- You are currently viewing DISCO4.COM as a guest - Register to take part or Log In
caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
  
|
Genis wrote:CaverD3, how's your system holding up to abuse? Have you found a tester yet or are you testing it yourself?
Testing myself, so far so good but no real abuse yet. Need to get to Stockton beach to tes with sand.
Working on improvements to the connectors. “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
|
 19th Mar 2009 12:56 pm |
|
|
disco4x4au
Member Since: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Perth
Posts: 409
|
caverD3 wrote:4x4au has used shortened rods for a long time and has not had any problems. T
I have, but as mine co-exist with the std rods, I only switch over when needed, so I haven't exposed the car to running at off-road height for weeks or months. Most would be a few days at a time, but I can't say I've noticed the compressor working any harder - the tank would be acting as a buffer unless you're manually changing height all the time, and that would apply whether you use the shortened rods or not (I have two sets, shortened 12mm or 15mm).
Cheers,
Gordon ex - 2006 D3 TDV6 SE, silver, with lots of stuff - R.I.P.
ex - 2009 D3 TDV6 SE, silver, had lots of stuff too!
Now - 2010 RRS 3.0 TDV6, rimini red, 18" rims + Cooper LTZ, rear eLocker, Spider tuning box, GOE protection plates and rock sliders, GOE 3way shortened rods.
|
| 20th Mar 2009 12:58 am |
|
|
BBS SPY
Site Sponsor
Member Since: 15 Jun 2007
Location: Sunny Cyprus
Posts: 3054
  
|
Since the need for this was first bought to my attention, i have been banging this requirement around between my ears and done an awful lot of looking around. My problem is i just love a challenge.  I have been through all possible diagnostic capabilities of the unit, and i can do a lot of stuff through that, but not this. I have also sifted through the EEPROM contents of the EAS ECU and the ECUs operating software. And have not as yet been able to identify the required data that would need to be changed. I did not try taking the door off though. 
At the moment, unless i find a better way to achieve this, the best plan i can come up with is to knock up a small box that connects to the CAN bus and monitors for the "going to lower" message being issued from the EAS to the Ipack. upon seeing this, i can then make this box diagnostically go into the EAS system and inhibit any height change. Then i can have the box monitor the road speed until it reaches a new pre set higher value, possibly adjustable. After which i can make it release the ECU back to normal and close the diagnostics, optionally re issuing the message to the ipack. The EAS should then carry on as before. It will mean you get two warnings on the ipack, although i may be able to issue some other message after the first to indicate that the unit canceled it. And with the EAS being in diagnostic mode, it should not re issue a message if the speed falls below the origional 40 / 45 KPH threshold point and then goes above again. If not i can get the unit to put an LED or something on
The plan should work in theory, however there may be unforseen reasons that it may not. I would love any feedback from anyone who might have spotted a flaw in this plan that i may have completely missed.
Obviously i will put some software together off a PC to test the idea out before committing to any embedded type design.
I should also hopefully be able to make the box do other tricks as well, eg by monitoring EAS switch inputs, it could be triggered to manually go in and raise or lower the EAS to different and not normally accessible levels.
EG hold the switch high or flick it high ten times in a period will cause the box to cut in and raise the EAS to absolute maximum.
As i have said in the past, we can do quite a few things, and we just love the D3 and messing with its technology. But we are not a big corporate outfit and we do sometimes struggle to get things right, although we try our best, and to be successful in anything, we really do require and appreciate the thoughts and input of fellow enthusiasts.
|
| 20th Mar 2009 6:28 pm |
|
|
GraemeS
Member Since: 17 Mar 2008
Location: NSW
Posts: 706
|
BBSPY,
I've been looking pretty closely at this issue and have built and programmed a box ready for initial vehicle testing that alters the sensor voltages to simulate a lower height but your idea to intercept the message and prevent lowering sounds like a very neat and installation-wise simple solution. I have found nothing that suggests any problems with your idea although my information is only what can be gleaned from the WSM from the GTR site. I can only hope that such a box can be developed quickly and sold at a low enough price that I can justify buying one. I would need to travel at 100kph at the raised height.
Edit: My unit uses the raise and lower switches to set and cancel functions. The option to set and cancel the suspension for wheel alignment by a particular number of raise or lower switch operations would be very useful.
|
| 20th Mar 2009 9:49 pm |
|
|
daveyb
Member Since: 14 Oct 2007
Location: SF
Posts: 135
  
