Air suspension

[bvddobb]

Bob, I was told that my 2009 T5.1 lacks some electronics that controll the drive shaft and other moving parts, like the wheels (he warned me for burning tyres). It is not the engine that causes problems, I was told.

As I had a real interest in buying, I have thanked him for the warning.
Maybe you can shed some more light on this matter after visiting the show tomorrow.

@marchugo, we had a chat with the rep in Amersfoort today. He remembered your conversation. There definitely seems to be some misunderstanding. According to the rep two discussion items seem to have gotten mixed up:

1. VB Air suspension: there is absolutely NO reason why a 2009 T5 Cali could not have the air suspension installed.
2. Chip tuning the 2009 5 cylinder engine. You seemingly also discussed that, and that is something he advises against. CCN/Amersfoort only chip tune the later 4 cylinder models. They fear that if they increase the pre-2010 5 cylinder models' power, that may lead to damage of the drive shafts and related parts, since indeed they are managed differently than the post-2010 4 cylinder models.

 

[marchugo]

Bart,
Thanks for the clarification, I have to clear my ears...
Marc.

 

[WelshGas]

This just the stuff i want to know about
Thanks for the info

More about Air Suspension.

Vb Air

Got my van back today after having VB Air installed by Exploria. The 1 hour drive home was enough to convince me of the merits, the ride is soooo much smoother than the standard T32 suspension. Of course, being VW approved, it doesn’t go that low, and the lowest for normal driving is just 2 or...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Crell]

Had VB on our old Caravelle 5.1. Had a few insurers inflate the premium (see what I did there ). Had it serviced occasionally, and had to replace one bag - about 400 IIRC. Worked really well over the 4 years we had that van; self leveling can be a bit annoying when parked up, and it’s noisy. Completely transforms the drive though. I miss it compared to the pogo stick pitching on standard springs and dampers.

 

[Keith Brockie]

VB Air Suspension, 1 sport mode, 2 fully lowered (with a bit of levelling on the front), 3 full height. No raising of insurance amount with Safeguard insurance and a much better ride on the road. Great addition to the Cali to enable me to negotiate off-road tracks etc.

 

[Kmann]

VB Full Air since 2013. 125.000 km's, now. Lots of off-roading (Icelandic Highlands, Pyrenees, West Alps, other places in Scandinavia). No service, other than washing off the dirt every now and then, no breakdowns till now.

Do you have the option to higher the car when driving in terrain? How does it work?

EDIT: Sorry me for not reading the thread first

 

[bvddobb]

Do you have the option to higher the car when driving in terrain? How does it work?

You have a handset, a bit like this (ours is older, looks less 'modern', but has the same functionality). With it, you choose presets for e.g. Sports (lowered) or Off-road (raised) mode, or auto-level, or you manage the height manually.

 

[Andy Foster]

VB Air suspension fitted summer 2016 on a T6, no problems at all, no increase in insurance, Comes with certificate of VW conformity.

Perfectly level on sites at the touch of a button is great!

 

[homerorchid]

Does anyone know if VB air suspension (tank fitted outside under van) can be fitted to 4Motion Cali's. Apologies if it's a silly question, I'm not very mechanically minded

 

[Trevor Brown]

Does anyone know if VB air suspension (tank fitted outside under van) can be fitted to 4Motion Cali's. Apologies if it's a silly question, I'm not very mechanically minded

VB Air can be fitted to 4Motion Cali's.
I had it done myself to mine.

 

[bvddobb]

you have a choice between a ayatem that haa standard height, and a syste m that has standard already 30 mm extra bottom clearance.


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

 

[kurienp]

Does anyone know if VB air suspension (tank fitted outside under van) can be fitted to 4Motion Cali's. Apologies if it's a silly question, I'm not very mechanically minded

Yup. VB Air fitted to a 2017 4MO Cali by Rosmia.

 

[homerorchid]

Hi, thank you for you're reply's, much appreciated. For those who have VB air suspension fitted to their Cali's, in your personal experience what would you say the pro's and con's are for you and have had any issues such as LED headlight dazzle etc

 

[B J G]

Not got VB now as changed to Bilstein Air but with air suspension it constantly levels the Cali and in theory saves the Headlight Autolevel having to compensate for ride height angle (loaded rear on springs) changes.

 

[homerorchid]

Thank you B J B. Any reason you went for Bilstein Air over VB

 

[kurienp]

Hi, thank you for you're reply's, much appreciated. For those who have VB air suspension fitted to their Cali's, in your personal experience what would you say the pro's and con's are for you and have had any issues such as LED headlight dazzle etc

HO,

Did a lot of research before going for it. The positives for me
a) Low stance on motorways (sports mode), make the car very planted.
b) The handling is great (in normal mode)
c) In the end it is a van, remember that, and 'Air' does not mean a magic carpet ride. It just makes the handling and the ride very refined and immensely better.
d) With the VB Air, your suspension remains at the factory specification so no change in camber etc. and I guess that ensures longevity of the overall suspension mechanicals.
e) Not used the high mode as yet, but know that it is there.
f) the lowering mode is also helpful when going under low barriers (but, nevertheless, you still crouch and lower your head inside the van)

The only worry I had was on reliability, but when you see that people have taken it off road and to many inhospitable terrain's, the suspension is as (if not more) reliable than normal suspension.

