6.1 Cali height, over 2m

[andyinluton]

Mine measures 194.5 cm to the highest point , the top of the factory awning. I had the factory 30mm springs fitted so I find it lower than I expected. Van is loaded but no passengers View attachment 75188

You can see just by looking at the rear wheel arch gap where the difference is. note the overall diameter of the tyres is the same

Compare @This Eva with mine:

 

[B J G]

By looking at the higher rear wheel arch gap, suspension. The body panels haven't changed, as can be seen by the door sills and side body line, which used to be level and are now higher in the back sloping down to the front. I suspect that @GrumpyGranddad 's lowered van is now the same distance off the ground at the door sills at the front and back wheels, which would support the idea that 30mm lowering springs are now lowering the back by 70mm. That could be helpful to many prospective buyers, as long as they know it before ordering!

Edit: For those who go even mildly off-road, or use a tow bar bike rack, lowering may not be an advantage due to scraping.

I've got an Audi A4 Towbar Attachment which is about 2" higher at the ball which obviously lifts the bike rack up.
Also stops the trailer jockey wheel grounding on speed bumps.

 

[Dodge1311]

That's 45mm lower than the measured height of @andyinluton and 35mm lower than the measured height of @bob_summers .

How long do you think it would take for a very lowly powered (less than 300watts for the inverter) angle grinder take to get through a parking height barrier and how many leisure batteries would it kill. On a sunny day with a few thousand watts of solar panels we might be ok. I think that specification is missing from the VW brochure!!

I guess this one that we all have to take care of individually though i must say the amount of variability in height is quite surprising for a mass produced vehicle even with the differing weights of the models. I have an actual 2.0m barrier measured with a laser at 2003mm I will go and try that after i take delivery with the van empty. If all OK i will assume iam good for any marked at 2.0meters in the future. If it fails they i will be the proud owner of an Ocean Cabriolet.

 

[clarinetbcn]

You can see just by looking at the rear wheel arch gap where the difference is. note the overall diameter of the tyres is the same

Compare @This Eva with mine:View attachment 75189View attachment 75190

It would help if you had a pic of your van showing both front and rear wheel arches, to compare to @This Eva 's level lowered van with larger wheel arch at the front and smaller wheel arch at the back.

 

[andyinluton]

I cant get back far enough to do a whole van shot but this is the front, followed by some very quick measurements, the tape was vertical & the camera wonky. Todays measurements are roughly rear arch 780mm and front arch 770mm above ground.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I cant get back far enough to do a whole van shot but this is the front, followed by some very quick measurements, the tape was vertical & the camera wonky. Todays measurements are roughly rear arch 780mm and front arch 770mm above ground.

View attachment 75195View attachment 75196View attachment 75197

Since on a van with the floor and door sill level the rear arch is lower than the front arch, it's clear that the rear suspension has been raised substantially on 6.1 Calis, and that VW's 30mm lowering springs, which haven't changed, now lower the back more than 30mm to get back to level. If this seems counterintuitive, imagine a standard rear spring compared to a spring shortened by 30mm, and then a spring 40mm higher than standard compared to the same short spring.

 

[Louis II]

Springs are colour coded with painted stripes that you can see by looking under the back of the van. Would be interesting to compare T6 and T6.1
My t5.1, 140, 2WD had 4 pink stripes as std

 

[Corradobrit]

Wheel gap looks about same front and rear on this unloaded T6.1 w/4 motion.

 

[2haw]

I will look out for a level road, near a metal lamppost, and use my Lazer level to measure the height of my T6.1 Beach as soon as I can.

It’s just being able to do it late enough to be able to see the Lazer and away from anyone so I don’t look anymore of a weirdo!

 

[Racerke600]

I've got an Audi A4 Towbar Attachment which is about 2" higher at the ball which obviously lifts the bike rack up.
Also stops the trailer jockey wheel grounding on speed bumps.

View attachment 75191

@B J G I've been looking into this myself, but it's verry hard to find dimensions of these tow bars. Does this one also sit more outwards? Not only higher?

 

[Racerke600]

hi all, haven't read the entire thread. but the things i know/have :

T6.1 Coast lowered on KW coil overs, the van sits level. When you lower it, it becomes clear that the rear arch gap is smaller than the front. Therefore we adjusted the rear so it sits +20mm at the back.
Little nose down.
Afterwards I fitted 18inch banded amaroks with oversized AT tyres.
This rises the overall height with 15mm.
Meanwhile I raised the front 10mm to solve some minor rubbing in the wheel arches.

I did a measurement just yesterday, from the highest point (at the rear) its exactly 195cm now.
Measurements where taken at the roof where the roof bars can be fixed.
Awning isn't on yet, so maybe this would add a couple of mm's.

On the other hand it was completely unladen , so when driving it would sit a little lower.

Most important for me is the <2m

 

[Jenny H]

That's 45mm lower than the measured height of @andyinluton and 35mm lower than the measured height of @bob_summers .

Yes I know but I did double check that he had measured it to the highest point as initially thought he had only measured to the corner, & he did confirm again as just under the 2m. At the same time I did ask about lowering springs & quote page 1 of VWs brochure stating under 2m to fit in most car parks. So I think he knows why I was asking & getting at.
Ive not got a level driveway to measure mine so will have to drive somewhere to do so.

 

[B J G]

@B J G I've been looking into this myself, but it's verry hard to find dimensions of these tow bars. Does this one also sit more outwards? Not only higher?

