# Another mkIV R32 air-ride install... courtesy of Tomas Sport Tuning



## iplayonice (Feb 18, 2006)

Ladies and Gentlemen, Tomas Sport Tuning has done it again! 










After reading *Ryan*'s thread of his Air-Ride install, I knew i wanted the same thing for my .:R, and i knew that TST was the right shop for the install. I couldnt have been more right.

My Inspiration:

















I started by asking Ryan to talk with his friends at *TST *and see if they were willing to do the install on my car. After i got the green light from *"Tambourine Tim" *and *"Slammin' Simon"*, i started researching the equipment i needed to buy and what i wanted installed. I decided to go with Airlift XL's in the front, Air House 2's with Bilsteins in the rear, with Accuair e-level management to tie it all together. I also wanted to keep my front swaybar, so Simon said he'd see what he could do....

Big thanks to *Rali and Will at Bagriders* for working with me on my order, despite that fact that i was on the other side of the world. Their customer service is excellent, and i will only buy parts from them.... :thumbup:

Once the day came, i drove the 9hr trip from Las Vegas to Berkeley, CA, and the guys at TST started on the car - knocking out the entire install in 3 days. 










Getting Started:









Simon notching my frame:









Dont need these anymore:









The basics of my install were similar to Ryan's - Tim cut off the rear nipple perches for the AH2's to sit flush

















But since i wanted to keep my front swaybar, Simon had to fabricate brackets and weld them to the new airlift struts, using the old coilovers as a template:

























And once it was installed, it worked perfectly:









After that, the guys tackled the e-level sensors... I'm not exaggerating when i say it took an entire day to figure it all out and install it all properly. The system is very intuitive and capable, just a PITA to install. That being said, Simon and Tim made it look easy. In order to get the max amount of travel for the rear, Tim fab'd a bracket to hold the rear sensors. 









In the front, the swaybar movement limited where Simon could install the sensors, so he put it in aft of the strut, making sure to leave ample room for the airline and the brakeline. 









I dont have a lot of pics of the trunk setup, but I wanted to maximize the space in the trunk:









Simon mounted the compressors sideways closest to the trunklid, and somehow squeezed the management in the top half of the donut closest to the front of the car, with the 5-gal skinny tank mounted on the otherside of the metal brackets. 

















It's a really crappy pic, but the only thing showing is the tank, and it's sunk in about an inch. 








i basically only lost an inch of space that the particle board takes up, and the space that the tank fills, and that's it. once i get some carpet to cover it all, it'll be perfect. 

Before:









After:


















Sorry for all the crappy pics - My friends and I are planning a couple photoshoots here soon, so hopefully I'll have something better to look at. Thanks!

Finally, i just want to finish saying thanks to all the people that helped me out...

Thanks Ryan "Calisteeze" for being patient when i asked you a million questions... you coulda told me to: 








but instead you helped me out. 

Thanks again to the Bagriders crew for great parts and amazing customer service.









And obviously, the biggest of thanks to Tim and Simon at Tomas Sport Tuning - these guys are amazing and can do anything! It was def worth the drive, and all those months of waiting to come home for the install paid off in the end. Cant wait to see you guys at Wuste!!! :beer:


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## 98DUB (Feb 21, 2003)

Very nice!!


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## CaliSteezR32 (Jul 16, 2008)

So stoked for you dude!! It was my pleasure to help all that I could, I think TST deserves most of the credit fasho, Tim and Simon amaze me everytime I see them pick up a tool. First rounds of drinks in Vegas are on me!! :beer: :thumbup:


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## eastcoaststeeze (Jul 20, 2009)

another bagged dbp r32 :thumbup:


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## iplayonice (Feb 18, 2006)

CaliSteezR32 said:


> So stoked for you dude!! It was my pleasure to help all that I could, I think TST deserves most of the credit fasho, Tim and Simon amaze me everytime I see them pick up a tool. First rounds of drinks in Vegas are on me!! :beer: :thumbup:


couldn't agree with you more. Sounds great bro! :thumbup:


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## JAYDUB26 (Sep 14, 2010)

:thumbup:


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## Constant. (Mar 2, 2007)

Nice plate. Where you stationed in Germany? 

Also:
Please get different headlights.


