Active Suspension

Anyone have any experience with that on these galants is it very rare? is it posibel to still get parts for it like struts?

 

[BoostedAWD91]

there is a NT galant in the local junkyard last time i went with the active suspension, most all parts were still there. I dont know about getting new parts

 

[prove_it]

The GS I just got has it too. I'll be digging into rebuilding the struts and air compressor. Have no clue about any of it, but I'm going to try and get it fully functional. If you have questions PM me.

 

[GIjoe]

Quoting gmtgmt:
Anyone have any experience with that on these galants is it very rare? is it posibel to still get parts for it like struts?



Not that rare in europe. FWD GTi-s usually came with ECS. It's indeed very cool, but the system is a bit complicated and not very reliable.

 

[Dialcaliper]

Some galant GSR's came with it - very cool system that changes damping for cornering, acceleration and braking, and adjusts ride height based on speed, backing up and opening the door, but its major failing is that the hydraulic pump can only stand up to about 15 minutes of "spirited" driving before it overheats, throws a warning light on the dash and has to be allowed to cool off.

Parts are probably pretty hard to find outside of used parts in a junkyard (where they turn up every so often), and retrofitting it to a non-GSR would be extremely difficult, due to the large number of electronic sensors and hydraulic lines running everywhere in the car. There's a big section on it in the Galant factory service manual.

A more simple version of the ECS (as opposed to Active-ECS) that only adjusts damping is what is used by the 3000GT VR-4 - the hydraulic system is eliminated, and only the electronics and stepper motors on the dampers are used in that case.

 

[GIjoe]

^^umm, the ECS is not hydraulic...it works with compressed air and theres no hydraulic pump, only an air compressor on the right side, behind the bumper...

 

[moidsm1]

I own a Galant GS with Active suspension. Parts however are hard to find, new and used. Personally I think should have came with this instead of AWS.

My system however has a leak in one of the rear bags. So my car sits very very low. Its strange that even wih my car so low I never have any front camber issues, I think it may have come with Shorter lower control arms to compensate for the Active Suspension. Id have to take some measurements. ANyhow if I want a smooth ride I uusally let he car idle at startup for maybe 5 mins and the arbags are fully inflated, I usually end up with about 3 inch wheelgaps. Ive never measured but I think the system has a total of 4.5 inches of lift or drop.

 

[GIjoe]

^^lower control arms are the same to my knowledge.

 

[misterfixit]

only the front right arm is different (it has an extra bracket for the front height sensor). Yes its a very cool setup. shocks indeed run air springs, these are in addition to h coil springs. These are run up to 125psi by the solenoids and compressors (there are two) where the car controlls height pich and roll. also has authority over the dampers and can set the hardness, this is done in additionto the springs.

The compressors are fragile if run with a leaky strut, the compressor works overtime and shags up. to find the If the system is not working the first port of call is check if the compressor actually pumps out air pressure. the second compressor is the boost compressor and is mounted in the resevoir (under the battery).

I fixed my system only to find the compressor wasn't working. hence my "check that first" comment.

Rich