30-35mm Lift? NON-AIR BAG

[Defender90]

In the end I didn't raise the van and shipped out to South America.

After 6-months my Seikel Rock Sliders are banged and bruised, and a valuable investment.

Traveled a bit with another T6.1 owner - their's is lifted and had full under body protection - he was reluctant to drive unpaved/corrugated roads as the suspension was very stiff and they said the ride was uncomfortable.

I run 225/65r17 BFGs and have parked in various 2.0m secure parking garages.
2.8bar for normal roads
2.0bar for badly potholed
1.5bar for unpaved/corrugation

* I am considering breather pipes and raising the air intake so I can cross water above the axels (upto the top of the tires).

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Hi Chris what an amazing adventure you are having,with regards the other guys California and the lift giving a harsh ride it depends on the spring type fitted if he’s gone for a heavy duty spring and the van isn’t loaded up to suit it will be harsh the kit I have fitted is about right if I was driving on corrugations reducing the tyres as you will know will help .Also the shocks I have fitted allow for more travel which again is important when lifting the van.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

In the end I didn't raise the van and shipped out to South America.

After 6-months my Seikel Rock Sliders are banged and bruised, and a valuable investment.

Traveled a bit with another T6.1 owner - their's is lifted and had full under body protection - he was reluctant to drive unpaved/corrugated roads as the suspension was very stiff and they said the ride was uncomfortable.

I run 225/65r17 BFGs and have parked in various 2.0m secure parking garages.
2.8bar for normal roads
2.0bar for badly potholed
1.5bar for unpaved/corrugation

* I am considering breather pipes and raising the air intake so I can cross water above the axels (upto the top of the tires).

View attachment 125342

View attachment 125343

Hi Chris,

Interesting about the Tyre pressures. Do you constantly have a TPMS warning for low pressure? I know the Cali isn’t the same as a Transporter (with real TPMS sensors). I’ve recently remounted my BFG’s in the same size and will test them at a lower pressure on road but this will throw TPMS errors for sure as minimum in mine is 3.5 bar.


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[Chris Ratay]

Do you know what they used to lift theirs? Do you have more details of your trip in South America? Wanted to do next year for SA winter.

Probably Bilstein, but not sure.

I post pretty regularly on FB. You can see specific albums on the front of my website RatayTeam.com

I'm loving the van, but the DPF auto regen was problematic in the High Andes. Bolivia was off limits (fortunately been there before). We parked it in Buenos Aires and returning in November to travel the south. Attached is the first leg and the next leg (photo below)

Here's a quick recap of the first leg

 

[Defender90]

Probably Bilstein, but not sure.

I post pretty regularly on FB. You can see specific albums on the front of my website RatayTeam.com

I'm loving the van, but the DPF auto regen was problematic in the High Andes. Bolivia was off limits (fortunately been there before). We parked it in Buenos Aires and returning in November to travel the south. Attached is the first leg and the next leg (photo below)

Here's a quick recap of the first leg

View attachment 125347

Love it thanks for posting

 

[Chris Ratay]

Interesting about the Tyre pressures. Do you constantly have a TPMS warning for low pressure? I know the Cali isn’t the same as a Transporter (with real TPMS sensors). I’ve recently remounted my BFG’s in the same size and will test them at a lower pressure on road but this will throw TPMS errors for sure as minimum in mine is 3.5 bar.

In Europe I run about 3.5 bar, but in South America it's much lower as are the speeds.

In SA, reaching 110kph is a rarity. Even the highways go through rough pavement stretches.

2.8 bar for normal roads
2.0 bar for potholed
1.5 bar for unpaved/corrugation

I don't use additional tire pressure alarms. Had them on my Defender in Africa and they just created unnecessary angst. The VW built in system is fine for knowing about potential flats - had one in Morocco last year which the car warned about in plenty of time.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

In Europe I run about 3.5 bar, but in South America it's much lower as are the speeds.

In SA, reaching 110kph is a rarity. Even the highways go through rough pavement stretches.

2.8 bar for normal roads
2.0 bar for potholed
1.5 bar for unpaved/corrugation

I don't use additional tire pressure alarms. Had them on my Defender in Africa and they just created unnecessary angst. The VW built in system is fine for knowing about potential flats - had one in Morocco last year which the car warned about in plenty of time.

