Air suspension installation on Fiat Ducato

multi-axis Fiat Ducato 2017 onwards was provided by our long-term customers, RefCars, for the development of a complete air suspension. The task is not simple but solvable. The frame of the car is lengthened, a refrigeration booth of increased volume is installed. Now the task was to distribute the weight of the superstructure and the weight of the load without compromising the tyres. The introduction of a second axle on a regular spring package with axle spacing reduced maneuverability, but provided the necessary load capacity.

The air suspension, as usual, solved the issue of distributing the load on the spring package and provided not only comfort but also stabilization of the suspension. The front axle of the car received a standard solution - these are branded pneumatic struts of the latest generation with reinforcement and taking into account minor shortcomings of early modifications. The compressor plant was postponed for the future. At the moment, the air suspension is controlled by its own compressor by pumping and fixing the pressure in the pneumatic elements through the manual "M" systems.

The task was completed in 2 days. Built 2 similar cars.

Installed equipment:
- pneumatic racks
modified kit for this car - 2 pcs.
- system manual control pumping pneumatic elements - 3 pcs.

The equipment is always available in the central warehouse of the Air Ryde manufacturing company. Get detailed advice on ordering from our specialists by phone toll-free hotline 8-800-333-25-74 (toll-free within Russia). Or request a call back from the site.

Feedback from our customers

1. Mikhail Chernov, Stavropol
2. Petr Tankevich, Moscow
3. Konstantin Ivanov, Moscow
4. Sergey Krylatov, Vyborg (Leningrad region)
5. Gleb Seven, Nizhny Novgorod
6. Nikolai Glinis, Tikhvin (Leningrad region)

I have known this company for a long time. I bought a set first for a Gazelle, then for a fiat. Dali good discount and now I recommend it to everyone. The first set was installed two years ago. Everything works. Keep it up! Thanks!

I chose a kit for a UAZ for a long time. No one really offers anything on the Internet. Only these guys. I bought it, installed it and I'm not overjoyed. True, I had to dig deeper, but because I did not immediately understand what went where. I read the instructions and it worked. Thanks!

In early December, put the air suspension on the GAZ Lawn NEXT. I didn't think it would work so well. The pads are not big but they swallow blows perfectly. The car doesn't rock. Loaded without fear. Everything is super! Thanks! I will advise friends.

I drive loads in my 2009 Fiat Ducato. Tired of changing oporniki front struts. I'm talking about springs in general. I searched for a long time, but my friend advised me to come to this company. Especially in St. Petersburg I am constantly dangling. Drove to Salov 70, found them and decided that I would do full pneuma. Booked the next day and picked up the car two days later. The car is unrecognizable! It costs like a dug in. Drove 2500 km already. Flight is normal. They gave a guarantee and a discount in the form of a pneumatic signal. Now I ride and scare everyone with a super pipe)) Thank you! Now only to you! Well done!

I was looking for air suspension on the Gazelle NEXT. In Nizhny I found a representative of this Air Ride company and put everything there. Quickly and efficiently. I visit St. Petersburg often. Went in for diagnostics. Slightly poisoned the air from the receiver. They did everything and did not even take the money. This is service so service. Now, wherever you go - you have to pay everywhere, but here .. I put it in Nizhny, they fixed it in St. Petersburg and didn’t take a penny. Super! Everything works perfectly! Thanks!

Bought in May Lawn NEXT to transport furniture. I took a long base and after the first trips under load I realized that a bunch of boards could remain from the furniture after driving along our regional roads. I've searched the forums and the internet and found nothing. Upset horror like. The officials on Dunya, from whom I bought the car, gave the bodies. Air Ride. I called, found out that everything is there and you can even come now, right there to them. Everything was installed in 6 hours. Now I ride happy as an elephant) I advise everyone who has new lawns. The thing is useful and not expensive. But how it works! Class!

Latest news

The acquisition of a new commercial vehicle usually leads to the need to improve its performance. The air suspension of this category is not tuning, but carries an auxiliary function that saves the spring package from subsidence ...

Set auxiliary air suspension It is installed on the rear axle in addition to the regular spring suspension of the car, allowing to reduce the load on the springs, increase the comfort of the car and improve the car's cargo characteristics. Installing airbags will allow you to carry more cargo without loss of controllability, save you from sagging springs and their breakdowns, and reduce the buildup of the body with valkost. By purchasing an air suspension kit from the manufacturer for Fiat Ducato, you get a solution to increase the life of the standard spring suspension. Installation of an auxiliary air suspension does not require special skills and takes an average of 4 hours. It is possible to install an auxiliary air suspension kit: in our workshop, in any car service, as well as with your own hands. Additional installation crossbars in some products are necessary in order to remove the torque from the upper brackets, which in turn occurs when the pillows are placed offset from the frame axis.

