My first impression is that I am underwhelmed - am I missing something?

[Sasquatch]

Don't get me wrong, I think a Transporter with some nice 20's on but not too slammed to the ground can look really well and I can definitely see the attraction. However, the farm tracks that I drive on would have me constantly worrying - as they already did with my estate.

In my swamper I've already inadvertently encountered some lumpy terrain on a day trip to the canal that gave me a hot dose of squeaky bum, so much so that an engine skid plate is my next purchase. It may be overkill, but if having an engine codpiece brings me piece of mind its worth every penny.

 

[craig808]

In my swamper I've already inadvertently encountered some lumpy terrain on a day trip to the canal that gave me a hot dose of squeaky bum, so much so that an engine skid plate is my next purchase. It may be overkill, but if having an engine codpiece brings me piece of mind its worth every penny.

Bald, 61 and a cod piece. You're painting a picture

 

[mattius]

Our van came lowered with 20s and low profile tyres.

I'm maybe showing my age, but give me a set of 18s with a higher sidewall any day of the week.

I'm not too sure on the whole att. But then I don't go further than a grass pitch off-road

 

[WinFreak]

Our van came lowered with 20s and low profile tyres.

I'm maybe showing my age, but give me a set of 18s with a higher sidewall any day of the week.

I'm not too sure on the whole att. But then I don't go further than a grass pitch off-road

My van on 20s with decent tyres drives nicer and more comfortable than when it was on 17s with standard van tyres so I don’t think you can just rule it out by the size of of the wheels and tyres.

I think the quality of your suspension and tyres themselves are a bigger influence than the tyre wall height.

 

[ChestnutBrown]

My van on 20s with decent tyres drives nicer and more comfortable than when it was on 17s with standard van tyres so I don’t think you can just rule it out by the size of of the wheels and tyres.

I think the quality of your suspension and tyres themselves are a bigger influence than the tyre wall height.

I would have to agree with that. Rubbish tyres on a 17” wheel can’t compare to quality tyres on a 20” wheel. Comparing the same quality tyre on both sizes, however, will definitely reveal which is most comfortable.

 

[CRS Performance]

Hi all

I am new to the VW Transporter world and am hoping you knowledgeable folk can help me out.

Last Friday I bought a T6.1 Kombi DSG 4motion. Unfortunately I am underwhelmed by it. The noise in the cab is way louder than I expected - engine noise, road noise, panels creaking, side doors creaking etc. The ride is far from comfy, it seems to wallow around quite a lot but also doesn't like pot holes of absolutely any size, however small. The ride height feels very high. It's had 18's put on but has standard suspension, well at least I think it is standard - but it seems to be sat quite high. I'm guessing that this is not helping with the wallowing around when driving.

The build quality doesn't feel too great to me either, for example, when we close the doors they sound a bit tinny. Both my wife and I are a little disappointed and think it feels a bit cheap.

At this moment, I am thinking that I may have made a mistake. For such an expensive van (or should I say what I consider expensive, obviously this is subjective), I expected a little more.
We are quite lucky to have 2 nice cars on the drive and I am thinking that maybe because of those I am expecting too much.

So...is this normal and is there anything that I can do about it?

I was thinking of sending it to @CRS Performance to get springs and shocks, getting the whole van sound deadened and putting some nicer looking wheels on.

What's your opinions, have others had the same thoughts when they first bought a Transporter and if so did the above mods make a significant difference? Obviously I don't want to throw money at it if this is just what they are.

I'm looking forward to your comments and advice and hoping that I end up enjoying my van.

P.S. Apologies if the post is a little negative

Hello

Its Ok to be disappointed after spending a lot of money and having expectations of great things, I feel that because the Transporter has become an Iconic leisure tool we all forget it was a builders van !! its generally known that we have done over 5000 of these transporters and rescued most of them for clients with the same issues you have .

Our systems will make the ride perfectly acceptable
Handling great
Lower the road noise in the cab
Stop some of the annoying rattles
Make the Van feel more car like
Stop body roll and nose pitch

To ensure you are satisfied with what we do you will get our normal money back guarantee if you aren't completely happy . So no risk at all of further disappointment and financial loss

This forum has lots of information about us and the kits we supply , try to look at relatively newer comments because most of what we sell nowadays has been updated in the last 3 years and improved drastically .
Give us a call if you need more info .
SH

 

[DXX]

Bald, 61 and a cod piece. You're painting a picture

Infinitely more interesting than tyre anorakism

 

[rover220]

Next youll be telling us you bought an expensive used, complex, and potentially somewhat finniky vehicle without having it professionally inspected!

There's nothing complex about a t6 compared to what else is on the roads

 

[DaveD]

There's nothing complex about a t6 compared to what else is on the roads

Technology is the new rust.

 

[Sasquatch]

There's nothing complex about a t6 compared to what else is on the roads

Thats because everything on the road now is complex.

 

[david173]

Thats because everything on the road now is unnecessarily complex.

Fixed that for you

 

[Sasquatch]

Ain't that the truth!

