Air suspension

[362bkr]

Hi guys I have a factory Combi that carries no weight in it and I have no interest in raising it up or down . I just wondered if there was an air suspension product that provided a really soft comfortable ride . To be fair in nearly 7 years of ownership it’s all I’ve desired .

 

[t0mb0]

I think the general consensus is you don’t go for air suspension for pure ride quality, it’s more for the self-levelling type features. There are much cheaper ways of optimising ride quality but speak to a suspension specialist - there are a handful frequently recommended on the forum.

 

[MrSkip]

Speak to Chris @The Van Cave for expert advice

 

[362bkr]

I think the general consensus is you don’t go for air suspension for pure ride quality, it’s more for the self-levelling type features. There are much cheaper ways of optimising ride quality but speak to a suspension specialist - there are a handful frequently recommended on the forum

I think all the specialist are on holiday atm !

 

[F2JON]

Hi guys I have a factory Combi that carries no weight in it and I have no interest in raising it up or down . I just wondered if there was an air suspension product that provided a really soft comfortable ride . To be fair in nearly 7 years of ownership it’s all I’ve desired .

Being an air suspension van person, definitely don’t go for air for comfort . I run solow air but before that I had solow coilovers , the coilovers in my opinion were definitely more comfortable than air, so much so I’m considering going back to solow coilovers . Air is a novelty if you like to show your van , it has its uses to go on rough ground campsites you can raise it up but other than that the novelty wears off, but the issues being, cracked bags, leaky shocker, air leak …all fixed now but still puts doubt in my mind for reliability.

 

[B.different]

That's useful info. Was considering air after a week away with 6 people in and packed to the max. Felt a bit crashy and hard on the back end, but don't know if that is just because it was fully layden and reached the limit of the st coilovers. Did you run the solows fully layden at any point? If so what was the ride like?

 

[362bkr]

That's useful info. Was considering air after a week away with 6 people in and packed to the max. Felt a bit crashy and hard on the back end, but don't know if that is just because it was fully layden and reached the limit of the st coilovers. Did you run the solows fully layden at any point? If so what was the ride like?

I know there is a back end only air suspension kit available but not heard any reviews of it .

 

[Kind of Blue]

Having wanted air since buying our 199bhp T6 Caravelle Exec 4Motion + D/L but do not like the dampers on any I have seen recently. I wanted it for an off road tool to allow high lift for clearance and levelling and low enough for getting under barriers.. For on road use it would ride at the same height that I am at now. Have absolutely no interest in having my arse scrapping for posing. It would have been a facilitating tool. I would only have been interested in KONI adjustable or KW adjustable. The closest I got to that was some where in Germany forget the name but an off road specialist air supplier that once used KONI. No reason why it can not be comfortable at all it just needs good dampers with a good design. Very expensive however.

 

[CRS Performance]

There is indeed some one in Europe assembling air systems with KONI dampers , We dont know what damper however as they make them up them selves .

Correctly done at sensible heights the KONI will be more comfortable than any other air system , thats a given .

I did try to contact them a while ago , they didnt reply ( Maybe they didnt know we do a 100 Transporters a month ha ha )

 

[Kind of Blue]

There is indeed some one in Europe assembling air systems with KONI dampers , We dont know what damper however as they make them up them selves .

Correctly done at sensible heights the KONI will be more comfortable than any other air system , thats a given .

I did try to contact them a while ago , they didnt reply ( Maybe they didnt know we do a 100 Transporters a month ha ha )

yes that is correct I believe I posted up the link for you. Thing is I have never seen an air system close up in the flesh so I have no idea how the bags are supported and fixed on to the dampers. I presume that their is a platform that slides over the front struts and that is secured in some way to the strut by a screw or spot weld not really sure how it is done, perhaps it is just held in place under its own weight. I cannot envisage what the technical problems might be, non of the air system dampers was originally designed to carry air bags, they will have been made for traditional coil springs so some adaptation has allowed the fitment of air bags to the struts in place of coil springs. I believe that a KONI air suspension system would be a good seller. SEIKEL used to make an Air Suspension set up and it originally used the reactive type KONI Dampers. I was very interested but wanted to use the Adjustable KONI Dampers. 2019 or 2020 I rang him but his English is not so good and My German non existent I should have asked my wife to be the go between but it was my thing I could not explain properly to him and hew did not appear to bend over the dampers to be used I even suggested that I change the dampers my self so bing two sets of dampers but he would not bend and became a little irritated, language I think also he is heavily wrapped up in TUV Certification he would not explain what the difficulty was so we ended the conversation and I was very disappointed to say the least. The rear dampers would not have been the problem as the spring and damper is separate so it must be the interface of the strut but for the life of me I can not see what the difficulty might possibly be. More recently he offered a air lift system but it did not use KONI but Bilstein I think but now I have no idea if he has it or not perhaps he no longer supplies it.