The only downside is that if you have a torn air bladder, when in the sticks (read - middle of Kazhakhistan), then no one can temporary weld the pieces together for you (but I am sure the Kazhak mechanics will find a solution for that too). So if you are always going to me within a phone call of the AA (or any recovery), I don't see any downsides to it.

EDIT: a positive - when the wife is cooking , you can get crispy evenly fried chicken as you can level the van and the oil stays even in the pan

EDIT2: Get it installed from a reputed vendor such as Rosmia.

 

[B J G]

Thank you B J B. Any reason you went for Bilstein Air over VB

I had problems from day one, apparently 2nd T6 in UK to be done, most of which were supplier/installer caused.
After a return visit where the VB UK Technician came out and set the system up correctly it improved but couldn't use sports mode as bounced about. More visits then VB replaced rear dampers with Koni ones and that improved the bouncing but front still an issue. Dealer decided that it was OK although not so. Email to VB UK got ignored and finally got fedup with VB and replaced with the Bilstein Sytem which cured all the bouncing issue.
Bilstein full electronic control system is more expensive than VB but much faster response due to higher air supply and tank.
Bilstein supplier referred to VB as 'Very Bouncy Air'
2 different systems that meet different criteria. It all depends on what you intend to use the air suspension to do.

 

[homerorchid]

Thank you Kurienp and B J G for your detailed replys, really informative. Do you know if the "Bilstein Sytem" is VW Approved eg do you think there would be any Warrenty issues?

 

[B J G]

Thank you Kurienp and B J G for your detailed replys, really informative. Do you know if the "Bilstein Sytem" is VW Approved eg do you think there would be any Warrenty issues?

Warranty on actual parts, Bilstein is 1 year, VB 2 years. Springs and dampers swapped for the air units.
VW is a grey area as they have get outs on drive shafts etc.
I went to air suspension as my VW Dealer said that I couldn't have lowered springs from the Factory order nor would they fit them as VW didn't recommend them on 4Motion. No reason given.
An Independent spring supplier wouldn't do their normal free fit due to the VW issue above. When pressed they said that it gives problems with the Bluemotion system. Nobody could explain how VB Air in lowered Sport Mode was OK but springs not.
3 years on and no problems encountered (as yet) with electrics or drive train. All now fully covered by Independent Warranty for 3 years with no exceptions.

I did get informed that the T6 VB kit was physically different to the T5 when it was being installed.

You can't have VB Air if you have active suspension fitted. Same would apply to the Bilstein product as they both have standard spec dampers.

 

[Merce]

VB Air installed by local agent.
Cost around £4,300.
After initial bedding in period has worked brilliantly.
No problems experienced in 18 months.

Hi Trevor who fitted your VB Air please?

 

[Trevor Brown]

HOME

www.leisuretechnicalsolutions.co.uk

 

[HectaTheSpecta]

Lots of air options on the Market

Airlift
AccuAir (recently back in the market from going backrupt!)
HybridAir

i can’t comment on VB air as I don’t know much about them.

Depends what you want and there’s many suppliers and fitters out there, Plush Automotive / StillStatic.

I elected for Coilovers over Air as I have an existing vehicle on Air which is primarily for looks rather than function.

These are of course aftermarket and from hearing other people’s experiences they are prone to issues (freezing lines during the winter because of moisture in the system in extreme cold temperatures, fuses blowing and on the rare occurrence bags rupturing)

if I were going air on my Cali, my choice would be Airlift as there’s a wealth of knowledge out there or possibly Hybrid as it can be integrated into DCC

 

[Nand0]

Apologies for a bit of necromancy. I went to test ride a Cali today that had VB Air fitted already, and I'm unsure if it's faulty or it's working as it should.

As I was driving around, I noticed that the compressor was kicking off every now and then, and the air suspension seemed to be adjusting as I drove.

I thought the VB Air allowed you to set the ride height, and would do nothing unless you pressed a button. The dealer tells me that it's actually an active system, and is continuously adjusting the pressure in the bellows.

He doesn't have much experience with VB Air though, apparently they normally install Goldschmitt, which he claimed is better for offroading.

Is VB Air supposed to do this? or is this indicative of some problem in the system? like a leak somewhere... leaking bellow perhaps?

Tx

 

[B J G]

VB constantly monitors ride height, as do most air systems, and adjust as necessary. Compressor shouldn't be noticeable although VB only has a small air tank. You can override the auto mode.

 

[Nand0]

VB constantly monitors ride height, as do most air systems, and adjust as necessary. Compressor shouldn't be noticeable although VB only has a small air tank. You can override the auto mode.

Hi B J G, thanks for the info

Why would the ride height change while driving though? if weight is constant (lets ignore burnt fuel) and there's no leaks in the system, surely the ride height shouldn't change?

Or is it actively engaging as you corner?

The compressor wasn't overly obtrusive, but as the stereo was off, I did notice it subtly. Then I rolled the window down and I could hear it starting and stopping. I think I also heard some hissing, like when it lets air out, intermittently. I was on some back roads, 50km/h and 80km/h zones, with a few bends.

I just found the manual online, off to see if I can find answers to my questions.