I didn't know whether to put this in the Suspension forum or the Aftermarket forum, but here goes...

Has anyone heard of Bridgestone's subsidiary, Praxis Systems? Their air suspension for the Subaru WRX has been out for a while, and it's been getting some pretty decent reviews. I emailed them about the idea of an RX-8-specific system. I like the idea of the flexibility of an air suspension, but the price seems pretty steep ($3,600+). I would love to try this air suspension out if it were available; the RX-8 could stand to be a little bit more road-huggy, but I'm still pretty skeptical since the product hasn't been out long. Also, SCC installed the Praxis air suspension on its STi, and they had some complaints when the car was lifted in the air (apparently it screwed up the settings, but Praxis claims it has an "off-switch" for when the car is in the air). Otherwise, it was worth it. Also, it has been said the the Praxis System is not a complete solution; bigger roll bars, stiffer bushings etc. are still needed. It's still an iffy system, but the concept has a lot of promise. As of right now, I would be more partial to Tein's coilover damper with the EDFC, like in its RX-8 demo car. Tell me what you guys think .

 

You put it in the right place. Interesting idea, too.

 

Okay, after waiting and ignoring my email account for a couple of days, I finally logged back in, finding some news. Unfortunately, I dumbingly deleted the email from my mailbox, and then I emptied the trash. I'm tired, leave me alone . Before I bonered up, I got a reply from Praxis. It basically said that there aren't any product plans for 2005, which means a Praxis air suspension is out of the question. They were pleased that I expressed interest in it though. I say we should support the idea of an adjustable air-suspension. I think it is an innovative idea. If the WRX/STi can reap the benefits, not to mention the BMW 3-Series and Ford Mustang, why can't us 8 owners? This car needs all of the aftermarket support it can get. I fear it will go the way of the Hyundai Tiburon .

 

If I remember correctly from that SCC article, the alignment of the tires really need to be corrected after being lowered. It made the car twitchy.

That make sense, since everything you lower your car, you WILL need realignement.

 

Yeah. The Praxis system still needs some tweaking, but I forsee promise in the not-to-distant future . And you are right, changing ride height affects all other suspension characteristics. Does this mean that Praxis' claims of never adjusting the suspension are wrong?

 

It's a neat system, how it stacks up to a nice set of coilovers is questionable. However the biggest benefit is that you can adjust the ride at the push of a button, so it's great for weekend warrior types that don't want a hard ride tooling around town.

 

I am fascinated by the Praxis system's usefulness as well. I am going to follow this product to see what happens.

 

any updates on this product? I to would like control of ride height

did they work out the bugs?

 

i have recently enquired about the air suspension system for the RX-8, the price is very good. this is what i got from the email.

- They use air cylinders, so the ride is pretty stiff, but being
a sports car, it's preferred. If not, accumulators are available to soften
up the ride.

- standard kit inc. 4 cylinders and brackets, 1 x 100% duty large compressor (or 2 x 50% dutysmall compressors), 1 x 3 gallon tanks, 4 x individual corner switches, 2 x dual needle guages, 3/8" lines and fittings.

- if you want more "show effect", I would recommend a few upgrades. This upgrade kit inc. 4 cylinders and brackets, 1 x 100% duty large compressor (or 2 x 50% duty small compressors), 2 x 3 gallon CHROME tanks, playstation controller switches (or 10 switchbox), digital 5 readout gauges, 1/2" lines and fittings. This kit will look better and move much faster with more reserve of air. You need to make sure there is room for the 2 chrome tanks, and if they are going to behidden, you may as well get 2 powder coated ones. If the car has a bodykit, I would probably not recommend 1/2" lines as it will be VERY quick.

im seriously thinking of getting one..... :D

 

thanks Ez, so what is the price on this thing? (was it the one already posted or has it dropped?)

 

As far as I know it's still 3k+. Here's the current list of applications available.

Current Applications:

BMW
2001+ 325i, 325ci, 325ci Convertible, 325xi, 325i Touring, 325xi Touring
2001+ 330i, 330ci, 330i Convertible, 330xi, 330i Touring, 330xi Performance Package
2001+ M3 Coupe, M3 Cabriolet
1999+ 323i, 323ci, 323ci Convertible
1999+ 328i, 328ci


SUBARU
2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STi
2002+ Subaru Impreza WRX Sedan and Sport Wagon
2002+ Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS Sedan
2002+ Subaru Impreza 2.5 TS Wagon

There was also talk of it becoming available for 94+ mustangs, but it doesn't seem to be available yet. This seems to be the case for the RX-8 as well, as far as I know and according to the Praxis site, it's just BMW and Subaru right now.

 

Sometimes I forget what I write here, since I'm not around that much anymore. I'm thinking about moving away from air suspensions, and looking more toward ferromagnetic suspensions. I think Bose is developing a system IIRC, and the Corvette has had their Magnetic Ride Selection for quite some time. I recently witnessed a demonstration about ferromagnetic fluids, shape memory alloys and whatnot in my D2 class. It was pretty neat stuff. If anyone has lots of money to burn on suspension systems, help me design one using magnets!