VB Air suspension - good?

[B J G]

Hello everyone ;
First sorry for my bad english language, i’m french and asked to google translate help me for translation ! ;-)

About the question: I didn't install Vb air suspension... so i regret now !

I allow myself to post this post to tell you about my very bad experience with airride uk products. Knowing that there may be confusion with different companies with a similar name ( airide airride ... .. etc) based in different countries, I put here the link of the kit that I bought to avoid any ambiguity on the establishment and the offending products:

AirRide Air Suspension.

The Main UK Based Air Ride Suspension Distributor & Specialist. Shop for plush AirRide kits for cars, vans, motorhomes, pick-ups and a full range of components.

airride.co.uk

I received my order in 2 parts (for a VW T5 4motion) The first containing the set "compressed air" (compressor, air tank, fittings, electronic management module, air hoses ....) at Airlift (model 3H / P); then the 2nd part containing the air and air suspension suspensions manufactured by AirRide. Auto mechanic over 30 years and with the necessary tools I was able to install this complete kit without much difficulty, at least for the part "compressed air" Airlift providing a clear and very detailed instructions. The AR suspension part was however more difficult to install because it is necessary to cut and drill the AR suspension arms and from photos transmitted on an attached document but without precise dimensions. I had to ask airide also elbow fittings instead of straight fittings delivered in the kit that do not allow the connection of air hoses in a mechanically acceptable way. I had to ask various small missing accessories that were sent to me without additional cost. These little details started to alert me to the "pro" side of the kit design because I thought I would get a plug and play set ready for installation, but there was not even a single nomenclature. only to check the contents of the set.
Once the rear air cushions installed I realized an apparent purely mechanical anomaly in this sense or the AR flange bends on itself at an imposed angle between the frame and the suspension arm, making the upper part of the coil compresses on the lower part thus causing friction between the two parts.

View attachment 51547 View attachment 51548
View attachment 51549
The assembly finished it was very difficult to adjust the pressures AV / AR because the no adjustment procedure is provided, it is only after an exchange of mails with Airide that basic values m ' have been communicated in order to be able to do my set up. After a lot of road tests at different pressures, I arrived roughly to get an acceptable suspension but not at the level of the original suspension! Unfortunately we must find a compromise by adjusting the pressure between comfort and height of the vehicle because contrary to what I thought it is not possible to use the vehicle in high or low position it becomes undriveable and absolutely uncomfortable !
I had acquired this kit for my T5 4motion fitted out in camper van for use "high" in paths and low on road / highway (and incidentally to put the vehicle of level in parking). Great disillusion because after only 370 kms of road use the rear right cushion burst on a roundabout following friction on the upper part with the chassis! In the end nothing surprising given the design of this montage for which Airide did not want to know evoking a bad editing on my part ,,, a height! In short you will understand I strongly advise to install this material whose use in my opinion is only to "parading and play" in tuning style! Since I installed a lift suspension kit Eibach with reinforced metal springs and tires in 235/65/17,,, which gives me whole satisfaction!

Perhaps this Italian kit would have been better, too late now.

Pardon our interruption...

I went for APBilstien with E-Level control and VIAIR Compressor. Negative being that it lowers the maximum height possible.

 

[Ksar-el-kebir]

Has anyone out there fitted VB Air suspension system on their California?

I have a 4 motion, which if anything is actually lower than standard although I believe the 4motion should actually be slightly higher than the 2wd version as stock from VW.

So, although the 4wd seems good from the very short 'test' driving in snow in the lake district this january, the ground clearance is pretty poor.

Clearly the promise of flull air suspension, the ability to raise for rougher roads, lower for motorways and the ability to 'self level' for sleeping all seems like a fine idea. But at £3.5k quite an investment.

Any thoughts, particularly if you have it fitted, much appreciated. Or alternatives of course...

Thanks

Stephen

My first California was a 2wd 150 which I bought as an ex demo. I had VB air suspension fitted including the self levelling which is relatively inexpensive compared to the total price.
I was so impressed that when I bought a new California 4motion 205 this time last year I had VB air suspension fitted. It’s been many places where ground clearance is a problem and ferries where 1.9 metre height is mandatory. Worth every penny. It wasn’t fitted by Rosmia but another accredited dealer nearer to where I live. Also they let you have the “old” parts to put on EBay or wherever you choose!

 

[greenfintry]

My first California was a 2wd 150 which I bought as an ex demo. I had VB air suspension fitted including the self levelling which is relatively inexpensive compared to the total price.
I was so impressed that when I bought a new California 4motion 205 this time last year I had VB air suspension fitted. It’s been many places where ground clearance is a problem and ferries where 1.9 metre height is mandatory. Worth every penny. It wasn’t fitted by Rosmia but another accredited dealer nearer to where I live. Also they let you have the “old” parts to put on EBay or wherever you choose!

We have VB on our 4Motion Ocean after having the same on an SE. The system makes a huge difference to the ride, height options and self levelling. It is quite expensive but so are the vans..... the clincher has been that VB are the only kit that doesn’t void VW warranty etc. Also a great source of relief when driving the 2m limit west Paris ring road tunnel!

