VW T6 4MOTION - Bilstein Lift Kit + BFG Replacement

[tommycj]

Hi all,

I currently have a VW T6 4Motion 2018 with the following setup:

• Bilstein Comfort 35mm lift kit
• 15mm wheel spacers
• BFGoodrich All Terrain XL 225/55 R18 tyres

The tyres are coming up for replacement, and I’m fed up with how the van handles. It feels like a big boat. Steering is slow to react, it feels floaty in corners, and it reacts to every bump in the road.

I really like the lifted look and the chunky tyres, but I’d like it to handle better on the road without losing that aesthetic.

My questions are:

1. Would lowering it back to standard height make the biggest difference to handling?
2. Would smaller wheels help?
3. Is changing the suspension the biggest improvement I can make?
4. Can anyone recommend tyres that give a chunky, off-road look but behave better on road?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DaveD]

Can anyone recommend tyres that give a chunky, off-road look but behave better on road?

I have no experience of them but Falken Wildpeak seem to get good reviews on here.

Search results for query: Falken Wildpeak

www.t6forum.com

They've got a chunky look.
I don't believe that going smaller than 18 inch wheels would make much difference, lots of us have good handling using 18" wheels.
So I'd start by changing tyres, if that doesn't give you the handling that you want I'd think about the suspension - you might not need to, hopefully.

 

[StratosFearXX]

I'm on 235/55/18 Avon AX7s - 60mm down on Bognor Motors Bilsteins. Definitely no floatiness or wallowing.surely it can only be your suspension.

 

[Salty Spuds]

The 15mm spacers won’t help. You’ve essentially increased the turning circle. A no cost option would be to remove the spacers and see what difference it makes.

 

[StratosFearXX]

Should we invoke @CRS Performance for a comment I wonder ...

 

[CRS Performance]

Hi all,

I currently have a VW T6 4Motion 2018 with the following setup:

• Bilstein Comfort 35mm lift kit
• 15mm wheel spacers
• BFGoodrich All Terrain XL 225/55 R18 tyres

The tyres are coming up for replacement, and I’m fed up with how the van handles. It feels like a big boat. Steering is slow to react, it feels floaty in corners, and it reacts to every bump in the road.

I really like the lifted look and the chunky tyres, but I’d like it to handle better on the road without losing that aesthetic.

My questions are:

1. Would lowering it back to standard height make the biggest difference to handling?
2. Would smaller wheels help?
3. Is changing the suspension the biggest improvement I can make?
4. Can anyone recommend tyres that give a chunky, off-road look but behave better on road?

Thanks in advance!

Hello

Can you help me ( to help you ) what is a Bilstein Comfort 35 mm LIft kit include , I cant see it on the Bilstein WWW web site , so its probably someone in UK who makes this up , ( this is a common thing in UK and a lot of these kits aren't well engineered. If you have pictures it will help , thanks

 

[tommycj]

Hello,

Because of this forum post, today I got my tires changed to Falken Wildpeak‘s at Elite Wheels and tires in Reading (they were really helpful and fast!)

I’ve only had them out for two hours, and there is a big difference in drive. The tires are a little smaller. But I would highly recommend, it feels much tighter on the road.

Strangely the owner of Elite recommended CRS, and I’ve chatted with them today! I’ll let you know how I get on.

 

[StratosFearXX]

Hello,

Because of this forum post, today I got my tires changed to Falken Wildpeak‘s at Elite Wheels and tires in Reading (they were really helpful and fast!)

I’ve only had them out for two hours, and there is a big difference in drive. The tires are a little smaller. But I would highly recommend, it feels much tighter on the road.

Strangely the owner of Elite recommended CRS, and I’ve chatted with them today! I’ll let you know how I get on.

Interesting, what size tyres did you get?

 

[Suella B]

I'm running the Bilstein Comfort kit on BFG AT's... it's such a creaky, noisy suspension set up and the ride is very choppy!

 

[exrex]

Morning, our T6.1 4Motion also has the 35mm lift kit with the Bilstein Komfort dampers and Eibach springs. The ride quality has always been very good, but after starting out on BFG K02 225x65x17's and getting fed up with the noise and sometimes wayward handling, we swapped onto Michelin Agilis Crossclimate 235x60x17. They don't look quite as chunky, but I can't exaggerate enough the massive and vast improvement in noise/handling/ride quality. Falken Wildpeaks get similar great reviews but we wanted to come away from an All Terrain tyre when we spend 95% of our time on tarmac.

 

[tommycj]

Hi all — I took my van to CRS last week to have the suspension upgraded from Bilstein to Koni Special Actives, on Rob's recommendation. The experience was fantastic. Rob went above and beyond, even removing some aftermarket captain's chair swivel mechanisms that were contributing to the problem.

We took it out on a test drive and they made sure the ride height was exactly where I wanted it - a really tailored experience from start to finish.

The difference the new tyres and suspension have made is significant. The van drives like new, and my partner is no longer being thrown around on every corner - so she's very happy with me again!

Thank you Rob and the team at @CRS Performance

 

[Suella B]

Good to know @tommycj ... sounds like I'll be heading to CRS then!

I've got this terrible creaking/groaning from the rear (of the van I mean). I have a feeling the underbody protection is rubbing on something but I also reckon there must be a problem with how the lift is fitted...

Thanks for the tip off.