Adjustable height cars

Awl--

You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?

Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions you
could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle heavy
loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise height with them?

Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered it
as an option.
How complicated/expensive is it to do something like this, utilitarian
style? '04 Nissan Frontier; Honda Fit??
Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?

What are the pinciples involved? pure hydraulic cylinders? air?
mechanical scissor-type action?

One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady pulls
up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then outbounces
him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
--
------
Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY

Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!

entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
all d'numbuhs

"Proctologically Violated©®" wrote:
>
> Awl--
>
> You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?
>
> Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
> navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
> as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions you
> could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
> Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle heavy
> loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise height with them?
>
> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered it
> as an option.
> How complicated/expensive is it to do something like this, utilitarian
> style? '04 Nissan Frontier; Honda Fit??
> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?
>
> What are the pinciples involved? pure hydraulic cylinders? air?
> mechanical scissor-type action?
>
> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady pulls
> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then outbounces
> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
> --

The VW Toureg has adjustable ride height. Some other "normal" vehicles
may also have it. From what I've seen the bouncing cars use hydraulic
cylinders powered by 12V electric-hydraulic power packs usually run at
higher than design voltage i.e. 24V, 36V, 48V via extra batteries to
increase the flow rate.

On Jul 18, 3:11 pm, "Proctologically Violated©®"
> wrote:
> Awl--
>
> You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?
>
> Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
> navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
> as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions you
> could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
> Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle heavy
> loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise height with them?
>
> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered it
> as an option.
> How complicated/expensive is it to do something like this, utilitarian
> style? '04 Nissan Frontier; Honda Fit??
> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?
>
> What are the pinciples involved? pure hydraulic cylinders? air?
> mechanical scissor-type action?
>
> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady pulls
> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then outbounces
> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
> --
> ------
> Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY
>
> Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
> Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
> Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
> to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
> The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!
>
> entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
> all d'numbuhs

I can think of at least two cars in the past that had such systems,
the Citroen and one model of Packard. It didn't seem to set the world
on fire.

"Proctologically Violated©®" > wrote in
message ...
> Awl--
>
> You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?
>
> Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
> navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as
> low as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions
> you could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
> Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle heavy
> loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise height with
> them?
>
> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered
> it as an option.

My old Citroen BX did that, many years ago!
It had hydropneumatic suspension, so you could just jack it up to go through
floods, etc. It also handled very well, had a great ride and was self
levelling, I loved it.
It also had a weird barrel speedometer and single spoke steering wheel.
Unfortunately once the miles of hydraulic pipes started to corrode, they
became a nightmare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Height_...ble_suspension

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropneumatic_suspension
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citroen_BX

Z

Don Stauffer in Minnesota > wrote:
>
>I can think of at least two cars in the past that had such systems,
>the Citroen and one model of Packard. It didn't seem to set the world
>on fire.

It occasionally set the Citroen 6-CV on fire when the fluid came squirting
out all over the muffler.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Ford Expeditions and Lincoln Navigators with air suspension have this
sort of feature. When switched to 4WD, they lifted to provide more
ground clearance. When parked, they lower to make entry/exit easier.
Older Lincoln Mark X(?) actually lowered after you exceeded a certain
speed to improve aerodynamics. I am certain that high end Land Rovers
also have adjustable height suspension. However, for a lot of
vehicles, raising the body does not actually improve overall ground
clearance, since many vehicles have solid rear axles. For these the
point of least clearance is the rear axle, and is controlled by the
wheel/tire radius and not the height of the body.

Ed

"Proctologically Violated©®" >
wrote in message ...
> Awl--
>
> You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?
>
> Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
> navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck
> as low as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road
> conditions you could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
> Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle
> heavy loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise
> height with them?
>
> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't
> offered it as an option.
> How complicated/expensive is it to do something like this,
> utilitarian style? '04 Nissan Frontier; Honda Fit??
> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?
>
> What are the pinciples involved? pure hydraulic cylinders? air?
> mechanical scissor-type action?
>
> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady
> pulls up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she
> then outbounces him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
> --
> ------
> Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY
>
> Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
> Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
> Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
> to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
> The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!
>
> entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to
> reply--ie, all d'numbuhs
>
>

> where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
> as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions you
> could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.

