Afternoon,

Wanted to canvas opinion on the best ‘daily’ use of the suspension on the RRS. I seem to remember reading an article/thread a while ago which suggested that when parking you should select ‘access’ height and allow the air and pressure to leave the system. The reason from memory was two fold: the systems was being left under pressure particularly the airbags and secondly it ensured the working parts of the compressor/dryer were seeing regular use.

Can anyone advise if this is the correct way to use the car, clearly if I was driving to the supermarket and only popping in then I probably wouldn’t bother, but if I was coming home from work and leaving the car parked on the drive overnight then I would perhaps.

Would be great to know the right way

Si

I'm an advocate of 'use it or lose it' so I use mine on a regular basis as its a handy feature that I want to make use of.

However, torsional stress will be put on the suspension arm bushes when they are in any position other than their relaxed state which is when the distance between the centre of the hub and the bottom of the arch is 462mm on the front and 463mm on the rear ie. when you are in normal mode and parked on a level surface.

Personally, I would dismiss any argument saying that leaving the vehicle in normal mode is bad for the air springs when parked. Much greater dynamic forces are put on the air springs when the vehicle is moving. They are designed to be under pressure.

Hope this helps  Kev

MY2014 L405 RR Vogue SE 4.4 SDV8 in Corris Grey
MY2010 L320 RRS HSE 3.0 TDV6 in Stornoway Grey

That’s really useful thank you, seems to be some substance to keeping it moving on a regular basis but perhaps not for the pressurised thing then. I imagine I will also use it regularly, particularly as the car in question isn’t fitted with side steps so it should make life easier day to day.

Si

Access height is for access, off road height is for off road. Neither is a long term position - that's the standard position. I leave mine in standard height unless I specifically need to use one of the other setting (and that's more often off road height although access does get occasional use).

As mentioned, the suspension bolts are tightened with the suspension in standard height. The bushes will experience torsional loading when the height moves either side of that setting. Leaving them in one extreme or the other won't help their lifespan.

As for airbags - even when the suspension if in access height, the airbags are still under pressure. If they weren't, the suspension would be smacked down on the bump stops after all. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

10 years of sport ownership and never bothered about leaving them in access mode or using it to any degree, and that includes leaving them for 3 months at a time while working abroad and never been a issue.

Cheers
Col

Disconnect the exhaust pipe from the compressor and you will see how much the system gets used without you are touching one control in the cabin - it is being used all the time.

However by using the system unnecessarily like lowering to access height when stopping then pumping back up when driving off does create desiccant breakdown and general system wear - particularly in humid environments as humid air can kill the desiccant in short order.

If you need to lower to let a geriatric in or raise when offroad then fine but otherwise just leave the height system alone.

Dont make it harder than it needs to be.

Garry 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Remember that access height isn’t just for getting in and out of the car, it also saves a scratched roof in multistorey carparks with a low access barrier or ceiling......... 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

I park it in access because it is easier to get in and out of. Does it matter ? Nope. Do your own thing. It makes no appreciable difference to the car, to man or to beast.

Except it wears out the compressor a lot more quickly if it is done all the time. 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Does it ? 100,000 plus on my car. 60k plus put in by me. No conpressor issues. If it were really such a risk why do you think the facility would be provided in the first place and/or designed such that the car can be deliberately driven with it locked in that mode ?

Each time it is used it sucks in moist air and over time the desiccant degrades. It is not a toy and is designed to be used as needed but unnecessary use should be avoided. Change heights a few times in quick succession and see how quickly the compressor complains.

There are plenty of examples on this forum and others highlighting early failures where people drop to access height at every stop, particularly in humid climates.

But hey - its your car do what you want. 07MY RRS TDV6
Arctic Frost
Aspen Interior

Mine just needed a new compressor at 95k miles. It was the exhaust valve that was the problem in my case. I don't overuse the height change facility but it does get changed a few times a month on average.

If someone wants to park it in access height every time, the advice I would give would be to lower it and raise it when not in park. The wheelbase changes with ride height and there's a lot of stress going somewhere if it's moved with one axle unable to rotate to allow for the change. It's not a big change, but you can see it: open the driver's window and, with the car in neutral reach in and change the suspension height. Look at the front wheel whilst you do so and you'll see it roll very slightly. It doesn't if you do this in park. So there is stress being applied somewhere when in park. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

If parked up for a couple of weeks, then I would drive the vehicle a 2 or 3 yards when in access mode whilst parking up in order to remove any stress on the suspension bushes etc, also puts the vehicle in sleep mode. Why stress the compressor by using access mode all the time?
Finally do you know how much the JLR strealerships charge for a new compressor  In Spain - 2018 F Pace - Frightened away from the Sports due to crank failures
Gone - A couple of RRS, A couple of Disco's. However thinking of another Sport.

garrycol wrote:

Each time it is used it sucks in moist air and over time the desiccant degrades. It is not a toy and is designed to be used as needed but unnecessary use should be avoided. Change heights a few times in quick succession and see how quickly the compressor complains.

There are plenty of examples on this forum and others highlighting early failures where people drop to access height at every stop, particularly in humid climates.

But hey - its your car do what you want.

[quote="garrycol"It is not a toy and is designed to be used as needed but unnecessary use should be avoided. Change heights a few times in quick succession and see how quickly the compressor complains.

But hey - its your car do what you want.[/quote]

It's not being used as a toy. I have no need to change heights a few times in succession. Using it when parked is exactly the intended use of the feature. That would be why it is called what it is, "access height."

Changing heights as you suggest a few times in a row is neither the purpose of the feature nor how it is intended to be used. I think you knew that fine well but were just looking - somewhat unsuccessfully - for a way to try and back your own position.