Towbar is factory fitted one. I spent ages looking at the detachable part for an alternative and found that the actual towbar is the same across all Westfalia vehicles (the part that the detachable ball goes into). There was an earlier type with a different latching method. My 2017 one has a ball bearing system.

I found lots of attachments on EBAY from Owners who had sold the vehicle but kept the attachment.
Pestered a few sellers for measurements and got down to the Audi A4 one, forget which year.
Also picked up a Golf one, £20, which saves getting the one out of the Cali storage & putting back in after a short trailer journey, only a 750kgs trailer. Golf seems the same as T6 one.

Audi A4 is both higher and slightly further out than the original. Atera bike rack still clears the tailgate.

I did think that some BMW ones might suit but usually priced too high to gamble on.

 

[B J G]

hi all, haven't read the entire thread. but the things i know/have :

T6.1 Coast lowered on KW coil overs, the van sits level. When you lower it, it becomes clear that the rear arch gap is smaller than the front. Therefore we adjusted the rear so it sits +20mm at the back.
Little nose down.
Afterwards I fitted 18inch banded amaroks with oversized AT tyres.
This rises the overall height with 15mm.
Meanwhile I raised the front 10mm to solve some minor rubbing in the wheel arches.

I did a measurement just yesterday, from the highest point (at the rear) its exactly 195cm now.
Measurements where taken at the roof where the roof bars can be fixed.
Awning isn't on yet, so maybe this would add a couple of mm's.

On the other hand it was completely unladen , so when driving it would sit a little lower.

Most important for me is the <2m

View attachment 75207

View attachment 75208

View attachment 75209

I can't get the logic behind a combination of All Terrain tyres and a lowered vehicle.

 

[Racerke600]

Towbar is factory fitted one. I spent ages looking at the detachable part for an alternative and found that the actual towbar is the same across all Westfalia vehicles (the part that the detachable ball goes into). There was an earlier type with a different latching method. My 2017 one has a ball bearing system.

I found lots of attachments on EBAY from Owners who had sold the vehicle but kept the attachment.
Pestered a few sellers for measurements and got down to the Audi A4 one, forget which year.
Also picked up a Golf one, £20, which saves getting the one out of the Cali storage & putting back in after a short trailer journey, only a 750kgs trailer. Golf seems the same as T6 one.

Audi A4 is both higher and slightly further out than the original. Atera bike rack still clears the tailgate.

I did think that some BMW ones might suit but usually priced too high to gamble on.

if you have some time, could you look at the number that's on the audi a4 one?

a while ago i saw someone with a t6 or t5 can't recall exactly , who fitted a renault koleos attachment. that one sticks out even more.

concerning the AT tyres, yeah i get your point
wasn't my intention at first, but the fact that these tyres are oversized fills the arches nicely.
and the bodywork is lowered (mildly) and the bigger tyres counteract that.

so all in all it gives me the look i was after, and i'm able to do some mild off road (read wet camp sites :-D )

 

[B J G]

if you have some time, could you look at the number that's on the audi a4 one?

a while ago i saw someone with a t6 or t5 can't recall exactly , who fitted a renault koleos attachment. that one sticks out even more.

concerning the AT tyres, yeah i get your point
wasn't my intention at first, but the fact that these tyres are oversized fills the arches nicely.
and the bodywork is lowered (mildly) and the bigger tyres counteract that.

so all in all it gives me the look i was after, and i'm able to do some mild off road (read wet camp sites :-D )

Have to wait a while as I keep it in Normandy home. Be there as soon as can travel again.

Quite a few on Facebook Marketplace. most sellers overprice as I think that they assume all cars have the part to 'plug' into fitted.

Photos of Audi Towball and Atera Rack

 

[Stuart]

Springs are colour coded with painted stripes that you can see by looking under the back of the van. Would be interesting to compare T6 and T6.1
My t5.1, 140, 2WD had 4 pink stripes as std

Also the codes on the build sticker sticker will indicate which springs are fitted. Lots of geeky info on this over on t6forum:

https://www.t6forum.com/threads/ride-height-survey.2301/

 

[Stuart]

Wheel gap looks about same front and rear on this unloaded T6.1 w/4 motion. View attachment 75206

Slight hijack but what colour is this? It looks great. Or is it just Ascot Grey looking darker than normal?

 

[Corradobrit]

Pure Grey. Its what I ordered for my LHD Coast Editions. Been waiting 4 months, just another 6 to go.....

 

[Stuart]

I didn't know you could get the Cali in pure grey. You couldn't on the T6. Almost tempts me towards a 6.1. Anyway hijack over

 

[66tim99]

I didn't know you could get the Cali in pure grey. You couldn't on the T6. Almost tempts me towards a 6.1. Anyway hijack over

Pure Grey isn't a California option in the UK. Paler Ascot Grey is a free colour choice.

 

[Corradobrit]

Pure Grey isn't a California option in the UK. Paler Ascot Grey is a free colour choice.

And vice versa. AG isn't an option on a LHD Coast Edition

 

[Calimili]

Springs are colour coded with painted stripes that you can see by looking under the back of the van. Would be interesting to compare T6 and T6.1
My t5.1, 140, 2WD had 4 pink stripes as std

T6 Cali Ocean, 150HP, 4M DSG: rear spring: 2 white

 

[Andy A]

T 5 in a 2m headroom car park in Turin. Had to duck on the way in and out

 

[homerorchid]

Anyone know what VB Air Suspension can bring it down to?