the ride on rough roads, need to upgrade suspension

[Neil I]

Hi,

I've looked at previous threads for suspension upgrades. We live part of the year in Moldova, where the roads are bumpy, sometimes.

Can you please tell me what parts I need to upgrade, for all four wheels, shocks, dampers, springs, coils, etc? I'm not totally clueless when it comes to mechanics, and I can do further research, I just need some guidance.

The wife has approved us heading for warmer weather so going to head out at New Year. I want to make sure the ride is good for the toddlers, so they feel comfortable in the back, not swinging and bouncing all over the place.

I wish I could get the ride as smooth as my wife's Audi Q5, is that even possible?

thanks you in advance!

 

[Neil I]

to be more specific, which dampers and springs make the ride better. any brands and models are appreciated.

 

[Slovenia]

I would only advice to slow down. It is a van and as such much heavier than a car. I drove in several parts of Balkans with very bad roads and the right way was to go slow and avoid the damaged parts of the road.
Here is a picture of a road in Albania. The average speed we had was 27 km/h.

 

[Neil I]

I would only advice to slow down. It is a van and as such much heavier than a car. I drove in several parts of Balkans with very bad roads and the right way was to go slow and avoid the damaged parts of the road.
Here is a picture of a road in Albania. The average speed we had was 27 km/h.

View attachment 11117

its a van with shitty suspension! thanks for the tip, but there are many heavier vehicles vans and trucks that have proper suspension, and can take a bump.

 

[WelshGas]

It is a vehicle built for the European Market NOT the outback, the 3rd world or seriously degraded roads.
If the suspension is so "shitty " then why didn't you buy one of these other vehicles then? Obviously a poor decision on your part.
There appears to be very little information about upgrading the T5's suspension for dealing with high speed travel on the type of roads you mention.
There must be a reason for that. Maybe because the suspension is not that " shitty " for normal use.

1. Are you overloaded? Have you weighed the vehicle when loaded?

2. Air Suspension.

3. Drive according to the road conditions.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

 

[snowy55]

Try slowing down, it's a van at the end of the day!

 

[Neil I]

It is a vehicle built for the European Market NOT the outback, the 3rd world or seriously degraded roads.
If the suspension is so "shitty " then why didn't you buy one of these other vehicles then? Obviously a poor decision on your part.
There appears to be very little information about upgrading the T5's suspension for dealing with high speed travel on the type of roads you mention.
There must be a reason for that. Maybe because the suspension is not that " shitty " for normal use.

1. Are you overloaded? Have you weighed the vehicle when loaded?

2. Air Suspension.

3. Drive according to the road conditions.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

It is a vehicle built for the European Market NOT the outback, the 3rd world or seriously degraded roads.
If the suspension is so "shitty " then why didn't you buy one of these other vehicles then? Obviously a poor decision on your part.
There appears to be very little information about upgrading the T5's suspension for dealing with high speed travel on the type of roads you mention.
There must be a reason for that. Maybe because the suspension is not that " shitty " for normal use.

1. Are you overloaded? Have you weighed the vehicle when loaded?

2. Air Suspension.

3. Drive according to the road conditions.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

It is a vehicle built for the European Market NOT the outback, the 3rd world or seriously degraded roads.
If the suspension is so "shitty " then why didn't you buy one of these other vehicles then? Obviously a poor decision on your part.
There appears to be very little information about upgrading the T5's suspension for dealing with high speed travel on the type of roads you mention.
There must be a reason for that. Maybe because the suspension is not that " shitty " for normal use.

1. Are you overloaded? Have you weighed the vehicle when loaded?

2. Air Suspension.

3. Drive according to the road conditions.

Probably not the answer you were hoping for.

Well, thanks, if there isnt much info, I will start doing the research.

Yes, unless its a brand new highway or road, she shakes, rattles, and rolls. Audi, land rover, toyota landcruiser, big ford econoline vans, chevrolet suburbans, almost every car, including the VW Toureg, have better stock suspension. For the price of the van, I'm 'shocked' at the 'shitty' suspension, LOL. VW should have done better.

That said, I love the van, but I would love it more if I didnt feel green sitting jn the back with seat all the way in the rear position. Its not so bad when I move the back seat to the forward position.

and no, not overloaded and not talking about off road, just sub-par roads, the ones that are found in most countries, including western Europe.

 

[Neil I]

And I driv

Well, thanks, if there isnt much info, I will start doing the research.

Yes, unless its a brand new highway or road, she shakes, rattles, and rolls. Audi, land rover, toyota landcruiser, big ford econoline vans, chevrolet suburbans, almost every car, including the VW Toureg, have better stock suspension. For the price of the van, I'm 'shocked' at the 'shitty' suspension, LOL. VW should have done better.

That said, I love the van, but I would love it more if I didnt feel green sitting jn the back with seat all the way in the rear position. Its not so bad when I move the back seat to the forward position.

and no, not overloaded and not talking about off road, just sub-par roads, the ones that are found in most countries, including western Europe.

