VB Air suspension - good?

[Curtis]

Its great thanks Ryan works like a charm.

Thanks

 

[greenfintry]

Just got back our 4 motion 180 BHV manual Cali with VB air suspension fitted by central taillifts in Fife. They have done a very tidy job, and the change in on road ride is amazing. Originally we wanted this for self levelling when camping up and raise for going on rough roads in northern Scandinavia but quite a revelation when used on our local potholed roads

 

[bvddobb]

We scored another 'advantage' of the VB Air suspension today. We were able to officially raise the max technical and max allowed gross vehicle weight (GVW) from 3000 kg (standard for our Cali) to 3250 kg.

May not seem like a big deal, but our 4Motion Cali itself is already rather heavy. So, some time ago when we were with 4 adults and their luggage, 4 bicycles on the rack, a full fridge and clean water tank and a full gas bottle and reserve gas bottle, we put our Cali on a scale, and found we were 3300kg... Well above what is allowed (according to several forums) when tested: your max GVW + 5%.

Now that our max GVW is set at 3250 we would be well below GVW + 5% (3412 kg). Feels better, somehow!

We did not have to do any modifications or bring the car for tests or anything to the RDW (our equivalent of the MOT). It was a completely administrative process, due to the fact that VB and VW had already registered the combination as capable of bearing higher axle weights than normal with the authorities here. A local VB dealer arranged the whole process with the RDW for us.

 

[briwy]

We got the Cali back Tuesday night last week after having the air suspension fitted. Wednesday off up to Arran for the weekend.
Very impressed with it so far. There is no way that bumps are going to be eliminated in Cali but it is definitely smoother and the harshness and crashing on rough surfaces has gone together with much less roll on corners.
Brilliant at the campsite which was wet and soggy. No messing with the ramps grovelling about and getting filthy and moving the van up and down to get it level. Pressed the auto level button on the remote and a couple of minutes later there it was, absolutely level. Each corner does it's own thing to get it spot on. After a couple of days we relevelled it as the rear of the van had sunk into the boggy ground. Again a couple of minutes and nice and level again.
On the road it maintains it's exact ride height. It's so sensitive that when we stop and one of us gets out it recognises the weight difference and compensates.
Excellent job done by Mick Leightley at SAP near Doncaster.

 

[sc52]

We got the Cali back Tuesday night last week after having the air suspension fitted. Wednesday off up to Arran for the weekend.
Very impressed with it so far. There is no way that bumps are going to be eliminated in Cali but it is definitely smoother and the harshness and crashing on rough surfaces has gone together with much less roll on corners.
Brilliant at the campsite which was wet and soggy. No messing with the ramps grovelling about and getting filthy and moving the van up and down to get it level. Pressed the auto level button on the remote and a couple of minutes later there it was, absolutely level. Each corner does it's own thing to get it spot on. After a couple of days we relevelled it as the rear of the van had sunk into the boggy ground. Again a couple of minutes and nice and level again.
On the road it maintains it's exact ride height. It's so sensitive that when we stop and one of us gets out it recognises the weight difference and compensates.
Excellent job done by Mick Leightley at SAP near Donc

Sounds great. Waiting to order a T6....this will be the first upgrade.

 

[Crellster]

We've had a vb rear kit on our Caravelle for almost 5 years. It's been faultless apart from one of the rear shocks went recently. About 380 inc vat for both corners IIRC, and negligible labour to fit.

 

[mordav]

Just to make sure I understand this correctly, do you end up with four presets:

• standard (which is actually a bit lower than the factory springs based on the roof height measurements given here)
• motorway, approx 2cm lower than standard
• off road, approx 3cm higher than standard
• parking, approx 7cm lower than standard

Also how quickly does the height change, can you e.g. drop from motorway to parking level in a couple of seconds?

Also where does the controller for this get located?

Thanks David

 

[briwy]

Just to make sure I understand this correctly, do you end up with four presets:

• standard (which is actually a bit lower than the factory springs based on the roof height measurements given here)
• motorway, approx 2cm lower than standard
• off road, approx 3cm higher than standard
• parking, approx 7cm lower than standard

Also how quickly does the height change, can you e.g. drop from motorway to parking level in a couple of seconds?

Also where does the controller for this get located?

