# air lines length???



## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

im using switchspeed for my management...does it need to have equal length of air lines for both front, rear, left and right?

thanks!


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## rollininstyle2004 (Jun 8, 2005)

jun_1.8T said:


> im using switchspeed for my management...does it need to have equal length of air lines for both front, rear, left and right?
> 
> thanks!


 Your front 2 lines should be the same, and your rear 2 line should be the same to make it more consistent when raising and lowering between the two sides.


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## rgarjr (May 19, 2012)

It probably won't make much of a difference is there not equal.


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## connoisseurr (Jan 18, 2008)

rgarjr said:


> It probably won't make much of a difference is there not equal.


 False. It will with switchspeed because it is a pressure based system. ELevel would be completely different however.


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## FlybyGLI (Jun 20, 2008)

connoisseurr said:


> False. It will with switchspeed because it is a pressure based system. ELevel would be completely different however.


 Still wont make a difference. Once the line is pressurized, its pressurized. It may take longer for the pressure to level off to an actual reading, but other than that there will not be any issues.


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## itzkv (Oct 16, 2009)

I took the same length and cut it the same for the other side for fronts, by the time i routed it to the tank, one was actually 2-3 ft longer... made no noticeable differences for me. v2 management


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

just gonna make them same length as much as possible to be on the safe side.

thanks guys!


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

If they are different lengths it will not be the end of the world, a few things will happen: 

- a noticable pressure difference between the sides 
- slightly different ride quality on each side 
- slightly different fill time 

Nothing that is going to be a safety issue or catastrophic so do as you please :thumbup:


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## ornithology (May 6, 2009)

MechEngg said:


> If they are different lengths it will not be the end of the world, a few things will happen:
> 
> - a noticable pressure difference between the sides
> - slightly different ride quality on each side
> ...


 In that case, jun1.8t which side was the longer side? You may want to tuck that extra 2-3 feet somewhere? 

Mech I guess it doesn't matter for you since you're running e-Level?


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

ornithology said:


> In that case, jun1.8t which side was the longer side? You may want to tuck that extra 2-3 feet somewhere?
> 
> Mech I guess it doesn't matter for you since you're running e-Level?


 I just started to do my rears. I had to pull out the lines back out as i think i have 1-1-1/2' foot difference between the two sides. I will just make them equal as much as i can to avoid issues.

BTW...will a fuel line be a good protector of some sort for the air lines??

Thanks!


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## ornithology (May 6, 2009)

jun_1.8T said:


> I just started to do my rears. I had to pull out the lines back out as i think i have 1-1-1/2' foot difference between the two sides. I will just make them equal as much as i can to avoid issues.
> 
> BTW...will a fuel line be a good protector of some sort for the air lines??
> 
> Thanks!


 Are you using airlift V2? 

I would say wrap the line in aluminum insulated tape. However, I just went ahead and used copper hardline instead.


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

ornithology said:


> Are you using airlift V2?
> 
> I would say wrap the line in aluminum insulated tape. However, I just went ahead and used copper hardline instead.


 
Switchspeed...that is why i guess i need to make the lines somewhat equal.

Ill just prolly use some fuel line and just wrap areas where it hits something.

Thanks!


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## Punjabi_Dubber (Mar 28, 2008)

An extra 2-3 feet of line is not going to make any noticable difference. The volume of air in a 3/8 line thats 2 feet long is nothing. And the loss in pressure over that length is also not going to be anything to be concerned with. You would have a higher pressure loss if you looped the line somewhere than having the lines go directly to the bag. 

Your car's weight is not 100% balanced on each corner anyways so your pressures for each corner to get to the same ride height may be slightly different to begin with. 5-10 psi difference is not out of the norm. The way the car's suspension binds as it raises and lowers will also affect. Unfortunately, this is the drawback of a pressure based system.


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

Ok just finished installing the rears. Both lines are almost equal in lengths...maybe a difference of 3-5 inches the most. One side is airing up more...the right side to be exact. Cycled it a few times already and the right side is always about 8-10psi more. What could it be?

Thanks!


