---------------------------------------------Originally posted by nyccustomizerYeah I was looking at the threaded ball cup. Thats a great idea. Teflon liner is self lubricating. I just wonder the life span of it under full load and rough roads. Here in NY i am always weary of trying something new. When the roads wreak havoc on OE equipment parts anytime you build something custom you have to be sure its capable of what the streets and customers are going to dish out. I love being innovative, but hate dealing with the consequences.The way the TL is set up im guessing it can be noisy over rough roads with alot of suspension movement. How do the heims wear? Noisy as well after they wear in. I know you have seen all types of seal wear ranging from 6 months to 2 1/2 years but I cant see anything being worse than a car going over the constant dips and bumps of streets like NY. I mean there isnt a flat road anywhere here. How do you sell a suspension to someone and telll them, well we may have to rebuild these cylinders in 6 months? if your lucky a year... Unless they come to you wanting hydraulics and are already aware of the necessary maintenance I see that as a trouble spot for me. My customers are coming to me and expecting to receieve OE type ride and reliability and for the most part I have been capable of giving them that so far. When the cars you build are layed out, do you always allow the suspension to support the car instead of sitting on the tires? I know this TL install sits on the suspension. Is the cylinder supporting it while being fully compressed? How does that affect cylinder life. I always try to lay a car so that it drives when dropped so I dont get any late night calls saying im stuck in the middle of the road... come get me. Last, we always say our cars ride great. Realistically, we are saying they are riding great for a car with either the size rims and tires we have on them such as 20's or 22's on a car and 26's on a truck. Harshness is always expected and we accept it based on the levels of customizing that we have done. I really have to just get a ride in a car that was done properly. Who knows, maybe I will get someone that is interested in going lower than airstruts will go these days and I will opt for a set-up like this. Then Ill ask for your advice. Thanks for answering all my questions. Seeing your installs has intriqued me. Its great to see someone building Hydraulic components for a more modern platform as opposed to the same old nasty stuff thats been out there forever. Every car with hydraulics I have ever worked on is coated with grease and oil. Its pretty nasty. thats why I have never wanted to get into it. I cant stand OIL... AIR is my thing right now.--------------------------------------------- I'd like to address this post based on my opinions and experience: 1) Not noisy - the accumulators are absorbing the energy when hitting bumps and in fact the worse the road, the nicer it will feel. The cylinder acting now as a shock will be doing the work. Sure you will have metal to metal contact so there is a degree of chatter "potential" which with a little creativity, can be eliminated - however most people don't even have any. On my juiced 2007 Lexus I added rubber platforms so and opened the donut hole so it will never be metal on metal. The threaded pivot balls, same deal, the cylinder will be secure and it will help with reducing noise, if any. 2) Heims don't wear - run them for years, no problem. 3) "I always try to lay a car so that it drives when dropped" - we don't do that. If you're going to do that, what's the point of running adjustable suspension to actually "lay out" like we are always looking to achieve. You mentioned you hate selling products where this is maintenance involved. 70, no..80, no...90% of our customers are formal air suspension people who got sick and tired of the problems air was giving them. Sure there is maintenance for anything - even for the engine of your car, even for factory suspension. The life of any system is based on a number of factors based on how you take care of it, but we strive to offer the most trouble-free products on the market. 4) Hydroholics is working on a video very shortly here that we will post (that will be accessible to everyone) that will show the ride quality of hydraulics. I have a problem personally - it's called OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) which makes me a stickler for perfect ride quality. What is not perfect for me is a dream for others, but I can assure that my car with 30 series tires rides nicer than most factory vehicles out there. Here is the old vid:
http://www.youtube.com/user/noslammingdoors#p/a/u/2/QrW9vOerhXo 5) I'm glad we intrigued you, that's partially of what we're here for and why we started this company. I have no problem saying that hydraulics are not for everyone and they are not a "miracle" gift suspension from the heavens, but they offer a lot of pros when seeking an alternative to running air. And I also understand your speculation which is the other piece of why we're here - they've come a long way. Hydroholics isn't my full-time gig, I commute 74 miles per day round trip and I worry more about my tires failing on me than I do about my suspension. In fact, it's never failed, or never given me a problem.