S-Class (W220) 1999-2006: S 320 CDI, S 320, S430, S 500, S 600

Want airmatic to lower car faster

Old Feb 12, 2018 | 01:52 AM
  #1  
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Want airmatic to lower car faster

Have a 2000 s500 is there a way to make the car drop faster and more audiable I like when you can here air ride cars drop
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 12:36 PM
  #2  
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Originally Posted by bigblack315
Have a 2000 s500 is there a way to make the car drop faster and more audiable I like when you can here air ride cars drop
I hear they have a kit for that.
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by bigblack315
Have a 2000 s500 is there a way to make the car drop faster and more audiable I like when you can here air ride cars drop
don't know if he is still making them but look into the kangairoo
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w220/575597-kangairoo-adjust-ride-height-your-smartphone.html

its a Manual control for the suspension
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 05:48 PM
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No we’re to be found

I just tried to contact him and it says that he’s banned....Is it possible to do lowering links and washers to get the car to full drop to the floor when parked. Then I wanna be able to raise it up to drive
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 05:51 PM
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No, if you do links/washers, it will be at the set height all the time. Need to go aftermarket to slam it and raise it on command.

The factory system doesn't have an air tank, it relies on the compressor 100% of the time. If you constantly slam and raise the car, you will probably burn up stock compressors in record time, they just arent' designed for that.
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 06:00 PM
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Originally Posted by ItalianJoe1
No, if you do links/washers, it will be at the set height all the time. Need to go aftermarket to slam it and raise it on command.

The factory system doesn't have an air tank, it relies on the compressor 100% of the time. If you constantly slam and raise the car, you will probably burn up stock compressors in record time, they just arent' designed for that.
I thought with the links it would just have the normal ride height lower and I would still be able to move the car up and down if I need it to
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 08:38 PM
  #7  
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Yeah you can raise and lower it as normal, but it will not be fast or any lower than you set the base setting to.

In theory, you could put a release valve on the lines, and trigger it when parked to slam the car, then let it pump back up when you start it back up.
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Old Feb 12, 2018 | 08:47 PM
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Originally Posted by ItalianJoe1
Yeah you can raise and lower it as normal, but it will not be fast or any lower than you set the base setting to.

In theory, you could put a release valve on the lines, and trigger it when parked to slam the car, then let it pump back up when you start it back up.
yes this would be the easiest solution , set up 4 switches to open each of the 4 air lines and you'll drop the car to the ground . It will be one way only (you'll be able to drop the car fast , but refill will be slow using the oem compressor )
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Old Feb 18, 2018 | 12:37 AM
  #9  
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Programa

I was reading about the programa lowering module and it said if you have active dampening it only drop your car 1 inch lower than the lowest setting so to get the car any lower I would still have to put links on the car so wouldn’t I just be better off just doing links alone and drive with the raised or will it Not be raised enough ?
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Old Feb 18, 2018 | 12:46 AM
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I think you need to research how the system actually works more.

The links set the level the car always aims for. Raising it with the button lifts it about an inch, and once you go over a certain speed it drops back down. Not enough to slam it normally, then drive it raised without problems.
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Old Feb 18, 2018 | 09:29 AM
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Ohh ok now I got it thanks for the break down
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Old Feb 25, 2018 | 07:47 PM
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I went with ProgRama and modified links in the front Now I can fully Slam the car and lift it high enough for it to be comfortable love it
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Old Feb 26, 2018 | 02:48 AM
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Originally Posted by bigblack315
I went with ProgRama and modified links in the front Now I can fully Slam the car and lift it high enough for it to be comfortable love it
cool how much did it all cost ? Have any pics slammed and raised ?
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Old Feb 26, 2018 | 08:07 PM
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I got the module used for 350 and mad my own links
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Old Feb 27, 2018 | 04:14 PM
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Wow that's awesome ! Can you lift just the rear , or just the front , by manual control ?

or does it raise and lower all 4 corners at the same time ?


