[Phil325i]

Looking great! Can we have a full review of the air system in due course pls? Fitting, handling, ride etc...

[old grey steve]

Sure is low Az, looking look forward to seeing the set up perhaps with your new wheels

[AzRiz]

Originally Posted by Ess

Love the teasers Az. Looking forward to the shots from this weekend, and also seeing it in the flesh in April

Thank man, didn't get a huge amount of shots as I didn't really stay long (and the meet was pretty dead haha) but I'll post up a couple that a friend took for me

Originally Posted by RajB

Nice and looooowwwww lol. Nice motor too and love the colour.

Cheers dude, low is almost done (need to get the front a bit lower still) but next thing is to get wiiiiiide

Originally Posted by PJJD

This is the nicest e92 that I've ever seen! And that's a big claim as there are some stunning cars on this forum! Red+M-Sport+LCI= WIN!

Wow, thanks a lot man, that has got to be the best compliment that my car could ever get lol - some seriously awesome cars on here as you say! I really appreciate it man. Any pics of yours at all?

Originally Posted by Phil325i

Looking great! Can we have a full review of the air system in due course pls? Fitting, handling, ride etc...

Sure mate, I bet that is a review that many people will want to hear so I'll write a short one up

Originally Posted by old grey steve

Sure is low Az, looking look forward to seeing the set up perhaps with your new wheels

Thanks Steve, yeah new wheels need to be looked into as we discussed haha

[AzRiz]

A very quick review of the Air setup:

Comfort
The BCs were never particularly uncomfortable, far nicer than the coilovers that I had on my Golf MK4, but this Air setup is considerably nicer. I can feel that the bags are a bit stiffer than the BC springs were, and so provide a very stable and level platform for the car. However, the shocks seem to be a bit more forgiving on harsh road surfaces (I have them set pretty soft as comfort>handling for me at this stage of the car being a 320 miles-per-week daily driver). Put those 2 factors together, and you have a ride that doesn't seem to "drop" into holes in the road as easily as the BC springs did, which made them a bit crash over the roughest of surfaces. The stiffer bags seem to hold the car together a bit better and let the shocks do all of the damping, which they do very well. In the end, the ride feels more stable and yet more comfortable on all types of surfaces, especially the really rough ones.

Handling
As said in the 'comfort' paragraph, the bags seem to be stiffer than the BC springs and give the car a more stable feel which is not something that I expected. It seems to roll less on corners and stay more level. The shocks do their job of absorbing the bumps.
Overall, although I don't really push the car very hard on corners, I would say handling has improved a little over the BC coilovers. This is probably because I had the BCs set to very soft settings to get the comfort out of them, and so they weren't providing much resistance on corners and letting the springs do 100% of the work - which inevitably caused body roll. With this Airlift Performance setup, the shocks seem to be better paired with the bags even on a soft setting than the BC shocks were with the BC springs.

Reliability
This is something that many people worry about, as did/do I, and rightfully so. However, this is one of the cases where most of the reliability relies on the quality of fitting. In my case, a friend of mine who is very good with cars did the install for me as I helped out on a few bits. We made sure that the installation was neat and was made to be as OEM-feeling as possible with the routes for the airlines etc etc. PTFE sealant paste was used on each connection and fitting.
As a result, I have not yet had a single issue with the setup. It does not leak - I haven't yet bothered to look at exact pressure drop from the tank overnight but don't feel that I need to as the first night after fitting dropped 0psi from what I remember. At some point I will remember to check for the change in pressure but I am certain that it is very close to 0.
It raises as and when I need it to, drops in an instant and runs completely correctly. With my e-level presets I have used it to raise to factory height over any large speed bumps or changes in road gradient, while still rolling at low speed, and then back to driving height as I pull away from the bump I just crossed.

Conclusion
All in all, it is a very expensive modification to do to the spec that I have, and I still sometimes think that maybe it was money better spent on other things, but the things that I had hoped to gain from this setup have definitely been gained. Better comfort, better handling from what I can tell so far, no longer being worried about any bumps or other obstacles, and being able to slam it to the ground for that stance that I do like. If I weren't a fan of it being super low (rim-to-arch is where I like to see the wheels - 0 tyre between them) then it would be a waste of time, but this setup has given me the ability to meet that spec for my own pleasure and still have a car that is able to go basically anywhere that I would want it to.

I have always seen and heard many people say that it is 'cool' to be super low in static form on coilovers, and accept the guaranteed damage as 'battle scars' etc, but I personally am not rich enough to smash up a car that cost over £18k just to look 'cool' and low, nor am I Ok with such a thing. I have serious OCD about looking after my possessions (and often other peoples' too, by giving them advice on how to do so because I get annoyed when they trash up their own cars!) and so I would never have been willing to go a single millimetre lower than I was on the coilovers. Yet, since I wanted to go lower as I am into that kind-of thing, Air Ride was the only way to make sure that both requirements were met: lower, but without damaging the car.