The big spendy Range Rover has been doing that for years, using air
bags rather than hydraulics. I think the first mass production street
use of it was actually on a late 60s Citroen. A fair number of
large trucks and buses also have air suspensions nowadays, though I
think the idea there is more to give the driver and/or cargo a nicer
ride, and to make a bus able to "kneel" for a disabled passenger, than
to adjust ride height for different conditions.

A fair number of customized cars and (especially) pickups are
"bagged" these days, though I think the stereotypical low-rider
bounce is achieved through hydraulics, not air bags. You can get
air replacement springs or pneumatic supplements to your regular
springs. These are two levels, no pun intended, of conversion,; one
costs a few hundred dollars, the other a few thousand.

WARNING: If you are going to mess with your suspension to that
degree, either stick to well-tested complete kits from reputable
sources, or approach it as an empirical engineering project that
involves careful test drives under forgiving conditions until you get
it all sorted out! Sorry if this is blisteringly obvious to you, but
you never know who-all is going to read these postings over the years,
and you wouldn't want to learn in traffic or on a mountain road that
you've paid a lot of money just to get into the When Squirrels Attack
realm of chassis dynamics...


> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered it
> as an option.

It costs more money, the equipment takes up a fair bit of room; and
I'm not sure how well it holds up in the long run. (Tellingly, you
can also buy kits to retrofit regular springs to luxury cars whose air
ride scheme has turned into a nest of gremlins...)

> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?

I can't imagine that being bounced is at all good for the car. I
guess that it is better left as a car show stunt, and/or a subculture
specific amusement, than something to do with one's daily driver...



> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady pulls
> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then outbounces
> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?

I've seen it too -- and I don't remember either. I once read
somewhere that the most memorable ads are often the least effective at
making you remember the name of the product or service!

> I can't imagine that being bounced is at all good for the car. I
> guess that it is better left as a car show stunt, and/or a subculture
> specific amusement, than something to do with one's daily driver...
>

Sub culture amusement, indeed.
That, spinning rims, colored underbody fluorescent lites, drug/gang hood
ornaments.... oh, and the blasting music/mufflers.
Goodgawd....
Never heard Bach being blasted out of a car.
Or even Beatle music.

>
>
>> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady
>> pulls
>> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then
>> outbounces
>> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
>
> I've seen it too -- and I don't remember either. I once read
> somewhere that the most memorable ads are often the least effective at
> making you remember the name of the product or service!

Very true. May win awards, but not nec. new customers.

THE most effective ad campaign, from what I've read, is the oh-so pedestrian
Tide commercial.
To wit:
Hah, ahm fruhm Mizzoroh 'n' ah lahk Tahd.... yew have to SHOW meeee....
Etc.
goodgawd....

So pimping out m'truck height-wise is dicey, eh?
Man, I really wanna bounce, yo, bounce!
With Big-Rig-type 6" vertical exhaust pipes on each side, behind the cab....
--
------
Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY

Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!

entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
all d'numbuhs

"Ad absurdum per aspera" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>> where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
>> as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions
>> you
>> could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
>
> The big spendy Range Rover has been doing that for years, using air
> bags rather than hydraulics. I think the first mass production street
> use of it was actually on a late 60s Citroen. A fair number of
> large trucks and buses also have air suspensions nowadays, though I
> think the idea there is more to give the driver and/or cargo a nicer
> ride, and to make a bus able to "kneel" for a disabled passenger, than
> to adjust ride height for different conditions.
>
> A fair number of customized cars and (especially) pickups are
> "bagged" these days, though I think the stereotypical low-rider
> bounce is achieved through hydraulics, not air bags. You can get
> air replacement springs or pneumatic supplements to your regular
> springs. These are two levels, no pun intended, of conversion,; one
> costs a few hundred dollars, the other a few thousand.
>
> WARNING: If you are going to mess with your suspension to that
> degree, either stick to well-tested complete kits from reputable
> sources, or approach it as an empirical engineering project that
> involves careful test drives under forgiving conditions until you get
> it all sorted out! Sorry if this is blisteringly obvious to you, but
> you never know who-all is going to read these postings over the years,
> and you wouldn't want to learn in traffic or on a mountain road that
> you've paid a lot of money just to get into the When Squirrels Attack
> realm of chassis dynamics...
>
>
>> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered
>> it
>> as an option.
>
> It costs more money, the equipment takes up a fair bit of room; and
> I'm not sure how well it holds up in the long run. (Tellingly, you
> can also buy kits to retrofit regular springs to luxury cars whose air
> ride scheme has turned into a nest of gremlins...)
>
>> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?
>
> I can't imagine that being bounced is at all good for the car. I
> guess that it is better left as a car show stunt, and/or a subculture
> specific amusement, than something to do with one's daily driver...
>
>
>
>> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady
>> pulls
>> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then
>> outbounces
>> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
>
> I've seen it too -- and I don't remember either. I once read
> somewhere that the most memorable ads are often the least effective at
> making you remember the name of the product or service!
>

www.autoswalk.com/news/article/14/116.html
I have never owned a Citroen car before, but I wouldn't mind owning one
of those little old two cylinder Citroen cars that has mostly corrugated
metal for the body.Many years ago I read an article in Popular Mechanics
magazine about a couple of gus who were driving around the World in one
of those cars.(Deaux Chaveaux, or something like that.Pardon my French)
Somehow, way out in the boonies, they ran over something that knocked a
hole in the bottom of the crank case and all of the oil leaked out.They
plugged the hole with something and they stuffed some bananas into the
crank case.They made it all the way to another town where they could get
the engine repaired.I guess that banana ''oil'' worked pretty good for a
while.
cuhulin

On Jul 18, 4:11 pm, "Proctologically Violated©®"
> wrote:
> Awl--
>
> You know these pimped-out rides, where the car bounces up and down?
>
> Seems to me this is actually a very good idea, ito of terrain/snow
> navigation, where in highway conditions you would keep the car/truck as low
> as possible (greater stability/mpg's), and in snow/off-road conditions you
> could jack the car/truck up, for greater clearance.
> Don't know if the same principle would apply to being able to handle heavy
> loads as well--gas shocks, iirc, but can you really raise height with them?
>
> Seems like a straightforward mod, and I'm surprised mfr's haven't offered it
> as an option.
> How complicated/expensive is it to do something like this, utilitarian
> style? '04 Nissan Frontier; Honda Fit??
> Would it be much more of a deal to get m'truck to bounce, yo?
>
> What are the pinciples involved? pure hydraulic cylinders? air?
> mechanical scissor-type action?
>
> One of the funniest commercials was the one where, iirc, an old lady pulls
> up to some homey at a stop light, with him bouncing, and she then outbounces
> him.... hilarious! What was that ad for?
> --
> ------
> Mr. P.V.'d (formerly Droll Troll), Yonkers, NY
>
> Stop Corruption in Congress & Send the Ultimate Message:
> Absolutely Vote, but NOT for a Democrat or a Republican.
> Ending Corruption in Congress is the *Single Best Way*
> to Materially Improve Your Family's Life.
> The Solution is so simple--and inexpensive!
>
> entropic3.14decay at optonline2.718 dot net; remove pi and e to reply--ie,
> all d'numbuhs

For most of us it would be an expensive solution looking for a problem
to solve. If lack of success of prior attempts are any indication I
don't think there would be sufficient demand.