20” Wheels and Lowering Springs alone?
- Thread starter Simon4071
- Start date
10 mm which you would not notice on a van lots of pictures on here if you have a look
I'm looking at lowering my T6 T30 Kombi, it's running on 20's with 245/45/20 tyres. It's my daily driver and also use it at the weekend loaded with the kids and bikes, but other that going on holiday there won't be a substantial load in the rear.
I'm not going to drop it too far, I'd say 40mm max as I don't want to be messing with arches and clearance etc. I don't have the budget for the ubiquitous B14's so it's essentially as toss up between a set of 40mm H&R or similar springs or a set of Stance+ coilovers.
If you were looking at lowering your van and those were your two options, what would you do?
In the past I was seriously into Japanese modified cars, and used to do all my own work from suspension to complete engine (sump up) builds, so I now my way around this mechanically, so I'm considering doing the work myself and then taking it to get 4 wheel aligned (just read the thread on it on here). If I did do the work myself I could probably increase the budget to say the posher Stance+ or similar.
I'm not going to drop it too far, I'd say 40mm max as I don't want to be messing with arches and clearance etc. I don't have the budget for the ubiquitous B14's so it's essentially as toss up between a set of 40mm H&R or similar springs or a set of Stance+ coilovers.
If you were looking at lowering your van and those were your two options, what would you do?
In the past I was seriously into Japanese modified cars, and used to do all my own work from suspension to complete engine (sump up) builds, so I now my way around this mechanically, so I'm considering doing the work myself and then taking it to get 4 wheel aligned (just read the thread on it on here). If I did do the work myself I could probably increase the budget to say the posher Stance+ or similar.
Hi all.
I'm. Looking to lower my T6 full camper conversion. Just wanting to close the gap between the tyre and arch. It's on 20inch wheels.
I'd say probably 20mm at the rear and 40ish on the front
Any advice on the different spring weight ratings and photos would be great.
Thanks John
I'm. Looking to lower my T6 full camper conversion. Just wanting to close the gap between the tyre and arch. It's on 20inch wheels.
I'd say probably 20mm at the rear and 40ish on the front
Any advice on the different spring weight ratings and photos would be great.
Thanks John
Most lowering kits will take you lower than 20mm. We’ve fitted lots of B14 kits to campers that level them out and transform the handling. Especially as you’re running 20” wheels - put the wrong suspension on and it will be harsh I.e. springs only
Although this has been said many times, it's just worth repeating in the strongest way. Don't waste your money on just lowering springs. The chances are they won't get the camper level and won't reduce your arch gap enough to make you happy. They are often described as 'crashy' and uncomfortable, and not actually that cheap to buy and have installed.
As Bognor said, coilovers will give you much more in comfort, adjustment and value for money. B14s are always going to have a hardcore following on here because they are fantastic on big heavy Transporters. I'm running B14s currently, and my T6 does high miles and gets some proper usage. They have never failed and even 70k in, they still perform like the day they were fitted. There are several other coilover kits available at high and low budgets, most of these other kits will have someone or several members in here that are running them if you use the 'Search' box above.
Lastly, 20mm and 40mm might sound a lot, but in reality they won't look any different visually when fitted and you stand back.
OK, i'm maxed out on coilovers, but to give you an idea, i'm running 19" wheels and carry as much weight as a camper at the rear. Mine sits very level and drives more like a car, albeit a little stiff.
Welcome to the forum.
I agree with the above post that springs alone aren't going to improve the ride or help that much with the levelling....
I'm either going B14 or Koni adjustable with lowering / heavy duty rear springs, the B14's are good... and even fantastic on the right van but a lot of people with t32 or heavy camper conversions have experienced knocking issues.. Not all, but some which makes me wary... The ride is also a little harder and sportier....
I'm after comfort and better driveability and a solution more suited for a heavy camper set up... So i'm leaning towards the adjustable koni's with the correct adaptors and springs.
