What first, wheels and tyres or lowering and where to divide the budget

S

Spencer54

Member
T6 Pro
So I just sold my old camper van and after deductions from the accountant I've been left a not unhealthy £2800 to spend on the T6

What I want to achieve is lowered significantly, decent wheels, rear spoiler and hopefully something for the front spoiler.

So do I drop £1350 on Solows a grand on the Supermetals I like and get £400 worth of tyres and thats it?

B14s, same wheels better tyres - or spoiler/s

Stance+ and everything with quality tyres

Vanslams, all the add ons with money over for roof bars etc etc etc

Or some set up that I've missed?

Also what way around, wheels and then lowering or lowering and then wheels?
 
Spencer54 said:
So I just sold my old camper van and after deductions from the accountant I've been left a not unhealthy £2800 to spend on the T6

What I want to achieve is lowered significantly, decent wheels, rear spoiler and hopefully something for the front spoiler.

So do I drop £1350 on Solows a grand on the Supermetals I like and get £400 worth of tyres and thats it?

B14s, same wheels better tyres - or spoiler/s

Stance+ and everything with quality tyres

Vanslams, all the add ons with money over for roof bars etc etc etc

Or some set up that I've missed?

Also what way around, wheels and then lowering or lowering and then wheels?
Click to expand...
I’m no expert on this but I did wheels then lowering and was thinking it would be better to do it the other way round to get the correct wheels and figment to suit the height. I guess if you have made your mind up on those wheels then it makes sense to get those then get a suspension setup to suit
 
Spencer54 said:
So I just sold my old camper van and after deductions from the accountant I've been left a not unhealthy £2800 to spend on the T6

What I want to achieve is lowered significantly, decent wheels, rear spoiler and hopefully something for the front spoiler.

So do I drop £1350 on Solows a grand on the Supermetals I like and get £400 worth of tyres and thats it?

B14s, same wheels better tyres - or spoiler/s

Stance+ and everything with quality tyres

Vanslams, all the add ons with money over for roof bars etc etc etc

Or some set up that I've missed?

Also what way around, wheels and then lowering or lowering and then wheels?
Click to expand...
Is your T6 a converted camper or empty van/Kombi?

Usually I would say that if you want to lower it significantly, as in really low, the SoLows would be my preferred option from your list.

The B14s won’t get you as low as the SoLow, but if you’re a fully loaded camper then they might go low enough for you. Many SoLow owners report that B14s set to their lowest height are less comfortable than SoLow set at their highest, which is still lower than the B14s.

I wouldn’t buy the van slams or the stance, I would spend the money on top quality suspension.

You can still buy the wheels and get half decent tyres for the £400, or add £200 of your own money and get a set of Goodyear eagle F1 asymetric 3. They work well on the transporter and are a quiet tyre compared to many.

Enjoy the improved handling and great looks for a bit whilst saving for the next batch of mods, but don’t scrimp on wheels, tyres and suspension and regret it later.
 
The wheels are not hard and fast, I really like them but there are other options like if I could find decent second hand then maybe Id think about freeing up extra for somewhere else.

The Van is a T6 Shuttle and it has the rear three removed to have a Slidepod installed once they've finished making it - that came out of the funds released when the Bongo went.
 
There is another thing to consider when choosing suspension and deciding how low you want to go and that's wheel size. For example, if you are T32 and you want to run 20" wheels and correctly load rates tyres then SoLows, or anything else that goes that low, might not be suitable. Correctly load rated tyres with 20s and SoLows on T32 is hard to do as a couple of members have recently found out. Not sure about T30, but I suspect you might struggle there too. T28 gives you loads more tyre options so makes it easier.

Also, what do you consider to be lowered significantly? For reference, here's a couple of pics of my T32 Kombi running B14s on their lowest setting with 20s and correctly load rated tyres. I have also removed the rear adjuster rings and fitted machined top mounts to the front, so it's about 10-14mm lower than B14s at their lowest setting alone. To get this low I have had to heat gun the front inner arch liner and remove a screw from the outer edge of the arch liner. Simple stuff, but I don't think I could get much lower with these wheels and tyres without running into issues.

If you want lower than this then it has to be SoLows, although your van will possibly sit very slightly lower than mine due to the weight of the slide pod.

IMG_4164.jpgIMG_4166.jpgIMG_4169.jpg
 
That is exactly what I'm hoping to achieve, that look - how low is that?

By significant I meant over the normal 50mm drop, yours is sitting spot on for me, thats what I'm hoping for.

I've priced that work up and for the B14s and mounts I'm at £1200 - so not far from £1350 of the Solows, but £150 will sort the spoiler issues.
Tough one...

What tyres get that clearance 275/265/255?

Love that Kombi by the way - top job.
 
Last edited:
Spencer54 said:
That is exactly what I'm hoping to achieve, that look - how low is that?

By significant I meant over the normal 50mm drop, yours is sitting spot on for me, thats what I'm hoping for.

I've priced that work up and for the B14s and mounts I'm at £1200 - so not far from £1350 of the Solows, but £150 will sort the spoiler issues.
Tough one...

What tyres get that clearance 275/265/255?

Love that Kombi by the way - top job.
Click to expand...
Thanks, somewhere around 80mm drop, 265/40 tyres.

Just one other thought, @CRS Performance do a different kit with adjustable damping that goes up to about 80mm down I think. You wouldn’t need the machined top mounts then and his kit is probably more comfortable than B14s. Might be worth a chat with him.
 
Oh, save £70-£80 for a good 4 wheel alignment for after the wheels and suspension have been done, you’ll need it to make sure you don’t get crazy tyre wear!
 
Has anyone noticed Stance+ have a Proline range. £650 fixed damping and £750 ajdustable damping. Albeit they are listed as sold out.

I knew they did the Stance+ Street, Stance+Ultra but didnt realised they had a 3rd option.

I though So Low were the lowest coilovers you could get but the Prolines look to get 50mm more out of the front than So Low but 10mm less at the back.
 
So van is now sorted - I’m over the moon with how this panned out.

I spent £1395 with Steve at CRS Performance having his H&R Koni coilovers and the £900 at Rochford tyres getting the Supermetal wheels, then used Asda tyres for the rubber fitted by my local Protyre so I was all in including travel for my budget.

CRS were excellent I might do a full review of that experience. I’ve got 80mm drop all around and it rides perfectly.

One Supermetal wheel turned out to be buckled slightly when they tried to balance it. They’ve replaced it straight away no drama.
 
Spencer54 said:
So van is now sorted - I’m over the moon with how this panned out.

I spent £1395 with Steve at CRS Performance having his H&R Koni coilovers and the £900 at Rochford tyres getting the Supermetal wheels, then used Asda tyres for the rubber fitted by my local Protyre so I was all in including travel for my budget.

CRS were excellent I might do a full review of that experience. I’ve got 80mm drop all around and it rides perfectly.

One Supermetal wheel turned out to be buckled slightly when they tried to balance it. They’ve replaced it straight away no drama.
Click to expand...
Nice work, we’ll need to see some pics of course! Also, you should now get a full 4 wheel alignment done. At 80mm down you will need it to make sure your rear tyres don’t wear outrageously quickly.
 
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