DCC Suspension - Ride too stiff.

[nova3uk]

Hi All, I hope maybe someone with a lot more knowledge than me may give me some advice.

I acquired recently a 2018 multivan bitdi, its generally a great van, but it came with the option of lowered suspension, without DCC. (2MH SUSPENSION/SHOCK ABSORPTION, LOWERED)

I am finding it just too stiff and uncomfortable to live with, I had driven a friends van and i found it much better, and just didn't realise how stiff this van was until i have needed to live with it. Where we live there is a quite a lot of rough roads in poor condition, so its really noticeable. It is also a bit wallowy in the corners.

I see 3 option so far;

1. I have an option to part exchange it for a 2020 T6.1 which has DCC, amongst other extra options. For about an extra 18k Euro on top.
2. Replace the suspension.. But what difference will it make? (I have seen for example the bilstein komfort kit for circa 1800 Euro + fitting)
3. Live with it because it won't get better :/

I am open minded to changing the suspension, if I can find a decent garage to do it as there is no one nearby, my nearest major city will be Berlin area, so there must be options, but before I get into that there is a lot of kits available, and whilst I am not trying to lower it, I won't be unhappy if it is lowered a little more, but the major driver is to improve the ride comfort substantially if possible.

It's sitting on 235/55 R17 tyres, so it's not because I have big allows and low profile tyres

Many many thanks in advance for any tips/recommendations!

 

[Skyliner33]

You might want to get in contact with @CRS Performance

 

[Crazymind]

If you are willing to pay 18k to get a t6.1 why don’t you spend 4/5k on yours and give it air ride? that’s limo comfort on 17” alloys! And you get the bonus to lower it for motorway cruise and higher it as you were driving a Range Rover.
Decent compromise is to get koni special shocks, ride will be much better for less than 1k.
You might want as well change tyres from
Commercial to SUV XL tyres. This change by itself makes the ride already better ( on premium tyres).

 

[Skyliner33]

If you are willing to pay 18k to get a t6.1 why don’t you spend 4/5k on yours and give it air ride? that’s limo comfort on 17” alloys! And you get the bonus to lower it for motorway cruise and higher it as you were driving a Range Rover.
Decent compromise is to get koni special shocks, ride will be much better for less than 1k.
You might want as well change tyres from
Commercial to SUV XL tyres. This change by itself makes the ride already better ( on premium tyres).

Air ride isn’t as comfy as a decent set of coilovers.

 

[Crazymind]

Got my eyes on Rhino. Drove one T6 with all the options available and it was gliding over potholes and speed bumps. That was two steps better than my (excellent) Koni special.

 

[eetmw]

I have a multiva, (Caravelle se) and am in a similar but opposite situation. The executive version is 30cm lower and I find ours lovely and comfy and don’t want to lose that but it does wallow and can be a bit crashy. My friend said just swap the springs to drop it by 20-30mm but I have no idea what this would do to the ride or if it’s the right thing to do.

good luck with yours

Cheers

Toby

 

[dubber36]

As has been said here many times before, it's the dampers that are the issue, so fitting springs that put them out of their optimum operating positions isn't going to help.

I've just had STX coilovers fitted. Yes they are firm, but very controlled and extremely smooth. Certainly not crashy then wallowy like the standard suspension. If you want to go a bit lower, then they are the best option (in my and many other people's opinion) If you are happy with the ride height, then there is also the Koni Special Active dampers. I've not tried them, buy many people rate them very highly.

 

[nova3uk]

If you are willing to pay 18k to get a t6.1 why don’t you spend 4/5k on yours and give it air ride? that’s limo comfort on 17” alloys! And you get the bonus to lower it for motorway cruise and higher it as you were driving a Range Rover.
Decent compromise is to get koni special shocks, ride will be much better for less than 1k.
You might want as well change tyres from
Commercial to SUV XL tyres. This change by itself makes the ride already better ( on premium tyres).

Thanks for your advice! I have been looking at the air ride, but I have only seen kits meant for lowering rather than standard height, maybe I need to investigate deeper, as I do not want to modify the car (cutting/grinding/welding) or stuff giant alloys on it - just make it more smooth like a mercedes ride than a stiffened up sports car

Cost wise, yes, its a lot more money, but i will get back more in the resale value later, car prices here drop pretty linearly, so in the end the gap between purchase price and sale price in the future shouldn't be much different. Whereas anything i spend on mods is never going to increase the resale value. That's why I am considering the options, spending max 2k to improve it I can swallow, but when it gets more expensive it becomes a bit too much of a project and I am not looking for that, although I can imagine its lots of fun!

I have a multiva, (Caravelle se) and am in a similar but opposite situation. The executive version is 30cm lower and I find ours lovely and comfy and don’t want to lose that but it does wallow and can be a bit crashy. My friend said just swap the springs to drop it by 20-30mm but I have no idea what this would do to the ride or if it’s the right thing to do.

good luck with yours

Cheers

Toby

Hi Toby,

I spoke to a couple of shops recently, they made some suggestions about the wallowy ride, main one being fit the H&N Anti Roll bars. But before I rush out and buy anything, I wanted to get some wisdom from people more experienced on these topics, and ideally who are not trying to sell me

For now looks like dampers are my first priority for my ride, maybe anti roll bars later, which sound much like your solution. Though they ain't cheap either.

I shall see where I end up!

Cheers,
Mike

As has been said here many times before, it's the dampers that are the issue, so fitting springs that put them out of their optimum operating positions isn't going to help.

I've just had STX coilovers fitted. Yes they are firm, but very controlled and extremely smooth. Certainly not crashy then wallowy like the standard suspension. If you want to go a bit lower, then they are the best option (in my and many other people's opinion) If you are happy with the ride height, then there is also the Koni Special Active dampers. I've not tried them, buy many people rate them very highly.

Thanks Dubber,

I have seen the Koni active dampers, I was surprised they were relatively well priced. I was not sure however if fitting them alone with the standard springs would be enough?

I can see from the threads most of course want to lower the car, but with the state of the roads round my way, i need to focus on ride comfort mainly, lowering is a nice addition although it is 20mm lower on the factory lowering kit already, and next to a mates van without it the ride height difference is very noticable.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[Crazymind]

Air ride is meant for slamming the Van on the ground. However your are not obliged to do so, you can keep the height as standard and just enjoy the S class ride comfort.
Air ride on Transporter makes them more desirable when time to sell and, for what I have seen they demand a higher price.

 

[dubber36]

I spoke to a couple of shops recently, they made some suggestions about the wallowy ride, main one being fit the H&N Anti Roll bars. But before I rush out and buy anything, I wanted to get some wisdom from people more experienced on these topics, and ideally who are not trying to sell me

One thing that I hadn't considered was that wallowing happens fore and aft, as well as side to side. My new coilovers have all but eliminated fore and aft weight transfer, therefore no more front end dipping under braking. Anti roll bars won't alter that. I had thought that I might upgrade the ARBs at a later date, but now there doesn't seem any need to.

 

[Skyliner33]

Air ride is meant for slamming the Van on the ground. However your are not obliged to do so, you can keep the height as standard and just enjoy the S class ride comfort.
Air ride on Transporter makes them more desirable when time to sell and, for what I have seen they demand a higher price.

The VB air that rhino have on their website will not slam the van, long way from it.
I had air on my last van and still say a decent coilover is a slightly better ride.