Help unpicking my van / suspension!

[DavieMac]

Evening,

Apologies if this has been asked before... I have spent the past few nights scouring countless threads / pages and to be honest, I think I'm even more confused now.

I'm trying to figure out what my van is / what relevance the axle weights have / if the current suspension is 'correct'.

It's a 2014 T5.1 and is logged as a T30
It's plated at 3000kg so the T30 bit is correct... front axle weight is 1680kg and the rear is 1600kgs (this confused me as that adds up to 3280kgs so I wondered if it was a T30!)

Prior to my ownership, it had "as new" VW suspension fitted, no coincidence that there was a conversion company opposite where the previous owner worked, however having again confused myself reading endless threads, I'm starting to wonder if it has T30 suspension fitted.

Front shocks are 7LA 413 031 M with grey / grey / grey /green springs... the internet would suggest these shocks are T32 spec (?) and the springs possibly 4 Motion derived?

Rear springs look like they should be on a Scania and have a purple ident mark... rear shocks, no idea as they look like they've been dragged off the sea bed.

Ride height is hilarious, front sits at 440mm arch to hub centre and the rear is 450mm. No wonder my kids get altitude sickness in it. And fractured spines.

What's thrown me is that I "thought" T28 and T30 front struts were the single pinch bolt through the hub carrier and the T32 has the double bolts with flanges built into the lower part of the strut... and that's what I have on mine, but mine is a T30? I'm now completely confused and wondering if somebody has swapped the front hubs / full front end for T32 stuff?

Appreciated

 

[phazer]

That's pretty much standard ride height. Your front struts look like this (ignoring colour/brand)?


It's not unusual for VW to do a parts bin special on the production line if they've run out of the correct parts and misbuilds are also a possibility. Doesn't change that it's registered as a T30 with that carrying capability though. Did you get the big brakes for free?

 

[DavieMac]

Yes, front struts are the same as the Koni's imaged, ie double bolts on the bottom which I think meant to be T32 spec, though oddly a few parts ordering sites list different part number, ie the T28 / T30 struts that are different in design, generally speaking. Just trying to get my head round why it has this set up and if it's been retro fitted at some stage. Brake wise, not sure what it has but it's on 17" Devonports and there's not much clearance between caliper and inner wheel surface. It's incredibly hard, so I'm assuming it's probably got the upper end of heavy load / rough road spring option and if it's T32 spec tan that'll just compound the issue... more so as it's pretty much empty most the time bar middle seats and a couple of bikes.

 

[Kind of Blue]

You could stick with the current what looks like T32 set up but change the spring rates and dampers. I would suggest KONI preferably Adjustable damping. Steve at CRS can advise on what might be best for your needs. Ride height and spring rate are not the same thing. Your ride height seem normal. If your wheel to disk space is small I suspect that you may have the larger brakes that some vehicles have my 2019, 199bhp T6 Caravelle 4Motion has larger brakes and I had purchased a set of 17" winter wheels and tyres and as I live off road found that small twigs and debris became stuck in the wheel holes and jammed against the disks so I reverted back to 18" and it alleviated the problem. Some tyre sizes have higher recommended pressures than others. It may be worth while in the first instance to check your tyre pressures. The sticky on the door jam usually has the recommended pressures for the supplied wheel and tyres. If your wheel tyre arrangement is different from those on the sticky then the wheels and tyres may have been changed along with the suspension no matter. By placing the recommended pressures into an online tyre comparison site along with other details it asks for it can compute the correct pressure for any set up.

Perhaps someone with access or you could join the VIP membership might help provide some more insight into your vehicles set up and why for at least interest.