active-suspension

An experimental active air suspension system that combines BC Racing coilovers with air sleeves and real-time road scanning to achieve near-seamless ride height adjustment.
The goal: smoother handling, self-leveling, and predictive bump absorption.

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How It Works

1. LIDAR scans the road ~10–20 ft ahead.

2. Jetson/Pi processes the point cloud with a Kalman filter.

3. Height commands (+8mm, -4mm, etc.) are sent to Teensy.

4. Teensy fires valves within microseconds to adjust suspension.

5. The Tesla-Cinematic Display shows a real-time 3D road preview & compressor information.

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Overview

flowchart TD

  subgraph Hardware
    A[BC Racing coilovers + air sleeves]
    B[Dual VIAIR 450P compressors + 3-gallon tank]
    C[MAC fast-acting solenoid valves]
    D[Teensy 4.1 microcontroller]
    E[Jetson Nano / Raspberry Pi 5]
    F[Velodyne Puck Lite LIDAR]
    G[Custom wiring, relays, and fittings]

    subgraph Air_System
      H["Pressure sensor 0–200 PSI"]
      I["Flow estimation (from pressure rise)"]
      J["Thermocouple / DS18B20 (compressor temp)"]
      K["IR sensor (non-contact temp)"]
    end
  end

  subgraph Software
    S1["Jetson/Pi parses Velodyne point cloud → predicts bumps"]
    S2["Teensy executes low-latency valve commands"]
    S3["3D road + compressor data map rendered on Tesla-style screen"]
    S4["Safety fallback: default ride height if Jetson drops out"]
  end

  %% Core suspension loop
  F --> E
  E --> S1
  S1 --> D
  D --> S2
  S2 --> C
  C --> A
  B --> C
  G --> D
  G --> C

  %% Screen visualization
  E --> S3
  D --> S4

  %% Air system telemetry
  H --> D
  I --> D
  J --> D
  K --> D
  D --> S3

Loading

• Hardware

  • BC Racing coilovers retrofitted with air sleeves
  • Dual VIAIR 450P compressor + 3-gallon tank
  • MAC fast-acting solenoid valves
  • Teensy 4.1 microcontroller (real-time valve control)
  • NVIDIA Jetson Nano / Raspberry Pi 5 (LIDAR preprocessing + visualization)
  • Velodyne Puck Lite LIDAR (road scanning)
  • Custom wiring, relays, and fittings
  • Tesla-Cinematic Display 16:9.5 aspect ratio & ~2200×1300 resolution (~150 PPI)

• Software

  • Jetson/Pi parses Velodyne point cloud → predicts bumps
  • Teensy executes low-latency valve commands
  • 3D road vector map rendered on Tesla-style screen
  • Safety fallback: default ride height if Jetson drops out

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File Structure

active-suspension/
├── jetson/         # LIDAR drivers, point-cloud filtering, control logic
├── teensy/         # Real-time valve actuation firmware
├── common/         # Shared protocol definitions (UART/CAN schemas)
└── docs/           # Schematics, wiring diagrams, notes

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Caution

This is a research/DIY project. It is not certified for road use and comes with no warranties.
Use at your own risk. Incorrect installation or software faults could result in suspension failure.

Without a high-capacity alternator (150A+) or a secondary battery, you risk voltage drops or battery drain.

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Note

Tesla, Chevrolet®, Malibu®, and the bowtie emblem are trademarks of General Motors.
This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of GM.