Arnott Gen III's or Springs?

  • Arnott Gen III's

    Votes: 9 100.0%

  • Springs

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    9
O Bife

O Bife

Active Member
How many of you have fitted the Arnott Gen III air springs to their P38s and how happy are you with them?

Do they last as long as the originals or longer?

Are they really as good as all the hype about them?

Have any who have fitted them then replaced them with springs and if so why?
 
Gen III's are primarily aimed at the more serious off road vehicles...Gen II's are more suited to the occasional off road/greenlane P38 .....

Apparently have better 'spring' rate than the OEMs, of very sturdy construction and have a longer life than OEM...although I would still advocate changing after 8 years or so.
 
Gen IIIs have extra travel available. But you would have to fit longer shockers and modify the EAS sensor links to use it. Also the anti roll bar won't like the extra front axle articulation a lot. Basically a waste of time unless you are willing to change a few things. Gen IIs or even standard units do the job well enough.
 
As an aside, if the Gen III's are an option for some offroad fun, then fitting coils would negate the capabilities of traction wouldn't it? (i'm thinking how the RR further extends to maintain wheel contact, which it couldnt do with coils)
 
ukadamwest said:
As an aside, if the Gen III's are an option for some offroad fun, then fitting coils would negate the capabilities of traction wouldn't it? (i'm thinking how the RR further extends to maintain wheel contact, which it couldnt do with coils)
Click to expand...

The standard EAS system offers an extra extended position to regain traction if the chassis becomes grounded. With the Gen IIIs an extra 2" is available above and beyond that, BUT other modifications to the system are required as outlined previously. Fitting coils is a retrograde step. Fitting extended coils to try and equal to some extent the clearance capability of the standard EAS system raises the centre of gravity and renders the car unsuitable for normal road use. There is a reason extended and extra extended settings are not available above 35 MPH.
 
Last edited:
As SV8 said.
Had Gen II's on for nearly 5 years, still look like new. When I bought, they had a lifetime warrenty, this has now been reduced to 2 years. Very happy with them.
 
Datatek said:
As SV8 said.
Had Gen II's on for nearly 5 years, still look like new.
Click to expand...

But do the Gen II's have the same lower part as the originals, or are they the same as the Gen III's (firmer in highway mode but softer in off-road mode)?
 
O Bife said:
But do the Gen II's have the same lower part as the originals, or are they the same as the Gen III's (firmer in highway mode but softer in off-road mode)?
Click to expand...
For full details of spring rates go look at the Arnott web site.
From memory, GenIII's are rising rate, nothing to do with softer in off road mod & vice versa. Put more pressure in the bag to raise the car and it will be harder but the compression rate is different due to the shape of the displacer.
 
Datatek said:
For full details of spring rates go look at the Arnott web site.
From memory, GenIII's are rising rate, nothing to do with softer in off road mod & vice versa. Put more pressure in the bag to raise the car and it will be harder but the compression rate is different due to the shape of the displacer.
Click to expand...

By what I have read that is not so, it has something to do with the lower part of the unit:

("...The secret of the new Generation III air springs lies in the custom-made lower piston which is machined out of a solid aluminum billet, specially shaped to vary the spring rates according to conditions (see diagram above right). A smaller piston cross-section displaces less air for a given perturbation, giving a softer spring rate. Conversely, when the bellows are operating on a larger piston cross-section, a bump in the road produces a larger displacement of air, effectively increasing the spring rate or stiffness.

For example, in the Gen 3 rear spring, the narrower top zone reduces the spring rate of about 145 lb/in in high mode, greatly softening the ride. In standard mode, the bellows are near the bottom of this zone and yield a spring rate of about 155 lb/in. The fatter bottom section gives a spring rate of 225 lb/in in low or highway mode..." Copied from Arnott Generation III Air Springs)

To be honest, it is this that is making me think about the Gen III's, not so much the extra height. If I do get them I will put in shockers with an extra 2 inch travel just to be able to take some advantage.
 
Datatek said:
For full details of spring rates go look at the Arnott web site.
Click to expand...

I wish I could Datatek. Nowadays they have one of those stupid re-routers that automatically takes you to their EU (Cloggy) site when it notices where you are. I was trying only last night to get to their US site to see if they had any cut-away drawings of the Gen II's to see if the lower was the same as the Gen III's.
 
O Bife said:
I wish I could Datatek. Nowadays they have one of those stupid re-routers that automatically takes you to their EU (Cloggy) site when it notices where you are. I was trying only last night to get to their US site to see if they had any cut-away drawings of the Gen II's to see if the lower was the same as the Gen III's.
Click to expand...
You are not trying very hard.
Arnott Generation III Air Springs
 
Agree with Saint.v8 I have Gen 11s all round plus a new set of shockers (Boge) as recomended by Druim and like the ride. Forget the springs.
 
Looking at the illustration on Keiths link looks to me like all they have done is widen the bag which would reduce the amount of pressure needed to lift the same load.
 
O Bife,

Can I ask a question... What is your objective here and what has led you to the decision of Gen III or springs ?

Cheers
 
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