Hello. My first post. I have an R50 2004 SE. My wife has a 2002 R50 SE.
Mine was armored last year. That added about 600 - 700 pounds to its weight. Changed suspension (OME), manual hubs to help with the added fuel consumption . In the front heavy duty coils were available. For the back, just medium coils were available. After just 2 months, they begann sagging . When loaded with 5 passengers ( 2 adults, 3 children) + 4 bicycles on a rack, etc it would sag heavy. Almost no clearance, between the rear tyre and the fender cavity.
After a bit of searching on the internet , I read about the Airlift 1000.
Since here labour is not very expensive, I had a mechanic install it. First time he did not drill the holes and the left side was loosing air. He reinstalled and drilled the holes ( or made them bigger as the instruction manual said) . Air was beeing lost too, on that side the second time. There was a problem with the line and the zip tie. We changed line and zip tie , replacig it with a sturdier one. ( Just a bit sturdier in order not to make the hole a lot bigger) . Installed one air valve per side. Worked fine. After 2 weeks we had to do the same procedure, on the other side. (learning curve) . I have had them for about 4 to 5 months now. Excellent purchase. Perhaps I will install them on my wifes car too, since it sags a bit when fully loaded ( our children are growing up and getting bigger, month after month).
So in essence:
- drill the holes.
- change the tubing that comes, with a sturdier one. Inexpensive, but having to go through the same process again is a waste of resources. Do it right the first time. Just a bit sturdier, you dont want to add too much to the tubing diameter ( and thus, to the hole to be drilled) .
- Make sure the zip ties are ok. We used sturdier zip ties.
- An air valve per side has worked fine for me.
I normally ride with 20 psi on the bladders ( 1000 extra weight pounds - 35 psi max so 600 extra weight pound - solve for X ) . That is when it is just me. When fully loaded I go to around 34 psi. It rides nasty with 1 person and 34 pounds. Even dangerous on curves . In my car´s case, rides fine with 20 psi. You will have to find out. And test it at low speeds, and be carefull while you get used to it. Remember ( for personal safety) to readjust the air pressure after weight changes. If you ride with too much air for the weight, you will panic a bit on curves.
I check or adjust air about once per month. Check for air leaks the first month. If properly installed, you won´t loose air pressure.
In the event a bladder blows, they sell one bladder replacements at aroud 55 % of the initial cost.
Great buy!! Have fun .
