I've thought about doing something like this for quite a while with some helper bags. It's not high on the list but would be really nice. I've never thought about making it completely manual. Do you think the wiring would be simpler by attempting to use the stock sensors and controller? Seems like it would work ok once the sensors were adjusted. Might be a problem if you have a long travel suspension. What I would really like though is the ability to control each side separately. I sleep in the car (relevant to RTTs too), and being able to level the car out front to back and side to side without having to find some rocks or something to drive up onto would be fantastic and very Lexusey. You would need to add a couple of valves and switches to your current setup. A custom microcontroller that would adjust the level automatically would be amazing. Sounds like an Arduino project, but I don't have those skills.
Also, I'll be interested to hear about the effect on ride quality if you go to springs with helper bags, as you have to keep a little pressure in them even when unloaded to keep them from getting pinched. Maybe you can just do springs first and then add the bags to report on the differences. Keep modding!
Just thinking about the stock sensors... If you relocated them to the cab, I think you could adjust the ride height by directly adjusting the sensor to make the car think it needs to increase or decrease pressure. Edit:You would definitely want a safety cover over the sensors though lol. Oh but wait, the sensors are probably just a variable resistance, so you could substitute in a potentiometer with a nice rotary knob.
I've thought about doing something like this for quite a while with some helper bags. It's not high on the list but would be really nice. I've never thought about making it completely manual. Do you think the wiring would be simpler by attempting to use the stock sensors and controller? Seems like it would work ok once the sensors were adjusted. Might be a problem if you have a long travel suspension.
What I would really like though is the ability to control each side separately. I sleep in the car (relevant to RTTs too), and being able to level the car out front to back and side to side without having to find some rocks or something to drive up onto would be fantastic and very Lexusey. You would need to add a couple of valves and switches to your current setup. A custom microcontroller that would adjust the level automatically would be amazing. Sounds like an Arduino project, but I don't have those skills.
Also, I'll be interested to hear about the effect on ride quality if you go to springs with helper bags, as you have to keep a little pressure in them even when unloaded to keep them from getting pinched. Maybe you can just do springs first and then add the bags to report on the differences.
Keep modding!
Just thinking about the stock sensors... If you relocated them to the cab, I think you could adjust the ride height by directly adjusting the sensor to make the car think it needs to increase or decrease pressure.
Edit:You would definitely want a safety cover over the sensors though lol. Oh but wait, the sensors are probably just a variable resistance, so you could substitute in a potentiometer with a nice rotary knob.
Doing each side separately would be nice. The factory sensors dont actually control each side separately though, I thought they did for a while too.
@@sdparksMS3 A lot of over kill and extra wiring to achieve what my switch does.
@@sdparksMS3 A lot of GX guys run coils with helper bags, I dont think it affects ride quality.