India’s First Maruti Alto 800 With Volvo Bus-Style Air Suspension [Video]

Maruti Alto 800, or ‘Lord Alto’ as it is fondly called, needs no introduction. We have seen a lot of modifications and builds based on this hatchback. A recent video shows a White Alto 800 from Goa that has been bagged- which means it’s got an air suspension like what you see in Volvo buses! You can adjust the height and ground clearance of this vehicle with just the press of a button. Let’s delve into the further details of this vehicle.

 

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India’s First Bagged Alto 800: What Has It Got?

Firstly, this car gets 15-inch alloy wheels from the Maruti Swift. In its stock form, the Alto 800 comes with 12-inch wheels. This modified Alto 800 also has a high-flow air filter and an unrestricted exhaust. The engine sounds racy and would give you that extra dose of dopamine with its acoustics.

The biggest talking point here is the air suspension kit. The air bag suspension setup on this Alto has been manufactured by Kerala’s Air 1 Customs, and installed in Goa. It costs around 1.5 lakh rupees. And what do you achieve by installing air suspension on an 800cc car? Well, it drops like it’s hot at the press of a button and rides low and steady! NO other big claims.

There are definitely downsides to bagging (we’ll discuss the term in detail further down in this article) your car. You ride low and could sometimes scrape your underbody, or rub your wheels against the inner walls of wheel wells. And there are more. But the presence it gives your car and how unique it makes it are all worth mentioning.

This could be one of the cheapest examples to exist in India, of a low-rolling car! Usually, we see air suspensions being installed on more expensive, and more powerful cars and SUVs.

How Does The Air Suspension Work?

You get to find air suspensions on luxury cars and public carriages- with extremely different traits. This versatility is what makes an air bag setup excel. This suspension setup has three main parts: air bags that sit near the wheels, an air cylinder and a compressor or an air pump.

The trick here is to inflate or deflate the bags to increase or decrease the height of the vehicle. On cars like this, inflation/deflation can be done with the press of a button. One set of controls sits inside the cabin and the other is a wireless remote for added drama. When the bags are inflated, the suspension rises and it falls when they lose air from within.

What Is Bagging And How Did It Get Its Name?

The entire game depends on the air bags. Installing an air suspension is often called ‘bagging’ due to how important they are, and the process being the replacement of the stock leaf springs or traditional coils with the air bag setup. The air bags are also known by the name ‘air bellows’. These are made of heavy-duty rubber and can withstand extremely high pressures.

Various Use Cases Of Air Suspension

Public carriages and airport shuttles use liftable suspension setups to facilitate easier ingress and egress for passengers. Volvo and Scania buses could thus be the most relatable examples. Luxury cars and SUVs use these to improve the ride quality and road manners. Extremely expensive vehicles like the Lamborghini Urus and Sterrato also make use of this technology.