Ride height recalibration needed?
 

I just got my front arnott bags installed and i noticed one side is lower than the other. This was done by 2 different shops because the first shop didnt do the job properly.

The reason im wondering though if its a the calibration that needs to be done is because arnott ended up having to mail a new bag out to me and this new bag has a stainless steel finish at the base, while the original bags had a black finish at the base. These are not the entire strut, but just the bags. I reused my struts.

I find it hard to believe that arnott changed their bag dimensions after all these years and one is shorter than the other.

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/g...silverbag2.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/g.../blackbag2.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/g...e/blackbag.jpg

http://i541.photobucket.com/albums/g.../silverbag.jpg

measure (in mm) the ride height on flat surface (bottom of rim to bottom of wheel fender , not a bad idea to re-calibrate your ride height, easy 2 minute job with anyone that has a d-can INPA interface.


_______________ 17"____18"____19"____20"___these are wheel sizes
front axle_______685____697____710____722
rear axle________687____699____712____724
sport fr_________670____682____695____707
sport rr_________672____684____697____709

x2 on the above, find someone who has INPA, or DIS/GT1 to run a ride height calibration and make sure to park on level ground, tires at proper pressure, and use a tape measure.

Its always good practice when working on the air suspension to run a calibration afterwards. Now, as to why Arnott supplied you with springs with different color bases, not sure. My Arnotts (full air strut units) were installed January 2012 and were both identical and work amazingly.

The front is about half an inch off from each other. The rear is about 1/4 difference from each other.

1/4 inch is fine, there is a tolerance of about 1/4 built into the system. if you have access to DIS you can raise and lower the air suspension by corners, for example if the left front is 1/2 inch higher you can lower that corner to match it, and set zero point as default ride height.

I did purchase the software and cable and a laptop but was unable to get the software up and running on my laptop. I may try again to install it as I wanted to lower the truck about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. I may end up having to take it to a shop to get it done.

Is calibration part of the installation of the bags? Or is it optional like alignment if you have a shop which has DIS do the job?

I'd say calibration is just "good practice" when removing and reinstalling the airbags in the suspension, certainly not required though.

Many shops I'm sure change the X5's air bags and don't think twice about performing a ride height calibration afterwards.

Thanks for the feedback.