|
15-20mm is WAY outside of usable limits IMO. I've had ZERO ill effects running my rods at 12mm & 13mm 100% of the time. Pretty strong negative opinions there Fly. Interesting that you still sent me a PM inquiring about placing an order... 2006 D3 Tonga Green
275/65/18 GY DuraTracs - ARB w/ EP9.0 - Sasquatch Rods
|
| 21st Mar 2009 12:36 am |
|
|
Spanish Fly
Member Since: 09 Jul 2007
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Posts: 217
 
|
Just window shopping mate 
When somebody finally finds a real solution, then I'll dive in. But for now my money is likely to be spent with MATZKER.
AT the end of the day, to get it right you need to play ball with Land Rover. Remember MATZKER is actually 'recommended' by LR and doesn't affect LR warranty.
Just my h'apenny's worth...
|
| 21st Mar 2009 10:51 am |
|
|
caverD3
Member Since: 03 Jul 2006
Location: Oberon, NSW
Posts: 6922
|
MATZKER still produces faults in the sytem though. And is very expensive.
Until someone breaks the LR codes and re-writesd them or LR produce a solution the electronic system will not be seamless. “There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely gamesâ€
Ernest Hemmingway
D4 3.0 Active Diff, Adaptive Lights, High Beam Assist, Surround Cameras, Privacy Glass.
D3 2.7:Adaptive Headlights,Electronic Rear Diff,ARB Bar,Blaupunkt Speakers,JVC Powered Subwoofer,Removable Snorkel,Mitch Hitch,Pioneer After Market Head Unit,Steering Wheel Control Adaptor,Remote Adjustable Supension Rod System, Taxside Dual Battery System.
|
| 21st Mar 2009 11:36 am |
|
|
BrewMonkey
Member Since: 25 Apr 2007
Location: Michigan
Posts: 70
|
Barring finding the address of the correct calibration parameter(s) and the speed threshold, I think the current best (by this I mean most flexible) solution is an electronic one. It's quite likely that the threshold is stored as something other than an engineering unit i.e. not something like '40' (0x28), so BBS_SPY may have great difficulty locating it (I've mentioned before that what he's doing in some of the systems is complex and sometimes frustrating work!)
BBS_SPY, when you say you are inhibiting the height change, are you putting the EAS in diagnostic mode and if so, what exactly does this do with respect to the normal control algorithm? I'd be wary of doing this without fully knowing what effect this has on any dynamic control.
Shortened rods are fine. Daveyb's manually adjustable shortened rods are great. caverD3's pneumatic solution is even better. Above all these though, I think that altering the voltage received by the EAS controller is potentially the most flexible solution (which is what GraemeS is doing). I've been meaning to work on a design, but, like GraemeS says, life/work/etc gets in the way. I'm probably never going to get round to doing it properly  There are many ways of approaching the electrical solution, even giving the user 'virtual' calibration of each wheel sensor, but I'll post again later today with some information. Going for our Green Card biometrics appointment - woo-hoo! One step closer... 8) '08 LR3 V8 SE in Stornoway Gray, Alpaca interior. Xenons, Cold Weather Pack, Bluetooth & Sirius. General Grabber AT2s. EBC Sport Rotors & Green Stuff Pads, Traxide SC80 kit half fitted...
'11 Mini Cooper S Countryman, True Blue.
|
| 21st Mar 2009 4:47 pm |
|
|
Spanish Fly
Member Since: 09 Jul 2007
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Posts: 217
|
The best solution would be for LR to produce a coil-spring conversion kit that could be retro-fitted.
|
| 21st Mar 2009 8:31 pm |
|
|
BBS SPY
Site Sponsor
Member Since: 15 Jun 2007
Location: Sunny Cyprus
Posts: 3054
|
Hiya BrewMonkey,
Yea, that's one of the concerns i have, It's fraught with such potential problems and would obviously require some serious testing. You can do an awful lot of work only to have to scupper an idea due to some previously unknown and therefore unforeseen element. If if proves to be a problem, i could instead try temporarily adding an offset to the stored sensor calibration values that would be removed again at the new slightly higher speed.
Spanish Fly
P38 enthusiasts have been doing this, its commonly referred to as Castration by the purists. 
|
| 21st Mar 2009 9:01 pm |
|
|
Jonty
Member Since: 13 Oct 2007
Location: On the beach
Posts: 417
 