Thanks David

That's pretty much correct David.
The standard ride height can be set by the installer to your preference (I'm going to get ours reset slightly lower as we nearly always run in Sport mode as it prevents some body roll, especially when fully loaded)
Going from one mode to another takes about 15/20 seconds and can only be done stationary or very low speeds.
Autolevelling takes a up to a couple of minutes and is done with the ignition off. The van lowers itself and then each corner sorts itself out until it is absolutely level. Iv'e checked it a few times with a spirit level and it's spot on. It also makes the van lower so it's easier to get up/down the step.
There are also a couple of buttons which can be programmed to suit any individual preferences you have and you can also raise and lower manually with up/down buttons. This can make the van higher/lower than the standard settings.
The controller on ours sits in the drivers seat pocket but you can have it fitted pretty much where you want during installarion.
We have now done about 8k miles with it fitted without any problems.
I believe it also slightly uprates the load carrying capacity of the van but this isn't publicised.
I took the van back to our installer to have emergency valves fitted under the bonnet. (so that if the compressor fails you get get an air line on to blow up each corner if it is in a low/levelled mode) and asked what failures he has had. Two compressors and one suspension unit from a guy with a work T5 regularly loaded up with tools and equipment making the van weigh arbout 4.5t. This is over hundreds of installations he has done so it seems extremely robust.

 

[sdes]

Autolevelling takes a up to a couple of minutes and is done with the ignition off. The van lowers itself and then each corner sorts itself out until it is absolutely level.

I'm just wondering, does that mean if you were in a roughish campsite, and it lowers itself, you could end up with the van 'grounding out' before lifting itself back up again? Could cause damage I would think if that were the case.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[bvddobb]

Well, the car doesn't lie itself flat on its belly, but of course when you lower the car you have to make sure you have room enough underneath.


Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met behulp van Tapatalk

 

[briwy]

Exactly.
As with any other operation with a vehicle you need to take care.
We have been on quite a few rough sites since having it fitted and have never had a problem. I think it helps that unlike some motorhomes the overhangs from the wheels on the Cali are that big.

 

[estresao]

Hi, I've one more question, how does this system impact in the transmission wearing? My question is because I guess when you lift or down the Cali bearings' angle will also change.

Looks like that (good) fixed height systems based in springs used to lift also include some parts to adjust the differential height to keep the factory angle.

There are some information about that?. Thanks

 

[Tommy Gun]

This all looks & sounds very useful & impressive. I think I would love this but I will have to wait quite a while. Hope Santa's reading this post.

 

[briwy]

Hi, I've one more question, how does this system impact in the transmission wearing? My question is because I guess when you lift or down the Cali bearings' angle will also change.

Looks like that (good) fixed height systems based in springs used to lift also include some parts to adjust the differential height to keep the factory angle.

There are some information about that?. Thanks

I enquired about the drive shaft angles before we had it fitted as obviously these will vary with ride height.
Basically if in off road mode you are should do no more than 20mph so less stress on the drive shaft components.
The angles apparently remain within VW specified tolerances at all times as well which is one reason the system is approved by VW.
The rear diff isn't touched at all by this system. If the diff was made to go up and down then the propshaft universal joint angles would vary which I guess is not allowed for in the design unlike the driveshafts which have CV joints allowing for greater varying angles.
When the system is fitted you can specify what ride height you want. We had ours set at the standard height which the system maintains regardless of loading so in theory you should get less wear on the drive shafts than standard spring suspension. I suppose that in this respect when you lower the van it's better than having a permanently lowered setup with springs.

 

[estresao]

I enquired about the drive shaft angles before we had it fitted as obviously these will vary with ride height.
Basically if in off road mode you are should do no more than 20mph so less stress on the drive shaft components.
The angles apparently remain within VW specified tolerances at all times as well which is one reason the system is approved by VW.
The rear diff isn't touched at all by this system. If the diff was made to go up and down then the propshaft universal joint angles would vary which I guess is not allowed for in the design unlike the driveshafts which have CV joints allowing for greater varying angles.
When the system is fitted you can specify what ride height you want. We had ours set at the standard height which the system maintains regardless of loading so in theory you should get less wear on the drive shafts than standard spring suspension. I suppose that in this respect when you lower the van it's better than having a permanently lowered setup with springs.

Thanks briwy, it make sense.

