18 suspension modes? What changes have occurred after the ideal suspension OTA?

Air suspension, the road from Wang Xietang to ordinary people's homes has been smoothed by ideals.

From Continental and Vibach to Konghui Technology and Baolong Technology; from packaged integrated system solutions to self-research, Ideal has indeed blazed its own path for the large-scale deployment of air suspension.

On July 29, the cumulative delivery of Ideal L-series magic carpet air suspension models is about to exceed 200,000 units, and this new force is also the brand with the largest sales of air suspension models in the world. If traditional luxury brands' proficiency in suspension tuning has given them a decent reputation in the era of equal rights in technology, then Ideal said, "I can upgrade OTA."

Within August, Ideal will conduct an OTA upgrade to the suspension system of the L series models. Of course, this also includes the Air version of the model, which is only equipped with CDC suspension. After the upgrade, models equipped with air suspension will theoretically have 18 adjustable suspension modes.

Although the OTA upgrade function was once regarded by me as the "most shameless" car configuration, it is a fig leaf for new car-making forces to bring semi-finished products to the market. Ideal’s OTA upgrade for the suspension, which is the iteration of Ideal Magic Carpet Air Suspension™ 2.0, can even be said to be a step forward in tuning.

What are the upgrades in version 2.0?

At the Ideal Magic Carpet Air Suspension Technology Day, I also experienced the Ideal L7’s air suspension upgrade to version 2.0.

The upgraded L series models do not conceal the changes brought about by this upgrade at all. In the vehicle settings interface, the Pro and Max models will directly tell you in eye-catching large letters that this is "Magic Carpet Air Suspension 2.0", while the Air version will display "CDC Suspension" because it is only equipped with CDC suspension. 2.0".

Then Magic Carpet Air Suspension 2.0 adds an option called "Sports Magic Carpet" in the mode. Whether it is a "sports magic carpet" or a comfort magic carpet, the comfort and height of the suspension are adjustable in 3 levels. So 2*3*3, theoretically there are 18 adjustable modes. As for whether you can feel the difference among these 18 theoretical modes, it depends on you.

I also experienced the two most comfortable and sporty modes on the Ideal L7 , namely "Comfort" under the "Comfort Magic Carpet" and "Sport" under the "Sports Magic Carpet". I set the suspension height of the former to the "standard" state, while the suspension height of the latter will automatically adjust to the "low" state.

*The Lili L7 after upgrading Magic Carpet Air Suspension 2.0 is doing a lane change test. The picture above shows the standard mode under the comfort magic carpet, and the picture below shows the sports mode under the sports magic carpet.

Under the two working conditions of full throttle acceleration and heavy braking, the sportiest mode can indeed make you clearly feel that the vehicle's head and head nod are smaller. In addition, I have also tried many times to change lanes at a speed of about 70km/h. In the most sporty state, the lateral support of the vehicle will be better, but it is definitely not as sharp as a sports car. It still retains the orientation of comfort to a great extent.

The body posture of the Ideal L7 during acceleration after upgrading Magic Carpet Air Suspension 2.0. The picture above shows the standard mode under the comfort magic carpet, and the picture below shows the sports mode under the sports magic carpet.

Is version 2.0 more comfortable than BMW and Mercedes-Benz?

It is obvious that Ideal uses the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS as comparison models, which shows that Ideal is very confident.

Therefore, the more comfortable performance of the L9 was completely within my expectations: on bad roads, the ideal L9's sense of isolation and weight are superior to those of the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS. The section of road I took for the test drive was a section of concrete road that was heavily crushed. I adjusted the ideal L9 to a comfortable state under the comfort magic carpet, and the suspension height was standard. In addition, the BMW X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS are also equipped with air suspension as standard. However, I did not fine-tune the suspension of the two German cars. Instead, I directly used the buttons or paddles in the center control area to adjust to COMFORT mode.

By analyzing the configuration list of the Ideal air suspension, it is not difficult to find that although the entire Ideal series only uses a single-chamber air suspension, the sensing hardware is relatively sufficient. There are four body height sensors, two front axle acceleration sensors, and There is a six-axis gyro sensor, which provides more reliable data to the XCU.

In addition, CDC’s excellence also plays an important role, even more important than air springs. Because whether it is a coil spring, an air spring or a leaf spring, their core function is to absorb road vibrations. The shock absorber is responsible for buffering the vibration. The core of the so-called dual-chamber air suspension and three-chamber air suspension is to provide more stiffness options at the same height. If the shock absorbers are not properly matched, the air springs will become a burden.

Of course, compared to the comparison with the Ideal L9, I would rather know the difference in tuning between the two top-tier German luxury large SUVs. Both cars are 3.0T versions, namely xDrive40i and 450 4MATIC. In contrast, the GLS's chassis is lighter and retains road feel very well. Then the sense of isolation of the X7 is not so good, and the bumps on the road are more obvious.

Is air suspension worth the option?

If there are no extreme requirements for the height of the car, then there is no need to install air suspension. Because it’s too expensive! If you have a big enough budget to buy a car, just ignore it.

In fact, there are two core advantages of air springs. One is that the height of the vehicle body can be adjusted. Of course, the coil springs of some top performance cars can also be height adjusted, but it is very troublesome and requires the use of special tools, such as the MINI JCW I drove when I was working in a team. A higher vehicle body can improve passability, while a lower vehicle body can increase high-speed stability, reduce wind resistance, and make it easier to get on and off the vehicle. Second, air springs can have better NVH performance than coil springs.

Therefore, the vehicle is basically used on paved roads. Compared with the high price and high failure rate, the cost-effectiveness of air suspension is low. Although the Lili L7 Pro version has reduced the price of the air suspension model to 339,800, and provides an 8-year or 160,000-kilometer warranty.

But in many cases, you don't have a choice. For example, ideal Pro and Max models are equipped with air suspension as standard, and some high-end models are also equipped as standard on all series, such as the X7 and GLS tested for comparison.

Summarize

In fact, it is not just ideals that have brought down the price of air suspension. Both Lantu and Jikrypton have achieved popularity in lower-positioned models. Yes, the true meaning of technology is by no means an empty blueprint and the construction of class barriers, but one that is close to the people and benefits everyone.