Suspension comfort upgrades for 4motion 6.1 2022 California

[markheathcote]

Hi all,

Hoping for some advice. I have factory suspension on my 4motion with diff lock option. Although the ride isn't bad, I do go up tracks with potholes - I am looking to understand the pros/cons for options for improving the ride on the road and off the road... I am not interested in lowering or raising.

From what I have read, good options seem to be Koni active shocks (keeping existing springs), Bilstein shocks of some description (keeping existing springs). I spoke to my dealer who says that they only fit Eibach coil over kits - but I know nothing about these and I suspect they relate to lowering rather than comfort.

So for comfort purposes, does anyone have experience of the options above?

Many thanks,

 

[Betsycalifornia]

I’ve got experience of Eibach springs on Bilstein shocks. Not On a VW though.
highly recommend the quality of both. Comfort and handling heavily improved on a 207.

 

[BrendanJ]

Hi I had Koni active shocks fitted, original springs but also had H&R anti roll bar, like you was not interested in higher ins or lowering, just wanted to improve handling which I found quite disconcerting.
It was rolling too much into bends, motorway slip roads even roundabouts, was very light on front end, too bouncy, made dog sick in the back, and all round I couldn’t live with it.
CRS advised and fitted, plenty of recommendations on here for CRS
And has completely transformed the van, I love to drive it now
Check them out
They will advise what is best for your van based on your requirements, a rare thing

 

[Trebor]

I’ve got t32 springs all round , Bilstein b6 all round and BFGoodrich Ko2 . Dramatic improvement .

 

[CaliforniaSeb]

I just got back from CRS performance in Cannock. Kept it simple on my 22 t6.1 ocean, just four koni shocks . I can recommend CRS and the koni's very highly.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I got the Konis fitted by CRS 6 months ago. I would say they do zero for ride comfort and generally firm up each corner maybe 50% meaning you feel more confident going into corners. I wouldn’t call it a transformation.

I have a 15 year old California and CRS said one of my shocks was leaking a bit so it seemed a reasonable upgrade on an older van. I was hoping for ride improvement but they don’t do that at all from my experience. I would say the van is 50% more enjoyable to drive but still a million miles from a decent car.

CRS have a formula which they claim will transform your van. From my experience it didn’t. It improved the handling a bit.

Perfectly decent guy but he has a formula. I read a fair bit on forums before driving 3 hrs to CRS. I would say a lot of it was self-justifying nonsense.

I would be wary of changing from what VW engineers intended your van to have. It’s always going to be a Transporter. It’s never going to be a BMW.

Anyway ride is a different thing altogether.

 

[andyinluton]

I got the Konis fitted by CRS 6 months ago. I would say they do zero for ride comfort and generally firm up each corner maybe 50% meaning you feel more confident going into corners. I wouldn’t call it a transformation.

Anything that stiffens the suspension is going to make potholes worse, softening it is going to make it worse on road.

The only way to solve it is to get a van with the adjustable suspension option.

 

[sidepod]

I got the Konis fitted by CRS 6 months ago. I would say they do zero for ride comfort and generally firm up each corner maybe 50% meaning you feel more confident going into corners. I wouldn’t call it a transformation.

I have a 15 year old California and CRS said one of my shocks was leaking a bit so it seemed a reasonable upgrade on an older van. I was hoping for ride improvement but they don’t do that at all from my experience. I would say the van is 50% more enjoyable to drive but still a million miles from a decent car.

CRS have a formula which they claim will transform your van. From my experience it didn’t. It improved the handling a bit.

Perfectly decent guy but he has a formula. I read a fair bit on forums before driving 3 hrs to CRS. I would say a lot of it was self-justifying nonsense.

I would be wary of changing from what VW engineers intended your van to have. It’s always going to be a Transporter. It’s never going to be a BMW.

Anyway ride is a different thing altogether.

Well done. Someone who can see past the bollox.