|
Spanish Fly wrote:The best solution would be for LR to produce a coil-spring conversion kit that could be retro-fitted.
Castration is never the answer 
Coil springs and independent suspension (no cross-linking) are a bad mix for off-roading. We had a myriad of problems with blown front diffs on lifted HZJ100 cruisers, and the ones with AHC were even worse. You also end up with problems when carrying heavy loads, or if you have heavy-duty springs you end up with poor ride when not carrying loads etc. The potential for bottoming out is also raised.
There is nothing wrong with air-suspension - all the long distance lorries, buses etc use it. Problems only arise when you stress the system beyond what it was designed for.
As many have stated, even using shortened rods within sensible limits doesn't cause any problems.
|
| 21st Mar 2009 9:08 pm |
|
|
GraemeS
Member Since: 17 Mar 2008
Location: NSW
Posts: 706
|
BrewMonkey wrote:Above all these though, I think that altering the voltage received by the EAS controller is potentially the most flexible solution (which is what GraemeS is doing).
I think this method is good in that it leaves the control processing of the ecu to do its job, but the drawback is that wires have to be attached (although not cut). It would be most convenient to have piggy-back connectors at the ecu (3 req'd) rather than intercepting the sensor and switch wires elsewhere. I like BBS SPY's diag port connection due to its ultra-simple installation but there could be yet-discovered side effects.
My project is on hold as I don't yet have a D3 on which to test it (bench testing can only achieve so much) but will resume when it arrives unless BBS SPY's idea proves a goer beforehand. I expect to have a daily use for such a facility.
|
| 21st Mar 2009 9:15 pm |
|
|
Spanish Fly
Member Since: 09 Jul 2007
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Posts: 217
|
Quote:There is nothing wrong with air-suspension - all the long distance lorries, buses etc use it. Problems only arise when you stress the system beyond what it was designed for.
Yeah, I agree but I doubt they drive off road and into the middle of nowhere, where lives are potentially at risk if the system fails.
I have been in a tricky situation, when the suspension failed, but luckily not many miles away from civilization. I am sick of turning down invitations to join my mates in their coil-sprung 4x4 on trips to Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, etc.
I feel a bit of a chump driving around town in a G4 when I have no faith in it, to take it further than Morocco.
The whole G4 challenge is a bit of a farce really. Nobody would ever go to those extremes without an army of support vehicles with trained LR mechanics and boxes full of spares. 
|
| 21st Mar 2009 10:17 pm |
|
|
Jonty
Member Since: 13 Oct 2007
Location: On the beach
Posts: 417
|
Spanish Fly wrote:.........I have no faith in it, to take it further than Morocco.
The whole G4 challenge is a bit of a farce really. Nobody would ever go to those extremes without an army of support vehicles with trained LR mechanics and boxes full of spares.
Plenty of us do though
|
| 21st Mar 2009 10:38 pm |
|
|
Spanish Fly
Member Since: 09 Jul 2007
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Posts: 217
|
You've obviously not been let down yet
|
| 21st Mar 2009 10:47 pm |
|
|
|
Posting Rules
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
|
DISCO4.COM Copyright © 2004-2024 Futuranet Ltd & Martin Lewis
|
|