By the Way @CRS Performance you suggested a little while back that KW does an electric lift That looks very interesting, I looked on their web site which is not very specific but I see that it works from the bottom of the strut??? to lift the whole thing that in conjunction with normal adjustable damper and adjustable spring might be fine for me and not to have air at all but an electro hydraulic lift together with the physical adjustable rotating collar coil lift that I think you already supply

So a KW fully adjustable Coil and adjustable damper the top version of suitable length and an electro - hydraulic lift all by KW.
You already supply the adjustable coil combined adjustable damper do you do the hydraulic lift????? That might do it? It is the adjust-ability that I am after not the air for its own-sake.

 

[DXX]

I’ve seen a few super low Transporters pogoing down the motorway at 80MPH plus, I assumed that the only way to get it that low is with air suspension.
Looked like a horrendous ride.

 

[F2JON]

That's useful info. Was considering air after a week away with 6 people in and packed to the max. Felt a bit crashy and hard on the back end, but don't know if that is just because it was fully layden and reached the limit of the st coilovers. Did you run the solows fully layden at any point? If so what was the ride like?

Yes, I’ve had it full of camping gear and people, because I have the 3h system it automatically sets the bags to the height that I normally drive at , yours is probably sat on the bump stops with hardly sny shock travel at the point your fully loaded hence it feels so crashy. With air the more air in the bags the harder it seems to get , so the more load the harder it feels , like a tyre that is over inflated .

 

[F2JON]

I’ve seen a few super low Transporters pogoing down the motorway at 80MPH plus, I assumed that the only way to get it that low is with air suspension.
Looked like a horrendous ride.

You can get them pretty low on coilovers too .

 

[Kind of Blue]

I’ve seen a few super low Transporters pogoing down the motorway at 80MPH plus, I assumed that the only way to get it that low is with air suspension.
Looked like a horrendous ride.

I have seen ultra low Transporters bouncing along also, looks well weird. Cannot be safe bouncing and combined with overstretch tyres could be an accident waiting to happen? No I am only interested for off road lift and and on road normal and be able to get under height restrictive barriers, the ability to level would be very appreciated but could forgo that if I had an easily adjustable lift very slight drop. Handling and safety are a priority.

I can see that the fashion for supper low is being replaced by the Swamper look and can imagine a whole new look of super high wobble 2wd very unstable being the thing. One of the reasons for not having air, had the vehicle since late 2019 is that I am unhappy with the choice of dampers no reason at all why air can not handle it is mainly about the dampers and people choosing the best height for on road use. It is a combination of supplier/fitter and the owner tinkering to achieve the most audacious look with bugger the safety attitude all for kudos, identity and belonging perhaps?

 

[Adam H]

I'm on air, unfortunately second kit after being cheap the first time. Im more than happy with my ride now ( solow air with height sensors ) I ride with an LVR bumper about an inch off the floor and so far *touch wood* I've not had to replace the splitter in 18 months and it rarely touchs the road.

That said, I can only compare it to the crashy stock suspension springs or solow coilovers ( which i thought were pretty good ) and i knew there was a compromise of wanting to be low, compared to stock suspension mine is miles better and drives more like a car.

If comfort is the desire though, then Air is a "different ride", certainly wouldnt say its uncomfortable, but on some road surfaces can be bumpy ( but better bumpy than stock suspension imo ).