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

jun_1.8T said:


> Ok just finished installing the rears. Both lines are almost equal in lengths...maybe a difference of 3-5 inches the most. One side is airing up more...the right side to be exact. Cycled it a few times already and the right side is always about 8-10psi more. What could it be?
> 
> Thanks!


 Probably weight distribution. The engine sits more on the right hand side of the front, and gas tank is on the right also. IT IS EXTREMELY NORMAL FOR THE SAME RIDE HEIGHT TO BE EQUAL AT DIFFERENT PRESSURES


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## Punjabi_Dubber (Mar 28, 2008)

jun_1.8T said:


> Ok just finished installing the rears. Both lines are almost equal in lengths...maybe a difference of 3-5 inches the most. One side is airing up more...the right side to be exact. Cycled it a few times already and the right side is always about 8-10psi more. What could it be?
> 
> Thanks!


 So when you hit the rear up button on your touchpad, the right side lifts higher than the left?


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## no vtec 4me (Aug 1, 2006)

MechEngg said:


> If they are different lengths it will not be the end of the world, a few things will happen:
> 
> - a noticable pressure difference between the sides
> - slightly different ride quality on each side
> ...


 I dont see how any of this is true. The ONLY side effect of having one side longer that the other is that the fill/dump speed will be every so slightly different. And even then, theyd have to have a pretty good difference in length for it to be noticeable.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

no vtec 4me said:


> I dont see how any of this is true. The ONLY side effect of having one side longer that the other is that the fill/dump speed will be every so slightly different. And even then, theyd have to have a pretty good difference in length for it to be noticeable.


 Well think of it this way, you have a fixed volume section of your airbag (the line) and a variable section of the bag (the bag itself) that is all part of the system that is closed off by your solenoid valve. So say you open the solenoid valves for the front and they are open for the exact same time to the millisecond and have the exact same flow rate you get in total X cfm of air into each. The total air is the same, however the air in the variable portion of the system is different if the fixed portion of the system is different volumes. 

In regards to ride quality, the total contained volume of the system will be different (with the same weight put on each corner) because of the fixed airline volume. Again not talking super large differences, or even if it will be noticable by the user, i am simply stating the technical differences between the sides if one airline is longer than the other. 

I'm not talking astronomical differences, but yes there will be a difference. If you want an order of magnitude, most likely negligible for most items if you have a foot difference. However with a 50 foot difference you bet your boots that you will experience all 3 items that i talked about. Just over exaggerating right now for the sake of people understanding the concepts behind it :thumbup::thumbup:


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## no vtec 4me (Aug 1, 2006)

MechEngg said:


> Well think of it this way, you have a fixed volume section of your airbag (the line) and a variable section of the bag (the bag itself) that is all part of the system that is closed off by your solenoid valve. So say you open the solenoid valves for the front and they are open for the exact same time to the millisecond and have the exact same flow rate you get in total X cfm of air into each. The total air is the same, however the air in the variable portion of the system is different if the fixed portion of the system is different volumes.
> 
> In regards to ride quality, the total contained volume of the system will be different (with the same weight put on each corner) because of the fixed airline volume. Again not talking super large differences, or even if it will be noticable by the user, i am simply stating the technical differences between the sides if one airline is longer than the other.
> 
> I'm not talking astronomical differences, but yes there will be a difference. If you want an order of magnitude, most likely negligible for most items if you have a foot difference. However with a 50 foot difference you bet your boots that you will experience all 3 items that i talked about. Just over exaggerating right now for the sake of people understanding the concepts behind it :thumbup::thumbup:


 I understand the theory, but in our application it doesnt really apply. THe whole pressure difference thing would only happen if you used your "front up" button and didnt have gauges or a mgt. system with presets to make sure the sides were even pressures. The other points i can see, but like you said, it would have to be a pretty unreasonable amount of extra airline hanging around under your car.


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## MechEngg (Jan 13, 2009)

no vtec 4me said:


> I understand the theory, but in our application it doesnt really apply. THe whole pressure difference thing would only happen if you used your "front up" button and didnt have gauges or a mgt. system with presets to make sure the sides were even pressures. The other points i can see, but like you said, it would have to be a pretty unreasonable amount of extra airline hanging around under your car.