Air suspension features on Fiat Ducato:

• Reduced wear on springs with shock absorbers (standard springs on your car will last longer, because the air suspension will reduce the load on them, as well as on other suspension elements)
• Elimination of noise, suspension vibrations and impacts of the bump stop during overload (the situation when a commercial vehicle lies on the bump stops is completely eliminated)
• Ability to install on tired springs (after installation, the springs requiring replacement will last a long time)
• The correct position of the body under any load (always a horizontal position of the body of a commercial vehicle, regardless of the load, and this is the correct operation of the head light with a decrease in braking distance)
• Reduction of rolls with car sway (air suspension prevents the car from rolling on an overloaded side, and is always in a horizontal position)
• Increased comfort for the driver, passengers (a significant increase in comfort when driving cars on bad and uneven roads, both for the driver and passengers (on passenger minibuses)
• Increase in profit from transportation (air spring is an opportunity to transport 1.5 times more cargo for 1 flight + savings on replacing springs, as well as traffic police fines for overloading
• Ability to control vehicle overhang during loading and unloading (rear clearance adjustment to align commercial vehicle booth floor with ramp floor level for easy loading)
• durability of the air suspension (does not require any additional maintenance, and effectively works for 5-6 years under any operating conditions, be it frost, dirt, salt or reagents. Operating pressure up to 15 atmospheres)
• Increased comfort with smooth running possible
• Eliminates the effect of "Goat"

Additional control options:

• It is possible to install a control system with adjustment from the passenger compartment
• The system can be installed on 1 circuit (total cushion pressure)
• For two circuits ( different pressure in cushions, reduces sway, allowing independent alignment of port and starboard)
• Possibility to install an additional receiver for compressed air to increase the speed of operation (inflation) of the air suspension, as well as add the ability to connect pneumatic devices, such as wheel inflation or air signal

Contents of delivery

The air suspension kit is designed specifically for the car and includes two pneumatic elements, brackets for mounting to the frame and axle, fasteners, accessories for pumping from an external compressor, and DIY installation instructions.

The kit includes:

• American Pneumoelements (air springs) of bellows type, which are optimally sized for this vehicle. They do not require any maintenance due to a reliable rubber-cord construction and serve more than 400 thousand vehicle mileage in any road conditions
• mounting elements of our own factory production from 6mm Russian steel, designed specifically for this car. These brackets are reliable, easy to install and will last a long time. Brackets are powder-coated for a lifetime of rust protection
• a set of Russian bolts, washers, nuts to assemble the kit
• Camozzi air fittings and pneumatic line, 7 meters of pneumatic hose are included in the kit, which allows you to bring the swap nipple to any part of the car
• nipple for lowering and pumping with any external AirLift compressor
• installation instructions
• all equipment has been tested in various conditions, which gives us confidence in the reliability of this air suspension kit. The kit is supplied fully disassembled with step by step instructions by installation. Unlike competitors, we do not hide what the kits are made of and give the client the opportunity to independently familiarize himself with all the fasteners during installation to make sure that it is reliable and easy to install.

Pneumatic kit installation:

The air suspension kit is installed in addition to the standard springs and does not change the standard suspension elements. Therefore, this kit does not require any changes to the vehicle's PTS. The air spring is placed between the frame with springs on special mounting plates that come with the kit. The upper mounting plate is placed on the frame in regular holes, an additional transverse strut is placed between the mounts to strengthen the frame and distribute the load. The lower mounting plate is placed on the bridge.

On commercial vehicles of category B and C, it is often necessary to strengthen the standard leaf spring suspension. This happens for the following reasons:

• poor quality of roads in Russia;
• long service life of vehicles (development of running gear resource);
• installation additional equipment or re-equipment of the chassis (HBO, refrigerator, tail lift, tow truck);
• overloads;
• poor handling of some truck models;
• low quality of factory parts (springs, bushings, bumpers).

Our company offers to strengthen the chassis by retrofitting it with pneumatic cushions. Unlike reinforcing with additional sheets or replacing them with more rigid ones, it is more profitable to introduce air suspension on the Fiat Ducato, which has a number of advantages:

• a set of equipment is installed in addition to the factory leaf springs. To install it, you do not need to disassemble the machine, and you can do it yourself without a specialist;
• the air bellow underlying the design ensures optimal performance of the suspension under different loads. You can adjust the firmness of the air pressure pillow by selecting this parameter for yourself. This cannot be done when reinforced with additional sheets, so such machines often “goat” when driving without a load;
• investments in an air suspension kit are often lower than the cost of spare springs, which can and often break during operation;
• with air, you can level the machine with uneven loading, and even slightly raise or lower the board near the ramp!