 

[Eliot]

We have the VB air suspension under your 4Motion. Including the auto levelling, sports pre-set for highway (-2 cm), off-road pre-set (+ 3 cm) and parking garage pre-set ( -7 cm) and everything. Iceland off road planned for 2015. See this topic for our first off road experiences.

If you have specific questions, just send us a PM!

hi, I went to the link but it no longer seems to be there. I'm about to get the air suspension, are you still happy with it? I want to take my 4Motion Ocean T6 to some tougher to get to places. Thanks!

 

[kurienp]

hi, I went to the link but it no longer seems to be there. I'm about to get the air suspension, are you still happy with it? I want to take my 4Motion Ocean T6 to some tougher to get to places. Thanks!

Eliot, see if this link works in your browser.

4WD off road course with our 4Motion Cali

In another topic I promised to share some photo's and video's of our 4WD off road course last weekend. We have a slide show of some photo's And also a little video We did a full day's 4WD off road training with our Cali 4Motion. We looked like a bit of a strange duck amidst different types of...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Eliot]

Eliot, see if this link works in your browser.

4WD off road course with our 4Motion Cali

In another topic I promised to share some photo's and video's of our 4WD off road course last weekend. We have a slide show of some photo's And also a little video We did a full day's 4WD off road training with our Cali 4Motion. We looked like a bit of a strange duck amidst different types of...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

it does! thanks very much.

 

[bvddobb]

hi, I went to the link but it no longer seems to be there. I'm about to get the air suspension, are you still happy with it? I want to take my 4Motion Ocean T6 to some tougher to get to places. Thanks!

Hi Eliot,
Yes, we are still happy with it, and we have done many trips to 'tougher to get to places' with it. Some examples:

Seikel Off-road festival & training:

Iceland, roads & river crossings:

Norway: mountain roads:

Pyrenees:

 

[Eliot]

Hi Eliot,
Yes, we are still happy with it, and we have done many trips to 'tougher to get to places' with it. Some examples:

Seikel Off-road festival & training:

Iceland, roads & river crossings:

Norway: mountain roads:

Pyrenees:

hello Bart and Marga,

these are absolutely fantastic, I'm really impressed with the ability of your California. Thanks so much for sending these, now I'm definitely going ahead with the suspension change!

all the best,

Eliot

 

[bvddobb]

I'm really impressed with the ability of your California. [...], now I'm definitely going ahead with the suspension change!

Well, we’ve been to Monaco with it, too,
But there is more to it than just the suspension...

 

[BikesandOcean]

Hi,
As you have mentioned, I'm the member that's the accredited dealer for VB. We’re based in Sussex but we can organise collection/delivery anywhere in the UK.
You’ve pretty much discussed the main advantages of having the VB system fitted but also pointed out the minor drawback of the cost. Just to clarify our fitted prices are:
Full Air 4 corner: £4,366.00 inc VAT
Auto Level option: £255.00 inc VAT
We offer a 5% discount on the Full Air to VIP members of the VW California Club. Price would then be: £4,147.70 inc VAT. (The cost of the Auto Level is fixed).

It’s probably a good time to advise that this kit is factory approved by VW so there is no issue with it affecting your warranty. The warranty for the VB Air Suspension is fully covered and valid for 2 years or 150,000 km and can be carried out by any of the network of approved VB dealers which include the UK and most of Europe.
You also raised the question about transferring the system. Whilst there is a physical way of doing it, it would become fairly (I really mean massively) impractical when trying to remove the air bags. Putting it bluntly, the amount of parts that would need to be replaced and the amount of labour involved would make it a non-starter.
Please come back to me if you have any further questions.
Ryan.

hi have you contact details so we can discuss further please

 

[kurienp]

hi have you contact details so we can discuss further please

@Dadwithbeach , give them a call on +44 (0)1444 880022 or Ryan and team do reply quickly on info@rosmia.co.uk

more info here - https://www.rosmia.co.uk/

IMHO, a good investment.

 

[s2bear]

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.

Sorry if the answer to this is buried somewhere in this thread bu:

if VB raises the GVWR to 3250kg and you opt to ‘replate’, are there any caveats such as you’re limited to 60 mph on the highway as in some T32 commercials?


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[zeratul]

In my country, Belgium, the air suspension did NOT allow the GVWR to be increased to 3250kg. They did not accept that here.

 

[B J G]

Sorry if the answer to this is buried somewhere in this thread bu:

if VB raises the GVWR to 3250kg and you opt to ‘replate’, are there any caveats such as you’re limited to 60 mph on the highway as in some T32 commercials?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The increase in grosse weight is odd as when I had VB the installer said that it wasn't possible to increase the GVW and it also stated on VB's website at the time, 2017, that it didn't increase the GVW.
T32 uses a different front strut and hub to the T30.

 

[s2bear]

The increase in grosse weight is odd as when I had VB the installer said that it wasn't possible to increase the GVW and it also stated on VB's website at the time, 2017, that it didn't increase the GVW.
T32 uses a different front strut and hub to the T30.