 

[HowieDog]

We had Eibach coilovers. Would have them again. Very compliant ride, managed to make the ride more comfortable as well as more taut, if that makes sense. Much less wallowing/roll but managed that without introducing any harshness.
Bognor Motors fitted but they are now available through VW can centres.

 

[66tim99]

also had H&R anti roll bar

There is no need to upgrade the MY22 ARBs. When Steve at CRS took my ARBs off, the first MY22 he’d seen, he realised they had been upgraded at the factory. I still fitted the H&R bars, but it only added 2mm (I believe) which was close to imperceptible in performance.

(Just a note to those reading this intending to spec a new van. Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) is a good value option to help improve the ride from the factory. It adds a button on the dash to select one of 4 levels of suspension stiffness. It also weights up the steering. I’m glad I have it, use it all the time.)

 

[markheathcote]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and views - I knew it wouldn't be easy... here is what I said to CRS and their reply:

"I have factory shock and springs, and do not want the van raised or lowered - it is at factory height. I drive mostly roads, but sometimes fields and tracks (with pot holes)... So I am looking for ride comfort primarily to reduce car sickness for dog on back seats and to make it less harsh on poor roads / tracks."
"Q - what would you propose? A - KONI with out doubt"
"Q - would the difference be significantly noticeable? A - Significantly better"

So I have booked in but will reserve judgment and will give my feedback here. I am trying to think of a way of practically measuring bounce and other aspects before and after so would welcome any ideas on that. Full glass of water on my lap?

 

[sidepod]

Perhaps you should be asking the question what is in the construction of the replacement damper that makes it superior to the stock unit?
Is the valving better? Does it have better shim stacks etc.
I guarantee the vendor won’t be able to tell you.

VW spend countless hours pounding around test tracks like MIRA and Nardo tweaking chassis setup, spring rates, suspension geometry etc.
In the end they settle on the best compromise for all conditions.

The fact that people think they can improve on this with the addition of something that has had a lot less development time is farcical.

British roads are the problem, not the chassis.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and views - I knew it wouldn't be easy... here is what I said to CRS and their reply:

"I have factory shock and springs, and do not want the van raised or lowered - it is at factory height. I drive mostly roads, but sometimes fields and tracks (with pot holes)... So I am looking for ride comfort primarily to reduce car sickness for dog on back seats and to make it less harsh on poor roads / tracks."
"Q - what would you propose? A - KONI with out doubt"
"Q - would the difference be significantly noticeable? A - Significantly better"

So I have booked in but will reserve judgment and will give my feedback here. I am trying to think of a way of practically measuring bounce and other aspects before and after so would welcome any ideas on that. Full glass of water on my lap?

Don’t let him add spacers to the rear.
Big no no.
Have a search, been done to death. I’m sick over going over it, without some numpty thinking a back street Garage knows more than a manufacturer…

 

[markheathcote]

Don’t let him add spacers to the rear.
Big no no.
Have a search, been done to death. I’m sick over going over it, without some numpty thinking a back street Garage knows more than a manufacturer…

no spacers suggested and I will ensure that doesn't happen.

 

[Damon18]

We invested in new Koni Special Active shocks for the front and rear as well as H&R Anti Roll bars for our VW California T6.1 all fitted by CRS Performance in Cannock.
What a difference they have made to the handling & comfort compared to the original OEM fitment.
The other half has done most of driving (>1000km) since the fitting took place and she is astonished at the transformation (especially body roll and comfort over road joints).
Excellent advice from Steve, and fitting by CRS Performance in Cannock.
Well worth contacting Steve for advice.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

no spacers suggested and I will ensure that doesn't happen.

It wasn’t discussed with me either, but the moment I arrived his mechanic started measuring the gap between the wheel centres and the wheel arch and saying it needed raising 40mm at the rear I recall. I insisted I frequently needed to be able to go under 2m barriers and in the end he put spacers in and raised it about 25mm.