 

[Lubrown]

Anyway, I am not trying to convince you as you’ve clearly made your mind up.

True - on a van where the only ‘off road’ action it sees is a grass field now and then, and with years of successfully managing this on summer tyres (which are better on road, no matter how road biased an all terrain tyre might be), I have made my mind up.
I don’t have a swamped, I like the OE look. Why would I change my mind?

 

[Sasquatch]

Im an ex class 1 driver and service tester (used to thrash new vehicles for the Home Orifice to assess their suitability for police service), with experience driving at speeds and conditions many racers won't have encountered and I know what Im happy with.

Summer tyres probably are the best performer in their zone, that being above 7°C. Below that they start to struggle as the compound hardens and loses its conformal grip, ie, the ability of the tyres surface to deform, conform and mould itself to the road surface at the macroscopic level.

Below that mechanical grip becomes more important, ie, the tread of the tyre itself actually digging in to the surface, so tyres with a more aggressive tread pattern start to have the edge, hence the all weather tyre tread type. The more open tread flexes more, heats up better, and thus also allows a better degree of conformal grip in cooler conditions.

There is no one best solution for all scenarios, only what suits you or I best for most of the time for then use to which we put the vehicle. In your case you've chosen dry weather grip over all else for about 7 months of the year.

For me, owning a property on South Uist with shite roads (the last mile of which isn't actually paved at all) and even more shite weather, I wanted something capable of handling that with aplomb while still giving me reasonable tarmac performance for the bulk of the rest of my mileage, so I chose a very road biased AT which actually uses a road tyre carcass.

In each case weve accepted a compromise. You just need to accept that your needle will be on a different position on the compromise scale to someone else's. That doesnt mean theyre wrong or you're right, or vice versa. It means their needs and priorities are different.

 

[Lubrown]

In each case weve accepted a compromise. You just need to accept that your needle will be on a different position on the compromise scale to someone else's. That doesnt mean theyre wrong or you're right, or vice versa. It means their needs and priorities are different.

Totally get that. I’m sure someone looking at AT tyres said they will be on farm tracks 20% of the time so their use case is clearly more suited to AT tyres that can also do road use.
But for me and my use, I’m happy not going down that route.
I like how Tyre Reviews includes a summer and winter tyre in the all season group tests. And their website now tests for warm and cold braking distances in some tests too.
I recall he did look at the 7 degree figure and was pleasantly surprised that the premium summer tyres actually do well until 4 degrees these days.
Having said that I’m trying my first set of all seasons on the van now. I don’t drive fast and am aware they’ll take a couple of metres more to stop than a summer tyre so will just bare that in mind, not that I tailgate anyway.
As you say, they are all a compromise somewhere, it’s just working out what works best for you.

 

[ChestnutBrown]

True - on a van where the only ‘off road’ action it sees is a grass field now and then, and with years of successfully managing this on summer tyres (which are better on road, no matter how road biased an all terrain tyre might be), I have made my mind up.
I don’t have a swamped, I like the OE look. Why would I change my mind?

It’s interesting that you now state you are moving over to all season tyres, when you’ve chastised others about noise, stopping distances, performance, etc, stating that summer tyres have done everything you need until now and there’s no need for most people to use anything else.

Anyway, I hope the all seasons do what you want and you like them, as I am not about aggro. All I meant about changing your mind was being open to others’ opinions and not assuming all AT’s are noisy and poor performers, rather than literally trying to convince you to switch to AT’s.

 

[Lubrown]

It’s interesting that you now state you are moving over to all season tyres, when you’ve chastised others about noise, stopping distances, performance, etc, stating that summer tyres have done everything you need until now and there’s no need for most people to use anything else.

Anyway, I hope the all seasons do what you want and you like them, as I am not about aggro. All I meant about changing your mind was being open to others’ opinions and not assuming all AT’s are noisy and poor performers, rather than literally trying to convince you to switch to AT’s.

I’d mentioned it in an earlier post too.

For some reason there seems to be lots of deals on all season at the minute - maybe that swayed me a bit. Plus coming up to winter and temps might drop below 4 degrees in which case they make sense. Especially as I noticed my wheels are looking shabby and although I’d planned to get new ones when buying new tyres this time round but I couldn’t make my mind up on size/looks etc so I’m sitting on the fence with that and thinking these will be my winter set and eventually I’ll get new alloys with summer tyres for the warmer months.

Where did I chastise anyone?

 

[DXX]

I’d mentioned it in an earlier post too.

For some reason there seems to be lots of deals on all season at the minute - maybe that swayed me a bit. Plus coming up to winter and temps might drop below 4 degrees in which case they make sense. Especially as I noticed my wheels are looking shabby and although I’d planned to get new ones when buying new tyres this time round but I couldn’t make my mind up on size/looks etc so I’m sitting on the fence with that and thinking these will be my winter set and eventually I’ll get new alloys with summer tyres for the warmer months.

Where did I chastise anyone?

Must have used a very shouty full stop at some point.

 

[craig808]

So you decided on any rims yet?

Yep, just bought some Navis Gelida. Just need tyres now.