Patent ID: 7380799

Claim:
An adjustable suspension system for securement between an associated sprung mass and an associated unsprung mass of an associated vehicle, said adjustable suspension system comprising: a damping member having a variable damping rate; an air spring assembly operatively associated with said damping member, said air spring assembly capable of operating at at least a first predetermined spring rate corresponding to a first nominal spring height of a first predetermined height range, a second predetermined spring rate corresponding to a second nominal spring height of a second predetermined height range and a third predetermined spring rate corresponding to a third nominal spring height of a third predetermined height range, said second spring rate being from about 50 percent to about 70 percent greater than said first spring rate with said second nominal spring height being about 5 percent to about 15 percent lower than said first nominal spring height, and said third spring rate being from about 80 percent to about 100 percent greater than said first spring rate with said third nominal spring height being from about 20 percent to about 30 percent lower than said first nominal spring height; a first actuator operatively associated with said damping member for varying said damping rate thereof; a second actuator operatively associated with said air spring assembly for selectively varying said air spring assembly between said first, second and third predetermined spring rates at a corresponding one of said first, second and third nominal spring heights; and, a controller in communication with at least one of said first and second actuators and operative to selectively actuate at least one of said first and second actuators to adjust at least one of said damping member and said air spring assembly between: a first performance mode in which said damping member has a first damping rate and said air spring assembly has approximately said first predetermined spring rate and approximately said first nominal spring height, a second performance mode in which said damping member has a second damping rate and said air spring assembly has approximately said second predetermined spring rate and approximately said second nominal spring height, and a third performance mode in which said damping member has a third damping rate and said air spring assembly has approximately said third predetermined spring rate and approximately said third nominal spring height.