And I drive slowly! Love the eco-friendly mileage of my 140 4Motion

 

[Slovenia]

The first thing to make it smoother is to correct the air pressure in the tyres, if it is not loaded. Also take into consideration that the suspension is made for smooth ride when fully loaded. All vans are much smoother when loaded and a bit harsh when empty.
What kind of wheels and tyres do you have? I have regular 16 inch steel wheels and they are fine.

 

[motacyclist]

I didn't think the Cali suspension was as bad as you describe, although as a rule the only test mine gets is going over speed bumps!

Might be worth checking one of your rear coil springs haven't broken, it's quite common these days and not just on the Cali. This happened to me and I only found out about it when the van went in for a service. Mine had broken at the end of the taper so it wasn't obvious.

 

[jts46]

I would only advice to slow down. It is a van and as such much heavier than a car. I drove in several parts of Balkans with very bad roads and the right way was to go slow and avoid the damaged parts of the road.
Here is a picture of a road in Albania. The average speed we had was 27 km/h.

View attachment 11117

This reminds me of the roads we drove on in Corsica this year.

John

 

[snowy55]

This reminds me of the roads we drove on in Corsica this year.

John

Similar to some of the roads in Morocco.

 

[GrannyJen]

Similar to some of the roads in Morocco.

Similar to some of the roads in Oldham

 

[jts46]

GJ
Or south derbyshire.

John

 

[MattBW]

When I drove around Berwick Upon Tweed, they had quite a lot of potholes, nothing as bad as that however. I remember sitting in the back for one journey and being a bit worried that the ride on my van was awful. Its twice as bad in the back as the front for a rough ride. I can understand how disappointing it can be, especially with a 4motion.

You may be best to find an experienced 4x4 suspension expert to give good advise, I am a bit clueless sorry but Ill ask my other half later as she was a offroad instructor.

I would have thought the 4Motion would be ideal for those conditions being designed for it but it seems not.

 

[WelshGas]

Most of the suspension upgrades etc: are designed to improve road holding at speed rather than cope with bad road surfaces, akin to off-road conditions.
The 4Motion is designed to give better traction, not better suspension to cope with poor road surfaces.
Softer, long travel suspension would help on rough roads but at the expense of good road holding on good surfaces at speed.

This company might be able to advise.

http://www.coastvw.co.uk/t5-4motion-lift-kit-for-desert-hd

 

[pjm-84]

What about air suspension?

 

[briwy]

We have air suspension and it does take some of the harshness out of the standard spring setup but it's still nowhere like a car. We didn't get it to improve the ride, that's just a side advantage. I don't think you are going to get much improvement by playing about with it as the whole geometry, not just springs and shockers, isn't designed for a limo type ride.
Can't say I disliked the standard ride anyway.

 

[Slovenia]

This reminds me of the roads we drove on in Corsica this year.

John

Yes, they are similar.

Similar to some of the roads in Morocco.

I am preparing to go to Morocco in January, but with a motorcycle.

 

[andyhull]

I agree about the ride being rough. my van finds bumps in the road that aren't there in anything else i drive, including my transit LWB hi top work van !!! i think some of it is because of the run flat tyres .But i've been in a few T 5's and none of them were great.
It looks like some people on here can't bear to admit that anything on their California's isn't perfect.

 

[bvddobb]

Can you please tell me what parts I need to upgrade, for all four wheels, shocks, dampers, springs, coils, etc? I'm not totally clueless when it comes to mechanics, and I can do further research, I just need some guidance.

We have written about it in other threads before: where many focus on the springs, suspension, stabilisers, etc, the first thing to look at are your tyres...

Much more of the comfort than people think depends on ones tyres. Most people feel discomfort at transversal bumps or ridges, etc. But the first shock there is absorbed by your tyres, not your suspension. If you have tyres that have a higher than necessary load index (i.e. stiffer sides than necessary), or lowered sides because of 'looks' (in our opinion a stupid trend to follow, from a comfort perspective), or are inflated more than necessary, all the investment in other suspension systems aren't going to help you: you will still find the ride uncomfortably bumpy... One set of tyres or the other can make a world of difference...

 

[fred]

Totally agree with this ^

16" wheels with correctly load rated tyres, inflated correctly.
Then look at coilovers or updated dampers

http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/bilstien-b14-coilovers-or-sell.4955/

 

[estresao]

If you want off-road suspension have a look to Seikel or VB Air Suspension.

A Cali is "double" heavier than a car.

 

[fred]

I'm not sure the OP is looking for off road capability, just a better ride on poor quality roads, no?

 

[snowy55]

I agree about the ride being rough. my van finds bumps in the road that aren't there in anything else i drive, including my transit LWB hi top work van !!! i think some of it is because of the run flat tyres .But i've been in a few T 5's and none of them were great.
It looks like some people on here can't bear to admit that anything on their California's isn't perfect.

Which run flat tyres do you use?