of their safety inspection. THey have a set list of items to check and the type of suspension you haven isn't on there. You may fail due to worn suspension parts but not because it's air.


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## President Lincoln (Jun 27, 2005)

In my state, I belive the law states that y ou must have a shock absorber. So as long as you have that.. you can have an air spring or regular spring and be ok.

I know my car was just passed.


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## prospal (Mar 8, 2011)

what about frame modifications, so notches and removing the nipples. or are most places not clever enough to look for that?


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## Lkerobbins (Sep 25, 2011)

Don't think it is notched yet. I seriously doubt most of the places around here would even notice anyway. We will see I'm going to pick the car up Sunday so little over a week or so and I should be set. I will have to swap the exhaust put to pass but that's no issue.


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## ryanmiller (Apr 13, 2006)

if your so worried why dont you just swap springs back in?


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## Lkerobbins (Sep 25, 2011)

Trying to avoid swapping out to the stock struts and springs. Kind of want to find out if it will pass too so definitely going to try it out. If nothing else to find out the answer to the question.


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## Turbo Turkey (Sep 8, 2009)

Where in Maryland are you located? PM me


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## eastcoaststeeze (Jul 20, 2009)

i think you are good, all of my friends in MD on air never had issues


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## blue bags (Jul 1, 2009)

I know every year MA is getting more and more strict, and ive gotton 3 stickers with air no problem. just air it up, sometimes i tell them sometimes i dont. but in MA they generally dont jack up your car unless they feel they need to for whatever reason. but yes, if its on a scissor lift or jacked up, air it out. Tell the mechanic its just like a lincoln. if they didnt understand before then they'll know :laugh:

what ive always heard the issue is "altering your height while driving" other than that it should be fine. plenty of cars come factory with it, just no controller.


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

where did everyone get the idea you have to air the car out when jacked up? thats just as silly as not being able to adjust pressure while driving...

these systems are not bitch! you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want with pressure adjustment when everything is properly working


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## blue bags (Jul 1, 2009)

hyphytrain203 said:


> where did everyone get the idea you have to air the car out when jacked up? thats just as silly as not being able to adjust pressure while driving...
> 
> these systems are not bitch! you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want with pressure adjustment when everything is properly working


Im not saying you physically cant do it ever, its just not worth the risk when it takes two seconds to air it out for peace of mind. Ive seen multiple people loose O ring seals from doing this repeatedly on front struts. and esp with MK4 rears, they can easily pop out of place if they arent attached up top(like firestone AAC rears)or over extend. A sleeve bag attached to the top and bottom of the car can over extend if its trying to hold up the weight of the rear beam and wheels after its expanded to its full length.

and there is nothing wrong with adjusting pressure while driving, im saying if you were to get pulled over the only thing they could possibly say is illegal is adjusting ride height while driving


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## hyphytrain203 (Jun 9, 2003)

thanks for the clarification, didn't mean to come off as a dick...

i guess i would prob air out too if my bags couldn't hold the weight of the hub/etc up front or the rear tranverse link in the back.... but who is actually satisfied with a dangling setup held together by bubble gum anyways? :laugh:

upon further speculation, i could maybe see how a closed system would act as a vacuum between the valves and bags upon lifting the car. if this is the issue, i would think you'd prob be better off with air in the bags to decrease this suction effect due to a larger volume of air able to move around.


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## blue bags (Jul 1, 2009)

Its all good, trust me i get the full use of my system, dailyed through multiple winters, If there is a simple preventative method i can use to prolong the life of my system ill do it though.

I have run the firestone AAC rears for about 3 years and never had a problem with them. they fit perfectly around the top spring perch with no hardware(designed this way intentionally so they wont over extend) and theyve never popped out of place other than when on a scissor lift, and they only do that once the rear beams drops lower than they can extend. I actually like it because i never have to worry about them over extending, theyll fall out of place before it could happen

Ive seen a couple people run into the other extreme to, with bagyard or airlift rears that are bolted in up top, have the rear jacked up high and the bag has over extended and ripped right off the clamp seal if not properly deflated when jacked up


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## blue bags (Jul 1, 2009)

erevlydeux said:


> One thing that's bugging me... if the rear beam hanging ends up resulting in rear bags ripping from being overextending... how does the pressure in the bag so readily raise the chance of the bag *ripping*?
> 
> I'm not saying anyone is wrong.... but I'm just not seeing how the math / physics works on that one.


one problem with having air in it is it can pop out of place, with front struts in particular having air in them without the weight of the car on them will blow the oring seal. and lastly if your under a car jacked up or on a lift and a bag looses a clamp seal for whatever reason wouldnt you rather not have it pressurized while your face may be next to it?


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## prospal (Mar 8, 2011)

I know this topic has been beat to death, but it's been hard to find a straight answer and I was wondering if some of you with mk4's/mk5's could chime in.

I got an '11 GTI on air, and about to get my notch tomorrow. This is first time ever doing frame modifications and just a little hesitant about the whole thing.

Ever been given **** during inspection? By insurance during an accident? What about resale.. I tried going through the f/s threads, searching for 'notched' and it didn't look like too many of them were getting bought up. Is this a HUGE turnoff? Or are there people out there that will purchase a bagged vehicle? What if it was returned to stock suspension? I understand, what they don't know, won't hurt them. But I'm looking for actual experience, not just word of mouth.

Thanks!


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## fasttt600 (Apr 12, 2007)

put it this way, if down the road you go to sell a bagged car, the person buying will 99% of the time want it notched or will have it notched. Just make sure you have someone that knows what the hell they are doing. Some notches out there look so good, you would think it came from the factory. And for experience, I just traded mine in to the dealership and they said nothing. The joys of the statement "as is where is"


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## prospal (Mar 8, 2011)

fasttt600 said:


> put it this way, if down the road you go to sell a bagged car, the person buying will 99% of the time want it notched or will have it notched. Just make sure you have someone that knows what the hell they are doing. Some notches out there look so good, you would think it came from the factory. And for experience, I just traded mine in to the dealership and they said nothing. The joys of the statement "as is where is"


thanks for the reply man.

yeah, so i currently live in jersey and i'm having rat4lyfe do my notch so i'm not afraid about the quality of work. my only concern is safety inspections - i know in NJ we do not have a safety inspection, and our cars don't have to be inspected for 5-6 years from purchase (if brand new). so here I don't have to worry much. but, if i were to move back to LI at any point and needed to get an inspection done, i know they do safety inspections which involve a look at the frame integrity.

the following is out of their brochure for inspection procedure - "Chassis/frame - check for breaks, cracks, or severe rust at the suspension attachment points"

i'm wondering if they don't even take a look at the frame notch and just check out the suspension attachment points. whatever, i'm just a little weary on getting a salvage title on the car. can anyone provide any insight to what kind of effects a salvage title has on insurance rates or anything else? A salvage or totalled title doesn't mean like they can take the car off the road, right? can something like a frame notch prevent you from ever passing inspection?


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## Lkerobbins (Sep 25, 2011)

Passed.


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