That’s a good point you raise about the different front struts. Hadn’t thought about that. It is the case though, is it not, that you can chose to have the vehicle re plated to a higher GVWR when fitting VB Air in the uk ?


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[bvddobb]

We can only comment on the situation of our van in NL, and there it was a simple administrative issue, as the dealer had all the generic admission certificates re VB and max weight on our type of van to present to our RDW.

 

[B J G]

That’s a good point you raise about the different front struts. Hadn’t thought about that. It is the case though, is it not, that you can chose to have the vehicle re plated to a higher GVWR when fitting VB Air in the uk ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Only difference is that the steel spring is replaced by an air bag/spring no other structural upgrade or conversion is made.
I've not gone into the detail of UK Construction and Use regulations as to what needs to be adhered to with regards any change to the load carrying specifications of the axles.
Insurance would also be a factor as the potential risk in their eyes would be altered.

I've always thought that the DSG 4M should have a Factory option of being T32 based.

I found this source that you may wish to contact for info on what can be done.

Uprating

As you may be aware, the DVSA is paying close attention to the condition and weight of vehicles, because over recent years it has found that more and more of them are running overloaded. SvTech can uprate most makes and models of motorhomes, horseboxes, minibuses, pickups and LCVs;

www.svtech.co.uk

 

[bvddobb]

After 8 years and some 150.000 challenging kilometers (look for our off road travel stories on this forum to get an idea: Iceland, West-Alps, Pyrenees, etc.), we now have our first real wear issue: the front left has started to leak. Our van is up for replacing the complete left front suspension. Will be some € 1500 - 2000...

 

[kurienp]

After 8 years and some 150.000 challenging kilometers (look for our off road travel stories on this forum to get an idea: Iceland, West-Alps, Pyrenees, etc.), we now have our first real wear issue: the front left has started to leak. Our van is up for replacing the complete left front suspension. Will be some € 1500 - 2000...

@bvddobb , do you mean an air leak? If yes, what does it do - run the air pump more than required to regularly pump it up? Also, just replace the left front or replace both front to be on the safer side?

 

[bvddobb]

@kurienp : Yes, there is an air leak.

It leaks air between the bottom of the bellows and the flange. In a lower position (normal, sports) the bellows more or less 'folds' itself over the flange rim, and the leak is then covered and not so prominent. In a higher position (off road, or when in self leveling mode the front is lifted) you can hear the air hiss out, and you see the car lowering itself.

So, driving in sports or normal mode is still doable, although the compressor has to kick in more often then wanted, and in the long run that is not sustainable, the compressor may wear out. Off road and levelling is not really doable, unless we make sure that the left front has to be low when levelling .

 

[briwy]

Bart. do you not have the manual air connections under the bonnet. On our setup there are four terminals for an air line, one for each airbag so that in the event of a leak or compressor failure you can still pump up/let down the suspension units. It might have been an option, can't remember now.

 

[B J G]

Bart. do you not have the manual air connections under the bonnet. On our setup there are four terminals for an air line, one for each airbag so that in the event of a leak or compressor failure you can still pump up/let down the suspension units. It might have been an option, can't remember now.

Was an optional, belt and braces, option.
Not much help with a leaking airbag. Mainly for a system or compressor failure. You can feed air to each wheel suspension unit individually.

 

[bvddobb]

@briwy , @B J G : we have an early version of the system (we were ‘early adopters’), when manual air feed connections per wheel (for use with external compressor) and a reservoir tank were expensive add on options, we don’t have those.

We do have a seperate ‘central’ air feed in case the compressor fails.

But as BJG says: that doesn’t help when one of the bellows has a leak… It isn’t fatal, we can still drive, but as said, our compressor now has to work harder and more often than normal, so that is not sustainable in the long run. We will replace the left front system. Parts have been ordered.

Warranty was for 2 years or 150.000 km. We are well past those, and were quite often in circumstances that were challenging for any type of suspension … No real shock for us there! We don’t complain.

 

[kurienp]

@kurienp : Yes, there is an air leak.

It leaks air between the bottom of the bellows and the flange. In a lower position (normal, sports) the bellows more or less 'folds' itself over the flange rim, and the leak is then covered and not so prominent. In a higher position (off road, or when in self leveling mode the front is lifted) you can hear the air hiss out, and you see the car lowering itself.

So, driving in sports or normal mode is still doable, although the compressor has to kick in more often then wanted, and in the long run that is not sustainable, the compressor may wear out. Off road and levelling is not really doable, unless we make sure that the left front has to be low when levelling .

Thank you @bvddobb - the only issues that I have heard about is similar to yours - either the top or the bottom of the bellows leaking. Again, very few and very rare ... and as you say in one of your posts above - you have put the suspension through its paces and this is the best test of the suspension.

Do update once fixed ... on anything special they had to do to replace.

 

[witjesm]

Now it is even more difficult to wait until my Cali is delivered in January. Ordered beginning of the year and expected delivery was moved but seems on track now. Also included off road wheels as shown in the picture. After reading the stories of Bart and Marga i really can't wait.