In fact, everything is easier than it seems. The main working element is the air spring. It is also called an air bag, balloon, pneumatic element, bagels, bellows, etc. The pneumatic element is installed between the frame and the chassis axle in the car using special brackets for its reliable fastening. Compressed air is supplied to the cylinder, while the pillow sandwiched between the frame and the bridge tries to inflate, lifting the body. It sounds simple, but in fact each pillow is capable of lifting up to 2000 kg of cargo! Compressed air is removed from the pneumatic brake system of the car, or we install a compressor system on minibuses. The piston compressor is powered by the 12/24 V on-board network. The driver monitors the pressure in the pillows using a pressure gauge and, if necessary, pressurizes or releases pressure from them.

We at Aride are developing pneumatic systems for vehicles since 2006 in St. Petersburg and currently we have the most great experience in this area along with global manufacturers. Brackets are developed by our designers specifically for each vehicle model, taking into account its features and undergo mandatory tests. Most often in production we use metal 6 mm thick with zinc coating and powder coating, which protect it from corrosion. Air springs are also selected in size and other characteristics for a particular car.

Being the largest domestic manufacturer this type of auto-tuning, we feel a high responsibility to our customers. That is why we have set ourselves the following goals:

• make an air spring an affordable solution for most customers - the cost of the kit starts from 15,000 rubles and this is the most profitable proposition on the market for a ready-to-install air suspension kit;
• provide high quality our products, which is why we are pleased to offer our customers a 2-year warranty on our air suspension;
• provide highly qualified support in the selection and further operation of our products.

So, by purchasing high-quality air suspension for Fiat Ducato and installing it, you can:

• load more (of course, strictly within the allowable maximum weight TS =)
• increase the reliability of your car when transporting heavy loads;
• improve handling and reduce body roll;
• adjust the height of the body during loading / unloading;
• Forget about changing the springs.

Video of the installed air suspension kit with control system on a Fiat Ducato Maxi with a refrigeration unit:

One of the most popular commercial vehicles in Russian-Fiat Ducato maxi:

This Fiat Ducato with a mileage of 120,000 km came to us to install an additional air suspension with heavily sagging rear springs. Ducato Maxi with Z Refrigeration Unit anotti S35 and the ability to adjust the temperature inside the thermal body plus / minus 18 degrees.

The official load capacity of the largest Fiat Ducato Maxi is only 900 kg. and this value does not take into account the weight of the superstructure.

A two year old Fiat is used daily in urban mode with frequent loading/unloading during the day. The record weight of the cargo amounted to 2 tons for the entire period of using the data commercial vehicle. In connection with these conditions, the employees of the company Pnevmoballony.Ru advised to install a dual-circuit control system air suspension with built-in receiver:

Why do we recommend installing two-loop control systems with a receiver?

1. The dual-circuit air preparation unit eliminates the roll of the car due to the separate power supply of the air springs. Air does not flow from one pneumatic element to another.


2. The receiver is an air accumulator. The air in the receiver is under pressure from 6 to 12 atmospheres, depending on the pressure sensor. The receiver makes it possible to "raise" the car even when the car is fully loaded. The compressor needs to pressurize only the receiver, and not press air directly into the airbags. Not every compressor can cope with the counter pressure created by the load, as a result of which it will fail at the most crucial moment.

Before installing an auxiliary air suspension, we recommend replacing worn and tired suspension parts for the correct use of any commercial vehicle.

In our practice, there were clients who loaded up to 6 tons on a similar Fiat Ducato Maxi using our rear additional air suspension And front air struts, designed specifically for the Fiat Ducato with reinforced thrust bearings. We strongly recommend that you do not exceed the ratings of any car, even though the car becomes more energy-intensive in terms of greater load.

Composition of axle air suspension kit for Fiat Ducato:

• 2 metal fasteners


• 2 pneumatic elements bellows


• pneumatic connection fittings


• pneumatic line


• swap nipple


• connection diagram

This auxiliary air suspension kit is also installed on these vehicles:

• LDV Maxus

Installation of such an axial set of pneumatic cylinders takes from 1 hour when using a pneumatic tool.

The presented pneumatic elements are selected after test tests of 30 different air springs. They are distinguished by their compactness, strength (rupture occurs at 24-25 atm.), Energy intensity and the highest resistance to oils, gasoline and road chemicals. When testing air springs of a larger volume, torsion of the frame and common problem this is what the airbag rubs against the suspension parts.

Photo of the left air spring:

Photo of the right air spring:

We recommend installing the air preparation unit inside the passenger compartment, for the high-quality operation of the compressor and other elements. Due to the use of pneumatic buttons, you can not be afraid of condensate in the pneumatic system, as when using pneumatic valves, which can close at high humidity.

The air preparation unit is equipped with a built-in heating of the distributor to prevent freezing of the compressed air after the receiver. We also recommend filling in the simplest dehumidifier of pneumatic systems that owners fill in trucks in brake or air suspension systems.

The new pressure gauges from Air-ride have proven their worth and are now available in all air handling units.