My summer project (in progress) is to install the StanceParts Air Cup system onto my Aragosta Type-S coilovers
The inspiration is the multiple threads asking about coilovers and comfort and functionality and such. Air Cups have been around awhile, I know that a handful of people have them, but there isn't really a good resource for applying them to our cars.
Air Cups are a cross between "static" setups which use coilovers or pieces together springs and shocks and "bagged" setups which use a full air strut.
The goal of this system is to provide all the performance of coilovers with the height adjustment of an air system. The air cups fit OVER your coilovers, so if your air cup system fails, you are not stranded like a full air setup would leave you.
As background, here is my current ride height:
I occasionally daily it, and it gets up and down my driveway and the garage near work just fine; most speedbumps need to be avoided. I take care to leave extra space when i have to park near a curb. Ride quality for these coilovers (14kg front; 10kg rear) is great, even with full spherical bushings on the coilovers. I have SPL FUCAs and all the rear arms. Subframe bushings are stock. There is considerable height adjustment available up and down left.
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***DISCLAIMER: I am not sponsored by any company (but if they wanna give me free stuff i'll take it***
Let's start with the
Stance Parts hardware. I bought the full kit, which includes everything here:
Seems like a pretty complete package. They sell the hardware in different combinations, so if you want just the fronts, or if you want to piece together your own air supply, you can do that too. It's pretty affordable. When you add the kit to your cart is adjusted downward. I don't know why - I ended up paying roughly $1000 shipped from their base in Netherlands to California. Shipping is via UPS and took about a week.
(NOTE: StanceParts is NOT the same as Stance, which primarily makes coilovers and also has their own air cup system. That system has gotten negative feedback from owners I have talked to)
Here is a short video from Stance Parts' own Youtube channel that demonstrates the system:
Stance Parts cups provide *temporary* lift and is not supposed to be driven in raised position. There are other air cup companies that may have parts designed to be fully engaged while driving.
My vision is to mount the tank and compressor in the trunk, like this setup here (Instagram: @1Turbo370).
It features a full carbon trunk panel replacement, which comes in two pieces as shown here:
The panel is made by
Synergy Composites. It comes in full carbon, partial carbon, or fiberglass. Price ranges from $300 to $650.
Both the owner of the car (Blake) and Synergy Composites confirm that the carbon version supports the weight of the tank/compressor with no issues.
It can take up to 4 weeks to get the panel, because they are made by hand to order; however, i ordered on 6/17/19 and was notified that it was completed today (7/4/19) and shipping tomorrow.
While the owner of the car pictured has a blue theme inside and out, my color way is pearl white outside w/ black, carbon, and red trim. The inside is black and red. As such, my air tank is being wrapped in red. I wanted a black air compressor, but ViaAir does not make a black one in the same or similar size.
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Stance Parts requires the measurement of the diameter of the piston shaft on your coilover, in order to provide the correct size opening on top of the air cup. A digital caliper is the easiest way, but you have to at least take the front wheel off to access the coilover. Additionally, you need a caliper thin enough to fit between the openings in the spring. My Aragostas came out to 14mm (I really hope i measured correctly).
Here's the front air cup
When fully assembled, the cup fits over the coilover spring like this (stock image using BC Racing Coilovers:
(As an aside, Aragosta also has an air cup system using hardware from Roberuta. It looks like this:
It would have been easy to just buy the coilovers and air cups together, especially with the trademark slim air tube . . . but the **** is expensive. And I was stupid and didn't order them together when I first got coilovers.)
These photos hopefully show how air cups work. When disengaged, the air cup is literally a metal cup that sits on top of the spring and is nothing but a metal cup shaped spacer. Putting them on will raise your car slightly, by the thickness of the top of the cup. When engaged, air will fill the cup and push the teal plate down onto your springs and raise the car.
Unless I have measured the shaft diameter incorrectly, installation should be as simple as disassembling the top of the coilover, putting the air cup in place, reassembling, and then running the air lines.
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The rears are where more work needs to be done. Here's the current setup (stock image):
SPL mid-link w/ Swift springs (60mm ID)
The spring is separate from the shock.
Here is what it looks like without the spring (my actual car):
As you can see, the OEM top spring mount is just a rubber cone. That's not gonna work for mounting an air cup.
SPL Parts provides metal top mounts with their midlinks. I had the old, non-adjustable version. Here is the new version, which I purchased separately from SPL:
Look at the earlier image of the rear suspension - the spring is slightly leaning inward. The adjustable top hat will fix that, so this will be a small bonus when this is completed.
The problem comes from the shape of that top hat: how is it going to connect to the top of the air cup? Unlike the fronts, which just have a shaft that go through it, the rears are just a spring.
Thankfully, Stance Parts came through. They actually had a pre-existing, modified air cup that they designed for a customer with BC Racing coilovers, which they were able to send me:
And here's where they REALLY came through - they put together a diagram with the exact measurements I need to machine the top hat down to in order to match the air cup:
I talked to my local suspension shop, and they know a machine guy who can do the job, so it looks like i'm set.
Note that if you use BC Racing coilovers, you can use their top mount instead of the SPL one and the air cup will fit with no work needed.
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So in summary, where i'm at:
- waiting for rear trunk panel to arrive
- waiting for air tank to be wrapped
- test fit compressor/air tank on the trunk panel and mark for drilling
- after drilling the necessary holes, send the trunk panel to get Ceramic Pro coating for easy cleaning and extra scratch protection
- machine the SPL Parts top hat to Stance Parts spec
Then, move on to installation