[Digitalize]

It's worth noting that the less pressure (lower) in the bags, the softer they get, so if you're wanting them for the ability to raise up rather than air out, you can get a very soft supple ride indeed.

The downside being for people who want to lay frame, is that at driving height they're running high pressures and effectively very stiff springs.

I'd love to do air, I just can't justify the cost. Airlift + Accuair would be my preference too, I don't think they can be beat, especially Accuair.

What does your install look like? Where have you mounted the compressors and tank etc? Often the hardest part of the install is making it all look neat and tidy. Personally I'd try and hide it all under the car, but that's just me.

[AzRiz]

Here are a few shots that a friend took of my car last night:

[PJJD]

Originally Posted by AzRiz

Wow, thanks a lot man, that has got to be the best compliment that my car could ever get lol - some seriously awesome cars on here as you say! I really appreciate it man. Any pics of yours at all?

Unfortunately I'm still saving for one! Hopefully by the end of the year or so I'd love a red e92, but because they're so rare I'll probably look for an Alpine white or Le Mans blue one.

[AzRiz]

Originally Posted by PJJD

Unfortunately I'm still saving for one! Hopefully by the end of the year or so I'd love a red e92, but because they're so rare I'll probably look for an Alpine white or Le Mans blue one.

Haha fair enough man, yeah those colours are equally as good looking

[AzRiz]

I was going to get started on my boot-build last week but with the wheels coming and a few other mods being done next month (exhaust work and stud conversion) I've decided to leave the boot build until June. Mainly because I want a few bits fabbed up for it and tanks painted etc so I'm best off doing it after these pending mods.

So at the moment, I'm booked in for some exhaust work next week to get some noise out from the engine as I really miss having some engine note, and am tired of my E92 being virtually silent lol.

After that will be the stud conversion in prep for the new wheels...and then the wheels themselves - I can't wait to see them because the finish alone is worth looking forward to

[AWBimmer]

Easily my fav red e92! Great to hear how much ..work.. you're putting into this Az. Stud conversion will give it a lovely touch as will the exhaust work!! What exactly will the exhaust work be? Is it a lot of.. work?

Can I guess your colour scheme homie??

[AirAndre335i]

Great write up and i completely agree with everything said!

I thought i had some handling issues with accuair elevel… but it turned out to be bad tracking.

[mob17]

I think the stance looks perfect! A lot of thought has gone into this and the results are awesome!

[Ess]

Absolutely stunning Az. Nothing more to say. It's up there with the great.


Can't wait to see what wheels you've gone for.

[gaza01]

Az Az Az!!!
Man oh man. Really think these new wheels are going to set of an already set off e92!
Exciting show season ahead for us all

[AzRiz]

So I'm just patiently (kinda...) waiting on my new wheels to arrive. They should be here next week according to the original ETA by the supplier. Let's see how that goes.

Tyres have been ordered in wait, and I will be doing a stud conversion next week before the wheels are ready to go on.

I also went to the "Show of Shows" yesterday by Car Show Collective with some of the other guys, but due to not applying until too late, I didn't get into the show+shine area as the class was already filled. So unfortunately my car was left repping in the public car park lol.

Here's a quick iPhone pic of it as one of the last few photos on the current wheels:

Untitled by Az Riz, on Flickr

Hurry up wheeellllsssss

[Ess]

Looking perfect as usual Az! Really looking forward to seeing these wheels

[AzRiz]

So um...they're here

Untitled by Az Riz, on Flickr

[mob17]

They look great

[singh21]

Originally Posted by AzRiz

So I'm just patiently (kinda...) waiting on my new wheels to arrive. They should be here next week according to the original ETA by the supplier. Let's see how that goes.

Tyres have been ordered in wait, and I will be doing a stud conversion next week before the wheels are ready to go on.

I also went to the "Show of Shows" yesterday by Car Show Collective with some of the other guys, but due to not applying until too late, I didn't get into the show+shine area as the class was already filled. So unfortunately my car was left repping in the public car park lol.

Here's a quick iPhone pic of it as one of the last few photos on the current wheels:

Untitled by Az Riz, on Flickr

Hurry up wheeellllsssss

Wheels to top these I would like to see!

[MAN15H]

Really like the Work VSXX. Cant wait to see them on your car.

[AWBimmer]

U know what I already said son. Looks DOPE AND FRESH AS F!

[AzRiz]

Originally Posted by mob17

They look great

LOL thanks man

Originally Posted by singh21

Wheels to top these I would like to see!

Thanks bro - I don't think you'll be disappointed

Originally Posted by MAN15H

Really like the Work VSXX. Cant wait to see them on your car.

Cheers man, me neither, hopefully go on this weekend

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

U know what I already said son. Looks DOPE AND FRESH AS F!

Saaaafe broooo