Bilstein b14 height adjustment

OK this is going to throw a spanner in the works . As we all know threaded body shocks weren't designed for transporter owners . They were designed to balance up Race cars to make them handle better and optimise track times and corner weights , They do this by balancing the weights to each corner of the vehicle and sometime bias the weight to help cornering . As mentioned above adjusting one side up and preloading the spring on that corner seems odd , but moving weight around is exactly the reason Coil overs were invented . ( Not to slam a van )

So the comment on Driver and engine on one side does mean way more weight on OS front , if we were to put the van on a corner weight machine ( we do sometimes ) you will find more weight on the OS than NS . to balance this up you can adjust the threaded body up on the NS and this will pretension the spring But more importantly move some weight across to the lighter side . Dont worry about the thread measurements it means nothing really , Measure the wheel gaps and try to keep it close both sides

We have adaptors that we can adjust the position of the shock up and down slightly ( T 32 specific ) ( hub mods on other models ) by doing this we can get the van level and pretension the spring to move the weight as well . Its overkill really for 99 % of clients but because the topic has popped up we can mention it . A Van with a pretension on the NS and the shock adjusted to level the gaps is the ultimate set up , Difficult to do and you need a corner weight machine to get it right .

You just need to avoid going to fitment centre who doesn't understand and who levels it up because they think its wrong ????
Thanks i think i get what your saying you mention adjusting the threaded body up on NS do you mean the heavier off side or am i getting this all wrong.
 
Thanks i think i get what your saying you mention adjusting the threaded body up on NS do you mean the heavier off side or am i getting this all wrong.
Yes you have it back to front . If you turn the adjuster up to lift the van ( either side ) you increase the weight on that corner / and take weight away from the other side .. I know it sounds odd but when you have corner weighted as many cars as we have you get to learn all these strange things . To confuse things even more if you increase weight on the front NS you automatically increase weight on the Rear OS . the weight balancing works across the car diagonally .
 
OK this is going to throw a spanner in the works . As we all know threaded body shocks weren't designed for transporter owners . They were designed to balance up Race cars to make them handle better and optimise track times and corner weights , They do this by balancing the weights to each corner of the vehicle and sometime bias the weight to help cornering . As mentioned above adjusting one side up and preloading the spring on that corner seems odd , but moving weight around is exactly the reason Coil overs were invented . ( Not to slam a van )

So the comment on Driver and engine on one side does mean way more weight on OS front , if we were to put the van on a corner weight machine ( we do sometimes ) you will find more weight on the OS than NS . to balance this up you can adjust the threaded body up on the NS and this will pretension the spring But more importantly move some weight across to the lighter side . Dont worry about the thread measurements it means nothing really , Measure the wheel gaps and try to keep it close both sides

We have adaptors that we can adjust the position of the shock up and down slightly ( T 32 specific ) ( hub mods on other models ) by doing this we can get the van level and pretension the spring to move the weight as well . Its overkill really for 99 % of clients but because the topic has popped up we can mention it . A Van with a pretension on the NS and the shock adjusted to level the gaps is the ultimate set up , Difficult to do and you need a corner weight machine to get it right .

You just need to avoid going to fitment centre who doesn't understand and who levels it up because they think its wrong ????
That’s really interesting Steve, thanks for the lesson! Very useful indeed.
 
Always happy to have a look and see what the issue is, if you are local, or find a decent suspension expert near to you.
We would of course correctly align it after to make sure it’s 100%.
Something doesn’t sound right With the suspension at different setting though, although is it is massively heavier in one side than the other, as has been mentioned. The tyres are the correct size. As has been mentioned about about sag after age is correct, the inner arch tag which needs to be bent/removed, and a good old heat gun on the inner arch works wonders.
 
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Thanks guys had it on level ground so can rule that out. Van has full camper conversion and water tanks on that side and me at 18 stone so this is probably got a lot to do with it. taking the rings up 1cm seems to have improved the problem but might need a further 5 mm to 10 mm to get it to match the other side. would you recommend I get the tracking redone when I get this setup? Also, the lower thread also has gaps for grips for the smaller spanner does turning this make any difference or is this just there to hold it to stop it turning when you adjust larger black rings. Many thanks for your advice its a great help.
If adjusting the car up or down 10 to 15 mm changed the alignment it would mean every time you hit a bump the wheels would go out of alignment and of course this would cause increased tyre wear , it doesn't of course the suspension is designed so it can go through a full up down cycle and not change the tow angles . Only extreme lowering will cause changes in alignment . ( Or lifting ) .
 