I'm either going B14 or Koni adjustable with lowering / heavy duty rear springs, the B14's are good... and even fantastic on the right van but a lot of people with t32 or heavy camper conversions have experienced knocking issues.. Not all, but some which makes me wary... The ride is also a little harder and sportier....
I'm after comfort and better driveability and a solution more suited for a heavy camper set up... So i'm leaning towards the adjustable koni's with the correct adaptors and springs.
@CRS Performance will be along later to comment. Steve’s business specialises in suspension. You can also search on suspension and crs performance.
My outlook on camper life is a little different to most and I have advised the correct way to do this many times on this forum . I am here to assist with solid advise and whilst I am in the business I feel I can speak with authority having seen the disasters that have come my way.
Spring rates are of primary concern when modding a van and must be up to the job . if you add weight , you must increase spring rate . Simply turning up the adjuster on a Coil over kit solves the Visual tail sagging problem only . ., In reality the rear spring is then pre loaded too much and the rear suspension runs out of travel way too soon ( harsh ride ) the bigger the spec of the van the worse this gets . Height adjustable suspension kits are designed to change ride height NOT carry more weight .
You will see comments about springs alone being bad , this is for 2 reasons :-
1 The people selling them don't know which is the correct spring to use for the mods and weight of the van , ( Discount sellers are rarely specialists ) I have helped more than half a dozen van owners who were sold the incorrect spring and the van didn't sit correctly .
2 Fitting sport lowering springs which are 20 % stiffer can not be controlled well by STANTARD shocks so the ride is crashy and poor . If sport shocks are used and adjusted correctly with the lowering springs the results are as amazing , and definitely better than coil overs but not too low ??
If you want the arch gap closed completely be warned this is too low and even with quality equipment there is very little comfort when off the motor ways.
Too low often gives the following problems
1 Poor wheel alignment which cant be adjusted out , Result poor tyre wear from Bump steer and incorrect camber and Toe
2 Drive shafts pushed to beyond manufacturers spec ( 7 % from Horizontal ) and CV cages breaking ( not covered by VW warranty )
This van drives superb and in my opinion looks spot on ( Sport shocks and sport springs correctly spec'd ) very practical and wheel alignment was PERFECT
Be carefull what springs you choose , most of them wont correct a sagging rear end , careful choice of parts needed to get this right
@CRS Performance What kind of drop is this from factory spec? I'm about to have a conversion done (roof, insulation, electrics with slidepod) and then want to ensure ride is correct. Nothing drastic, just close the wheel gap slightly and maybe go from the current 16” Claytons to something 18” with a tad more styling, but understated. Would be interested in knowing what's likely to be involved for a mild enhancement with ballpark cost if possible please.
Its a 40 mm drop . ( can vary by a few mm depending on the weight of the van and the spring strength we use ( we have 8 different kits to select from ) The parts you need are a set of KONI sport shocks a specific spring kit designed to negate camper sag at the rear.
approx £1000.00 all in including Vat supplied ( not fitted ) it will look like the picture above . Nice , the drive is superb handling much better and most important comfortable
If this is solely for the experts… @CRS Performance will tell you. But they’ll likely want to know what you are trying to achieve, what loads you run, what levels of comfort you’d expect, and what look you want.
Bigger wheels on a standard van will leave it looking like it’s on stilts. Fine if you’re going for the swamper look. Sports look inevitably means you’ll end up with low-profile tyres - especially at 20” - which in turn means a firm ride. Coupled with a spring changeout (and not shocks to match) and you’ll have your fillings rattling about.
There’s also the issue of the extra weight, which adds pressure on driveshafts/gearbox/MPG/speedo reading etc.
There’s plenty of info on this topic, which you’ll find with a simple search.
Edit to add:
Found some like threads. Have merged. See above posts.
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It isn’t the springs you need to worry about. its the standard shocks that don’t like the increase in un sprung weight .
Try it and see - if the ride isn’t good add proper shocks