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## tomespo (Jul 21, 2008)

looks great! :thumbup:


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## DoctorDoctor (Oct 18, 2006)

iplayonice said:


> After i got the green light from *"Tambourine Tim" *and *"Slammin' Simon"*...


:laugh:

What's good, Kamal! It's Kyle (MKV with the mustache)! Car looks absolutely dope, I can't wait to see it in Vegas!!


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## firebert (Feb 25, 2008)

wow that's a long drive! But I can clearly see they do good work. I make the trek from the bay area to Las Vegas every november for SEMA.


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## Vato Gato (Nov 30, 2003)

The R looks good bro. Another bagged VW in Vegas. This makes me want to bag my gti.


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## gtimakesmebroke (Sep 30, 2006)

:thumbup: looks great Kamal!!!!


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## oscar_block (Sep 27, 2006)

Car Looks Good Captain, I cant wait to party it up in Vegas here shortly. Thanks again for making the drive up to us.


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## [email protected] (Nov 19, 2010)

Wow Kamal, the car looks great!!


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## Eur0geek (Oct 22, 2008)

TST does werkk


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## iplayonice (Feb 18, 2006)

Thanks guys... I couldn't be happier. Well worth the drive! Hopefully ill see you guys at Wuste.

Kyle, we gotta take some pics together...
As far as headlights go, I'm working on it... thinkin hids and bora fogs will will be my next mods... more to come


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## DoctorDoctor (Oct 18, 2006)

iplayonice said:


> Kyle, we gotta take some pics together...
> As far as headlights go, I'm working on it... thinkin hids and bora fogs will will be my next mods... more to come


Two things Kamal... 1) Hell yeah, photo shoot in Vegas! and 2) I'm jealous you're putting in more work.

See you in less than two weeks, good sir! Can't wait to see the R32 again :beer::beer:


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## gtimakesmebroke (Sep 30, 2006)

DoctorDoctor said:


> Two things Kamal... 1) Hell yeah, photo shoot in Vegas! and 2) I'm jealous you're putting in more work.
> 
> See you in less than two weeks, good sir! Can't wait to see the R32 again :beer::beer:


id like to partake in said shoot


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## DoctorDoctor (Oct 18, 2006)

gtimakesmebroke said:


> id like to partake in said shoot


Done deal, good sir :thumbup::thumbup:


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## furr (Jul 3, 2009)

:thumbup::thumbup:


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## Arsen550m (May 28, 2010)

how can he weld bracket to struts?


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## mike.snipe (Jan 17, 2012)

That is sweet, how was it welding the sway brackets to the struts???


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## Arsen550m (May 28, 2010)

mike.snipe said:


> That is sweet, how was it welding the sway brackets to the struts???


 yes


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## oscar_block (Sep 27, 2006)

Arsen550m said:


> how can he weld bracket to struts?


 With a Mig Welder. :laugh: 



mike.snipe said:


> That is sweet, how was it welding the sway brackets to the struts???


 It was fine, I was assured from Air lift it was fine to do, and I did not have any issues.


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## vjg1215 (Mar 23, 2009)

I want an R.


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## Arsen550m (May 28, 2010)

oscar_block said:


> With a Mig Welder. :laugh:
> 
> 
> 
> It was fine, I was assured from Air lift it was fine to do, and I did not have any issues.


 Can I weld the brackets to the Airlift perfomance struts?


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## Arsen550m (May 28, 2010)

oscar_block said:


> It was fine, I was assured from Air lift it was fine to do, and I did not have any issues.


 What did you weld on by??


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## oscar_block (Sep 27, 2006)

Arsen550m said:


> What did you weld on by??


 I am not sure what your question is. I just made a tab from the stock sway bar tab, stripped the powder and welded it. I did it in four passes, alternating it in a X pattern and allowing the shock to cool between each pass.


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## ericjohnston27 (Dec 31, 2005)

oscar_block said:


> With a Mig Welder. :laugh:


 I lol'd... Hard 

Ps, Oscar, I want your car... We should trade


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## Mikey Pants (May 13, 2010)

looks really good. nice work!


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## oscar_block (Sep 27, 2006)

ericjohnston27 said:


> I lol'd... Hard
> 
> Ps, Oscar, I want your car... We should trade


 Thanks man, My car is now for sale so you can buy it:thumbup:


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