But @CRS Performance, as we continue to disagree on this subject, it is very good practise considering the state of our roads, to have your alignment checked every six months or so, especially when running uprated suspension and heavier/bigger wheels :thumbsup: most people don’t even know their alignment is out as they have got used to it, unless its aggressively pulling or excessive tyre wear.

We very rarely come across a vehicle, when checking, that doesn’t need realigning. We will carry on aligning all vehicles as we always have done :)

Hunter alignment equipment also makes it very easy to check
 
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But @CRS Performance, as we continue to disagree on this subject, it is very good practise considering the state of our roads, to have your alignment checked every six months or so, especially when running uprated suspension and heavier/bigger wheels :thumbsup: most people don’t even know their alignment is out as they have got used to it, unless its aggressively pulling or excessive tyre wear.

We very rarely come across a vehicle, when checking, that doesn’t need realigning. We will carry on aligning all vehicles as we always have done :)

Hunter alignment equipment also makes it very easy to check
I dont disagree that it is a good thing to check alignment regularly as the roads can catch us out and the suspension and steering can get knocked out on really bad potholes . It wont just move unless a component fails .
What i was pointing out that an adjustment of a coil over kit by 10 to 15 wont affect alignment !
 
Could you please confirm: turn adjusters up to raise the van at the front, down to lower it?
 
CRS Performance said:
If adjusting the car up or down 10 to 15 mm changed the alignment it would mean every time you hit a bump the wheels would go out of alignment and of course this would cause increased tyre wear , it doesn't of course the suspension is designed so it can go through a full up down cycle and not change the tow angles . Only extreme lowering will cause changes in alignment . ( Or lifting ) .
CRS Performance said:
I dont disagree that it is a good thing to check alignment regularly as the roads can catch us out and the suspension and steering can get knocked out on really bad potholes . It wont just move unless a component fails .
What i was pointing out that an adjustment of a coil over kit by 10 to 15 wont affect alignment !
Eh?? You might need to explain that one for me.

Of course wheel alignment changes as the suspension moves through its range of travel!
Otherwise, why would the camber/toe change when lowering/raising?
And explain bump steer.

Naturally the alignment will return to its set measurements once the vehicle is running straight and level or at rest.
However the alignment is dynamic and changeable as the vehicle is travelling.

The suspension arms are single point (not multilink) with fixed pivots so can only follow a set arc.
And specifically the rear hub is fixed to the suspension arm, so that remains a constant.
(Effectively, so is the front)

Granted, the rear angles can be adjusted but it's simply a passive result of changing the pivot axis and only sets the camber/toe when the wheel is at rest/ride height.
The camber and toe angles will still change as the suspension moves through its range.
The pivot axis is not 90deg to the direction of travel, it's slightly offset meaning that as the suspension compresses, the wheel effectively folds in towards the centreline. It doesn't just travel up and down in a straight line. Otherwise, we wouldn't need adjustable bushes when the vehicle has been lowered.

Personally, I'd recommend at least an alignment check for 10-15mm of adjustment.
That's not exactly a large amount, and within the realms of normal operational travel, but it's still a change to the 'set-point'.

Hence why on vehicles fitted with air suspension, you're supposed to calibrate and lock the ride height prior to alignment. (Tight tolerances)
A 10-15mm discrepancy across axles or even end to end would fail calibration.
Your also supposed to ensure the vehicle is loaded for it's intended purpose such as a full tank of fuel, driver weight etc... but that's not always practical.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't profess to be an expert in this field by any stretch, but I did co-develop and teach the 4 wheel alignment course for Audi UK and later JLR so I know at least a little bit.
 
This debate will never resolve it self because we all have vans at different heights .. We aren't fans of super low vans at all at CRS . In fact the only complaints we ever get are from clients who opted for low low settings nit really understanding what they were getting involved with . .

A 10 to 15 mm movement in the ride height is never going to throw the alignment out because the suspension geometry is designed to optimize tyre wear and can cope with this . I am of course referring to a standard height van . ( or slightly lowered van ) . BUT when you lower 80 mm plus the arc movement of the control arms will cause greater tow changes and literally every time you hit a bump the tyres will scrub on the road because the tow settings will change constantly ,
Setting wheel alignment on a low van will correct the tow settings statically for sure , but because of the design of the suspension excessive Tyre wear is inevitable when hitting bumps because the total distance between the two Outer track rod ends is constantly changing which inevitably changes the tow . This CANT be adjusted out unfortunately even with a Hunter alignment .
I probably need to do a sketch of this so it makes more sense .
 
I have set of Bilstein B14 fitted to my T6, can I raised the ride height to the original measurements by fitting longer springs? I’m concerned about the ride height as we are about to go island hopping this year in Scotland 3C88C8BE-AF15-4E5A-870C-0212F6FD64DE.jpeg
 
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