Whoop! You had me curious how to reprogram my TPMS minimum pressures (my mechanic said it can't be done) and I found a way. Mine is a Transporter based van with real TPMS sensors. I followed this article as I have an OBD11. I wanted to set min before alarm at 2.9 bar.

TPMS settings change after up or down sizing tires

www.vwvortex.com

It worked!

 

[Chris Ratay]

Whoop! You had me curious how to reprogram my TPMS minimum pressures (my mechanic said it can't be done) and I found a way. Mine is a Transporter based van with real TPMS sensors. I followed this article as I have an OBD11. I wanted to set min before alarm at 2.9 bar.

After lowering the tire pressure I just go into the screen and set Pressure as OK.

On my 2023 T6.1, what I experienced was as long as the 4 tires remain close to where the OK setting is, and one tire doesn't drop rapidly, the built in alarm won't sound. I didn't do anything with my VCDS or Carista.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

After lowering the tire pressure I just go into the screen and set Pressure as OK.

On my 2023 T6.1, what I experienced was as long as the 4 tires remain close to where the OK setting is, and one tire doesn't drop rapidly, the built in alarm won't sound. I didn't do anything with my VCDS or Carista.

yeah, the Cali is different from the Transporter though. I constantly get alarms if I drop below the min threshold even if using OK. So this was my fix.

 

[smilingit]

Probably Bilstein, but not sure.

I post pretty regularly on FB. You can see specific albums on the front of my website RatayTeam.com

I'm loving the van, but the DPF auto regen was problematic in the High Andes. Bolivia was off limits (fortunately been there before). We parked it in Buenos Aires and returning in November to travel the south. Attached is the first leg and the next leg (photo below)

Here's a quick recap of the first leg

Aw thanks! Why Bolivia was offlimit?

I am mostly interested in travelling in SA winter - I should rent it off you for when it is parked instead of shipping it over then heheheh

 

[WelshGas]

yeah, the Cali is different from the Transporter though. I constantly get alarms if I drop below the min threshold even if using OK. So this was my fix.

The California and Transporter TPMS systems are exactly the same but there are 2 types available.

Indirect - doesn't show actual pressures but will show if a tyre drops its pressure by 10% or more from the set pressure. It relies on the ABS sensors to measure wheel rotations. A lower pressure alters the wheel/tyre circumference so a different rotational speed. It does not identify which tyre is affected.
This is a standard Option on new vehicles.

Direct - has sensors in each tyre that measure the actual pressure. The vehicle has set pressures for different tyre sizes in the vehicle software. This is a paid Option on new vehicles.

 

[Webbah_in_Switzerland]

The California and Transporter TPMS systems are exactly the same but there are 2 types available.

Indirect - doesn't show actual pressures but will show if a tyre drops its pressure by 10% or more from the set pressure. It relies on the ABS sensors to measure wheel rotations. A lower pressure alters the wheel/tyre circumference so a different rotational speed. It does not identify which tyre is affected.
This is a standard Option on new vehicles.

Direct - has sensors in each tyre that measure the actual pressure. The vehicle has set pressures for different tyre sizes in the vehicle software. This is a paid Option on new vehicles.

Thanks for clearing that up. Every California I’ve seen has indirect and every Transporter direct with TPMS sensors. Maybe it’s a Swiss thing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chris Ratay]

Aw thanks! Why Bolivia was offlimit?

I am mostly interested in travelling in SA winter - I should rent it off you for when it is parked instead of shipping it over then heheheh

Bolivia is above 3700m, with many places above 4000m in altitude.

My auto regeneration system engages when the DPF accumulates 30g of soot. It takes anywhere from 11-26 minutes to burn it down to around 8.5g of soot, and the accumulation cycle starts again.

All along the Andes, my DPF reached 30g of soot every 150-180km, so with 30,000km on the odometer, there have been thousands of (unnoticed) auto regens.

However, if we're above 3500m the auto Regen won't initiate and the DPF just continues to collect until it reaches 35g, which is when a warning light goes on (saying consult your vehicle wallet ). At 42g my van went into limp mode.

Since then I have monitored dozens and dozens of regens.

I found driving 80kph for 30 min is nonsense. I've had the regens initiate while stopped at a light or while in bumper to bumper traffic.

Here was one of the first auto regenerations I monitored.