Last edited by tusabes; Feb 27, 2018 at 04:17 PM.
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Old Feb 28, 2018 | 12:35 AM
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I can control front or back separately
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Old Mar 6, 2018 | 06:24 PM
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To answer your orignal question, yes, your can bypass the pressure release valve for the entire system. The pressure release valve is part of the airmatic pump, it is prone to leaking on high mileage cars. Also, the valve gets stuck overtime and fails. I have replaced my airmatic pump twice, the last pump the pressure release valve failed, I bypassed it before getting a new pump.
  • All airmaic poly air lines are 4mm in diameter. 5/32" fitting work with 4mm tubing.
  • You need to put a TEE fitting in between the pump and valve block
  • I used a 12v solenoid air valve commonly used in aftermarket air suspension systems. You don't need the huge 3/8" or even 1/4" openings since you need to reduce down to 5/32" anyways. I had a valve that used 1/8" fittings
  • I TEE;d into the output of the pump and then connected to the input of the new dump valve.
  • For the electrical connection, you need to disconnect the connecter from the pump and then you can use 2.8 mm female spade connectors to hook into the orignal connector. I tired to just put my valve in parallel with the orignal valve on the pump, but my valve was shorted and having both connected would not activate my new valve.
  • In my picture, I have the output of the new dump valve directed vented. This makes a huge amount of noise, it will give you the "woosh"noise when the airmatic is venting. This proved to be too loud for me, so I put an air muffler on the output. I also used a large tubing tee and vented it back into the stock air muffler, both solustions work.
The valve I used definitely had larger internal openings than the stock dump valve. The car lowers very quickly if that is what you want. From my experience, the eintrie system is very well balanced, with the new dump valve in normal operation, the pump goes on more frequently because the valve is letting out too much air and the system compensates by adding more. This cycle happens more often then with the stock dump valve.

If you search for my other posts, you can find the push fit fittings I use and my hack to allow me to manually adjust the ride height.


Retro fit pressure release valve to Airmatic pump.
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Old Mar 8, 2018 | 01:58 PM
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Rob fed where are you located? Could you modify my car with the fast pressure release and manual adjustment ?
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Old Mar 8, 2018 | 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by tusabes
Rob fed where are you located? Could you modify my car with the fast pressure release and manual adjustment ?
Just sent you a PM.
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Old May 24, 2019 | 02:08 PM
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Originally Posted by rob_fed
To answer your orignal question, yes, your can bypass the pressure release valve for the entire system. The pressure release valve is part of the airmatic pump, it is prone to leaking on high mileage cars. Also, the valve gets stuck overtime and fails. I have replaced my airmatic pump twice, the last pump the pressure release valve failed, I bypassed it before getting a new pump.
  • All airmaic poly air lines are 4mm in diameter. 5/32" fitting work with 4mm tubing.
  • You need to put a TEE fitting in between the pump and valve block
  • I used a 12v solenoid air valve commonly used in aftermarket air suspension systems. You don't need the huge 3/8" or even 1/4" openings since you need to reduce down to 5/32" anyways. I had a valve that used 1/8" fittings
  • I TEE;d into the output of the pump and then connected to the input of the new dump valve.
  • For the electrical connection, you need to disconnect the connecter from the pump and then you can use 2.8 mm female spade connectors to hook into the orignal connector. I tired to just put my valve in parallel with the orignal valve on the pump, but my valve was shorted and having both connected would not activate my new valve.
  • In my picture, I have the output of the new dump valve directed vented. This makes a huge amount of noise, it will give you the "woosh"noise when the airmatic is venting. This proved to be too loud for me, so I put an air muffler on the output. I also used a large tubing tee and vented it back into the stock air muffler, both solustions work.
The valve I used definitely had larger internal openings than the stock dump valve. The car lowers very quickly if that is what you want. From my experience, the eintrie system is very well balanced, with the new dump valve in normal operation, the pump goes on more frequently because the valve is letting out too much air and the system compensates by adding more. This cycle happens more often then with the stock dump valve.

If you search for my other posts, you can find the push fit fittings I use and my hack to allow me to manually adjust the ride height.


Retro fit pressure release valve to Airmatic pump.
do you have a link to the solenoid you used ? found some on ebay Great info by the way Rob

Last edited by takeiteasy; May 24, 2019 at 02:13 PM.
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Old May 25, 2019 | 03:06 AM
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Originally Posted by takeiteasy
do you have a link to the solenoid you used ? found some on ebay Great info by the way Rob
Any 12 volt air solenoid should work, something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4-air-rid...torefresh=true

The one I used was a surplus item I had in my junk box. There are a lot with 1/2" ports, this maybe over kill for the airmatic dump valve since the air lines a so small.
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Old May 18, 2021 | 01:53 AM
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Originally Posted by bigblack315
I got the module used for 350 and mad my own links
This the setup I'm trying to go for. So just to clarify you made your own links then slapped the programa module on? Or did you buy the links off a website
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Old May 19, 2021 | 08:55 PM
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Recently sold my w220.... My setup was 100 % diy homemade. Links were made from metal geared rc servos that were part of the links that could be made longer or shorter at a turn of a knob.
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Old May 21, 2021 | 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by rob_fed
Recently sold my w220.... My setup was 100 % diy homemade. Links were made from metal geared rc servos that were part of the links that could be made longer or shorter at a turn of a knob.
That’s cool! I’ll try to replicate your links and make some myself. Also how did you get access to the cabin from the engine bay? I’m trying to get the wires for the remote from programa to the inside of the cabin
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Old May 21, 2021 | 11:51 PM
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The front fuse boxes in the engine bay are open to the interior, you can run a nitrous line through them, wiring should go just fine.
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