It is absolutely a key part of his formula that will ‘transform your van’.

I’m not unhappy with the work. As I say, my shocks were 15 years old and I believe Koni make good products. Raising the rear hasn’t done any harm for me but you’ll probably have to insist on him not doing it.

 

[owen_h]

I had Koni Special Active shocks fitted to my Beach last Jan, and at the same time new (std) bushings and top mount bearings fitted. I had previously (8 yrs ago) lowered the van with H&R -40springs.
There was a very noticeable improvement to ride quality and bump control with the Koni's. The garage was a transporter specialist and I was the first customer they had fitted the Koni's for. After the mechanic had done a test drive he took the boss for a further test to show him the improvement.
Will freely admit that the improvement I have is in part due to making ride quality worse with -40 springs and the std shocks (which were 50k miles old). Might not be as dramatic with std springs (better matched to the std dampers).

 

[soulstyledevon]

It wasn’t discussed with me either, but the moment I arrived his mechanic started measuring the gap between the wheel centres and the wheel arch and saying it needed raising 40mm at the rear I recall. I insisted I frequently needed to be able to go under 2m barriers and in the end he put spacers in and raised it about 25mm.

It is absolutely a key part of his formula that will ‘transform your van’.

I’m not unhappy with the work. As I say, my shocks were 15 years old and I believe Koni make good products. Raising the rear hasn’t done any harm for me but you’ll probably have to insist on him not doing it.

Absolute numpty…!!!
I would avoid this guy, as he still insists he’s right and Volkswagen are wrong

 

[tedgina]

Perhaps you should be asking the question what is in the construction of the replacement damper that makes it superior to the stock unit?
Is the valving better? Does it have better shim stacks etc.
I guarantee the vendor won’t be able to tell you.

VW spend countless hours pounding around test tracks like MIRA and Nardo tweaking chassis setup, spring rates, suspension geometry etc.
In the end they settle on the best compromise for all conditions.

The fact that people think they can improve on this with the addition of something that has had a lot less development time is farcical.

British roads are the problem, not the chassis.

Yes he explains about the low and high speed damping

 

[sidepod]

Ah so now you’ve got a couple of extra twiddly knobs to play with, talk us through your setup, settings, how and why you arrived at them and why it’s improved your ride?

 

[pjm-84]

K14 Blistein Komfort coilover which replaced Eibach -30mm VW route which replaced standard suspension. The Eibachs were dreadful but some believe its a great option. The Komfort coilovers are superb but remember they followed on from the Eibach lowering springs.

Mine is lowered about 40 to 50mm so if you ran them at normal height then ride comfort would be even better.

 

[Montecha]

I have tried various combinations, the best that I have found are the KW v2, again from CRS. Adjustable ride height as well as adjustable compression and rebound damping. They are as good as you will get !

At the end of the day the foundation is a van and not a xxxxx - insert favourite car brand here.

I don’t think ARB stiffness is the issue, it’s how the corners react to small and large bumps - faster cornering isn’t aligned with a comfortable ride

 

[sidepod]

I have tried various combinations, the best that I have found are the KW v2, again from CRS. Adjustable ride height as well as adjustable compression and rebound damping. They are as good as you will get !

At the end of the day the foundation is a van and not a xxxxx - insert favourite car brand here.

I don’t think ARB stiffness is the issue, it’s how the corners react to small and large bumps - faster cornering isn’t aligned with a comfortable ride

So tell us what damping settings you chose and why?

 

[pjm-84]

3 back from fully in is alway good for me!

Lets not talk about motorbike setup....

 

[sidepod]

Yes but what I’m trying to gauge is, how does it shift the compromise setting that VW settled on.

Hi/Lo speed damping (nothing whatsoever to do with vehicle speed) is tricky enough on a motocross bike or mountain bike, let alone a builders van with a kitchen in the back.

Surely you end up with understeer or too much dive/pitch?