 

[bvddobb]

Briwy said it!

 

[bvddobb]

Hi, I've one more question, how does this system impact in the transmission wearing? My question is because I guess when you lift or down the Cali bearings' angle will also change.

Briwy said it!

However, estresao has a good point! This is what Seikel write on their site about their lift kits:

• The lift kit may shorten the expected service life of the drive shafts!

I think another advantage of the air suspension system here is that you only raise or lower your van when you need to. Most of the time you will drive in 'normal' position, probably, because most of the time you will drive on normal roads. So most of the time your drive shaft has a 'normal' angle, with less wear.

With a permanently lifted or lowered van, your drive shaft is 'at the wrong angle' permanently, thus causing more wear.

 

[estresao]

I'm not thinking on that point as a factor to bear in mind if you are deciding whether to install Seikel or VB Air Suspension, because with the difference of money between them you can replace several times drive shafts, but at least it's nice to know if you chose VB Air Suspension will virtually no impact on the drive shaft life span.

 

[zeratul]

Question for the VB Air suspension owners.
One of the disadvantages of Calli with current standard suspension, when children sleep in the pop top and we sleep downstairs, is that when one child turns around in his bed during the night (can't teach them to do that gently and nicely), the entire car sort of bounces. It's so bad that me and my wife sometimes wake up from this.
Could we, with VB Air suspension improve this behavior? I guess when the car is in the lowest setting, the car wouldn't bounce as much, correct? But in auto level... how high does it go: from the lowest setting to as high as it needs to level the car, or from a standard/normal setting and then adjusting opposing sides?
If VB Air Suspension can improve our sleeping experience, it would help justifying the 5K eur investment a little more.

 

[briwy]

Question for the VB Air suspension owners.
One of the disadvantages of Calli with current standard suspension, when children sleep in the pop top and we sleep downstairs, is that when one child turns around in his bed during the night (can't teach them to do that gently and nicely), the entire car sort of bounces. It's so bad that me and my wife sometimes wake up from this.
Could we, with VB Air suspension improve this behavior? I guess when the car is in the lowest setting, the car wouldn't bounce as much, correct? But in auto level... how high does it go: from the lowest setting to as high as it needs to level the car, or from a standard/normal setting and then adjusting opposing sides?
If VB Air Suspension can improve our sleeping experience, it would help justifying the 5K eur investment a little more.

I don't think it makes much difference to be honest.
When it auto levels it initially drops to the lowest level. Each wheel then goes up until the vehicle is level.
Obviously depending how you are parked will affect the height from the ground. Sometimes the step can be quite high off the ground and vice versa. The van is still supported by the suspension which isn't locked in position so will still rock a bit with movement inside.
You're quite welcome to try it at a meet or if you're around here anytime.

 

[WelshGas]

Question for the VB Air suspension owners.
One of the disadvantages of Calli with current standard suspension, when children sleep in the pop top and we sleep downstairs, is that when one child turns around in his bed during the night (can't teach them to do that gently and nicely), the entire car sort of bounces. It's so bad that me and my wife sometimes wake up from this.
Could we, with VB Air suspension improve this behavior? I guess when the car is in the lowest setting, the car wouldn't bounce as much, correct? But in auto level... how high does it go: from the lowest setting to as high as it needs to level the car, or from a standard/normal setting and then adjusting opposing sides?
If VB Air Suspension can improve our sleeping experience, it would help justifying the 5K eur investment a little more.

Why not use 2 x cheap scissor or bottle jacks , 1 each side under a jacking point. Thats what some Motorhome owners use to minimise this problem. Cheaper than Air Suspension

Motorhome steadies

 

[zeratul]

Great idea. Why didn't I think of this myself.
Cali already has one jack, just need to buy a second one. Only disadvantage is that It takes space.

 

[kave]

I think there are some hydraulic jacks on f1 cars and large motorhomes.

 

[WelshGas]

Great idea. Why didn't I think of this myself.
Cali already has one jack, just need to buy a second one. Only disadvantage is that It takes space.

Yes, but £20 v £5000 for Air Suspension focuses the mind.

 

[WelshGas]

You need to stop the body moving on the Suspension and Air Suspension won't do that unless it is pressurised to a very high pressure. Some form of Jack or Adjustable Axle stand under the jacking points would do that though.