Can I ballpark AHC Nuetral Pressure range based on height?

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Snowrydr01

Joined
Jun 9, 2016
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Location
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I just got a 2000 LX and have an absolute mountain of preventative maintenance to catch up on before i get to neutral pressure adjustments. I have two small children who id rather spend my time with so i only get about 30 minutes of maintenance time per night after they go to bed so its likely 2-3 months before i get to tech stream and doing AHC right.

So the question is, can i ballpark it based upon ride height? Here is the logic, assuming all vehicles left the factory with the same equipment, when new they would have all sat at the same height and been within range. As the spring sagged they have lowered, so when you change the fluid to fresh and adjust NP back into range theoretically you would be at or about the height the left the factory with. Right?

If that was the case it would be easy for me to measure current state, order trim spacers, and then in a night with too much critical thinking install the predetermined amount of spaces and crank tbars into height.

When i got to it on the list i would do it the right was with techstream and new springs but its just not the priority right now on the list.

Thoughts?
 
I don't think you can measure it by height. There is a closed-loop control set adding pressure until a specific sensor output is received. The system will attempt to add pressure until that same height is achieved regardless of where (in the range of possible non-error pressures) it ends up.

I do have Techstream and I've measured my pressures a number of times. Where I have gotten pretty good at "knowing it before I see it" is the unladen ride over smaller road bumps. I have added spring spacers, King Springs 97 springs, adjusted t-bars many times. The higher the pressure in the shocks, the worse the ride gets over smaller (and sharper) bumps, indicating an increase in high-speed damping. I believe that the hydraulic spring/shocks adjust the high speed dampening as the spring rate goes higher to make up for a lack or rear coil springs or torsion bars.

My personal way of getting the most out of my truck, regardless of AHC pressure readings, has been to increase torsion bar and rear spring force until the truck can *just* still get into the Low AHC setting. Too much rear spring (in my case King 79s plus 30mm spacers) or too much torsion bar preload and the truck cant make the same low fender height that it could prior. That's really the sweetest spot not just for system longevity, but also for the ride. The ride (in my and my wife's opinion) is MUCH better when the hydraulic pressure is as low as possible.

Just my $.03
 
I should also add that this search for the lowest possible hydraulic pressures by looking for the stiffest spring tension that can still make "Low" is that I have as much AHC bandwidth as possible to add roof-top tents, stuff on the roof rack, equipment in the back, and trailer tongue load on the receiver when it's time to go camping without the system dropping into "Low" because it cant hold everything.
 
No, no matter the neutral pressures, it will remain at the same height. Height is based off the sensors, and unless the pressures are to the point the system can't handle them, it will remain at the same height. As mentioned above, you need techstream.
 
DirtDawg said:
No, no matter the neutral pressures, it will remain at the same height. Height is based off the sensors, and unless the pressures are to the point the system can't handle them, it will remain at the same height. As mentioned above, you need techstream.
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What if you pulled an AHC fuse somewhere? Would the system stay pressurized or would it settle down with full weight on the springs giving you a tbar/spring only height? As you can tell i really dont want to buy an old laptop (or deal with a virtual OS) and techstream for two uses per year.
 
Snowrydr01 said:
What if you pulled an AHC fuse somewhere? Would the system stay pressurized or would it settle down with full weight on the springs giving you a tbar/spring only height? As you can tell i really dont want to buy an old laptop (or deal with a virtual OS) and techstream for two uses per year.
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The system would probably remain at the same height, but the AHC light would flash and it would lose all functionality. Techstream is so much more useful for things other than just AHC pressures. You can read other peramiters of the vehicle as well as make adjustments. There are multiple workarounds to run it on macs or newer laptops.
 
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