 Yeah true. 

Can you tell me 1 person who has an exactly even ride height side to side with an exactly even pressure in the front two bags? I have never heard of anybody making this possible, it always seems to be off by a few psi like is should be due to the engine being more over to one side and the tranny on the other.


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

Ok guys need some input.....

Like i said the rears were done this afternoon. Cycled the suspension a few times and took the car around the block. So when i garaged the car I aired up the rears to 60psi on both rears and measured both sides to be equal at 26" FTG. After 5 hours before leaving to work, checked the car and here is what Ive found.

The left stayed at 60psi and the right was at 30psi at the guage. Measured the height and both sides are at 25" FTG. Weird thing is why the psi has a massive difference but the ride height is the same. 

Ill check again when I get home in the morning and see what happens. But for now any input on what you guys think it is?

Thanks!


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

Ok just checked the car now...

So my rears are at equal FTG height. It went down about 1/4" overnight and sits at 24-3/4" equally on both sides. My gauges still reads the same...the right is at 60psi and the left at 30psi which is the exact same thing as last night which suggests that I dont have a leak right? But why is there a 30psi difference reading on my gauge and my ride height is still even???? 

So just to recap. When I parked the car i put both gauges at 60psi...measured the both sides for the rear and they are exactly the same. After about 4-5 hours the left gauge sat at 30psi and the left still at 60psi. Left it overnight and both the gauges held their exact same psi's and the ride height for both sides are still the same. Am I missing something???

TIA!


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## Punjabi_Dubber (Mar 28, 2008)

jun_1.8T said:


> Ok just checked the car now...
> 
> So my rears are at equal FTG height. It went down about 1/4" overnight and sits at 24-3/4" equally on both sides. My gauges still reads the same...the right is at 60psi and the left at 30psi which is the exact same thing as last night which suggests that I dont have a leak right? But why is there a 30psi difference reading on my gauge and my ride height is still even????
> 
> ...


 You have a leak on the left corner. 

Because you only have the rear of the car bagged right now and have a stock rear sway bar from factory, its preventing that corner from dropping significantly. Basically, the other 3 corners are supporting the corner with the leak. 

Test all your connections on the left corner circuit with soapy water.


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

Punjabi_Dubber said:


> You have a leak on the left corner.
> 
> Because you only have the rear of the car bagged right now and have a stock rear sway bar from factory, its preventing that corner from dropping significantly. Basically, the other 3 corners are supporting the corner with the leak.
> 
> Test all your connections on the left corner circuit with soapy water.


 Thanks...

But if I have a leak on the left corner shouldnt it drop less than 30psi? That is what I thought too but it held at 30psi overnight.


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

anyone wanna chime in? 

I've checked for leaks and did not find anything. A couple of things too that i noticed. When i try to make the left side same psi as the right, its about 1/2"-3/4" higher than the right. Also when i air them up the same time, the left side is always lower than the right about 10psi. Even if i try to make them equal after hitting the "both" up button again the left side falls behind still. Could this be just a bad set of gauges. I can try switching the guages if they will read the same. 

Any ideas???? Thanks!


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## [email protected] (Jan 26, 2006)

What kind of gauge? 

(note: give up trying to make them the same..... you will drive yourself nuts over it. :heart


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> What kind of gauge?
> 
> (note: give up trying to make them the same..... you will drive yourself nuts over it. :heart


 Lol...

Im not in no way trying to make them same but i think a difference of 20-25psi between the two is something to look at. What i dont get is why are both sides height the same when they are off 25psi on the gauges??? The gauge i got is whatever came with the kit i purchased from bagriders.


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## Punjabi_Dubber (Mar 28, 2008)

Did you check for a leak at your gage fitting?


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## jun_1.8T (Oct 31, 2003)

Punjabi_Dubber said:


> Did you check for a leak at your gage fitting?


 resolved it already...it was the fitting for the guage on the vu-4 manifold. took it out resealed and re-torqued and all is good.

thanks to everyone!


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