You do have VB air which is more of a comfort and self leveling setup which i believe also doesnt void any warrenties, over trying to be slammed and sitting on the floor, but i couldnt comment as to if its comfy, the people I've spoke to say it is, but as I've found out more times than id like, what one service provider tells you, the next will tell you something else

 

[Adam H]

Being an air suspension van person, definitely don’t go for air for comfort . I run solow air but before that I had solow coilovers , the coilovers in my opinion were definitely more comfortable than air, so much so I’m considering going back to solow coilovers . Air is a novelty if you like to show your van , it has its uses to go on rough ground campsites you can raise it up but other than that the novelty wears off, but the issues being, cracked bags, leaky shocker, air leak …all fixed now but still puts doubt in my mind for reliability.

Can definately relate to that, Had my van since 2021 and unfortuantely the first actual problem with the van was last month with glowplugs, before that every single problem I've had has been down to poor information or poor fitting , not normally the products themselves ( Apart from Maxload air suspension, that was dog shite compared to solows )

 

[Kind of Blue]

When someone is riding that low, slammed" if that is the correct expression it might be one thing parking up for admirers but driving it like that surely their cannot be very much air to be riding on? One could hardly expect it to be very comfortable with little are and elastic bands for tyres, why not pump up the suspension for driving around, their must be a sweet spot in height comfort and handling.

Their used to be a trend on off road forums where a group of guys, quite young I recall had very basic 4x4 vehicles and they did the complete opposite to on here, they went for massive lifts and because they claimed it was to help with off road performance had ridiculously tall springs, then the put on tall an soft spring and ultimately took the dampers off altogether. At little over walking pace they wobbled about something awful and would pogo around. They might stand strait with no one in but as soon as a driver got in they had a pronounced lean and they not only drove at sites like that but the public roads as well and without dampers.

 

[Adam H]

When someone is riding that low, slammed" if that is the correct expression it might be one thing parking up for admirers but driving it like that surely their cannot be very much air to be riding on? One could hardly expect it to be very comfortable with little are and elastic bands for tyres, why not pump up the suspension for driving around, their must be a sweet spot in height comfort and handling.

Their used to be a trend on off road forums where a group of guys, quite young I recall had very basic 4x4 vehicles and they did the complete opposite to on here, they went for massive lifts and because they claimed it was to help with off road performance had ridiculously tall springs, then the put on tall an soft spring and ultimately took the dampers off altogether. At little over walking pace they wobbled about something awful and would pogo around. They might stand strait with no one in but as soon as a driver got in they had a pronounced lean and they not only drove at sites like that but the public roads as well and without dampers.

Riding with less air in the bags is much more comfortable, harder the bag, harder the ride. This probably isnt a great example because of the uneven ground in the photo, but this is generally my towing height, so ever so slightly higher than standard ride height but not by much ( Bear in mind there is people that drive alot lower, but im restricted because I like the big bumper and splitter )

But at that height, I can guarentee my ride is a million times better than stock VW suspension and alot of the cheaper coilovers, the only way i can describe it is stock is like driving around in a big wollowy chunk of metal that takes corners terribly and is hard and crashy over bumps, but riding at my height is more like driving a car with a more sporty suspension, but bouncier on rubbish roads granted, but its not harsh, on nice motorways etc its like driving on a pillow.

We're only talking the difference in say 20psi from rock solid to a nice looking and nice riding setup. If you want air suspension to be pumpped up while driving, then air isnt for you as it will be hard and id imagine a horrible drive similar to stock.

 

[Kind of Blue]

I agree that air bags full of air not good but little air not good either their must be an ideal height or psi. The stock suspension is not hard to better poor dampers overly hard springs because its basically a commercial meant for carrying load and that is true of the Caravelle also. It is better with a bit of load or and passengers.

 

[Pewt]

Thing is, there are too many variables in air suspension setups as they are built for the after market. You can’t say one shock would definitely be more comfortable than the other.

My van drives like shit when I’m 160mm down, you literally feel everything. At 100mm down though it’s very good.

As you increase or decrease pressure in the bag it's like you’re increasing or decreasing the spring rate. You’re also changing the position of the shock and therefore the available travel up and down dramatically as you change ride heights.

The sweet spot will be somewhere around the centre of the travel of the shock, assuming that the spring rate of the bag due to the pressure it’s holding being good for the damping characteristics of the shock and the weight of the van etc.

I'm sure there in not an air suspension kit that you can’t produce a comfortable ride with, but most of us just want to be dicks and run too low for it to matter