DCC or Air???

[scholar]

hi

Well I did it - ordered a van, that is - Caravelle Exec/Oryx/204PS/4Motion/DSG plus about 22 options (ouch!).

This van is going to replace our LR Disco (we have had many of them over 25 years). My runabout is a RangeRover (now ageing). Those two points are relevant as we are used to having the excellent air suspension system fitted to those vehicles - we use it routinely (raised) on the rather rutted farm drive access to our house and (lowered) for SWMBO who has a hip problem.

The Land Rover system has three positions selectable on a simple set of switches on the central console or whatever - high, low and normal - I believe that both cars have some form of Dynamic Syspension (although I am not 100% sure). It all works great - if you exceed xmph in high or low position, the system automatically resets to normal. There is no fancy adjustment of individual corners (there is no need).

We would like to have the same Air Suspension facility on the van - at present the order includes DCC, but I need to establish asap if this is going to be compatible with Air.

I have read the excellent thread on this subject here https://www.t6forum.com/threads/air-suspension.429/ and have looked at some of the options apparently available - I don't need vehicle levelling and I think some of the control pads are rather clunky and unattractive. I am not fussed about "how low can it go" more "how high".

So key questions are:

1). Is there a good Air system that will work with DCC (see below)?

2). If the answer to 1. above is no, what is the view on the practical benefit and desirability of DCC?

3). If I decide that we will have Air (with or without DCC), is there a system that will provide the simple settings that we are used to, and that is integrated as neatly as possible in the van?

I have been in touch with VB Air, particularly as it was suggested in the other thread that they were due to make their Air system compatible with DCC - I have established that their system is not DCC-compatible and they have no plans to make it so.


So DCC or Air?

(Please help)
Cheers

 

[Loz]

I am pretty sure you can't have aftermarket Air with DCC as your front strut that has the DCC valve controlled damper would get replaced with the adjustable air spring.

Like you, I have had both on a previous car (Touareg Escape) and both had their uses so in your and potentially my case, if I go off to Morocco and places again with the Cali ,is do I need Air?

DCC you will use everyday but might not appreciate it in the Cali like you did on the Disco, but by choosing DCC now you will never be able to have air at this time anyway.
For this reason we didn't order DCC in case we want the air in future.

 

[chriscroft]

VB are the boys so you have been speaking to the right people imo.

VB should have mentioned that you need to order the external interface with your options if you are thinking about VB Air at any time in the future??

I also live on a farm, with a farm track to negotiate
I have got pretty much what you have ordered and I have DCC.
It is brilliant, probably my favourite option, as I had a T5 vel 2wd for 12 years previously and my biggest complaint was the hard suspension.

I thought long and hard about it, the times I took the T5 into mud etc and got stuck (the vehicle is often parked in muddy fields), and as far as I can recall I never ran out of ground clearance, it was loss of traction with the tyres and often due to the rut caused by my own wheels forming a shelf that the back wheels could not clime out of. I have the diff lock on the rear axel (option) and mud/snow/ice tyres. (Nokian all season weather proof), in a slightly bigger spec 235/60/17. which give about an extra 12mm of lift, and really mud grippy tyres.

For how I use the van, it is virtually unstoppable, but if I went land rover style off roading then Air would really help, but I don't.

In C-comfort setting the vehicle will handle pot holes all day long no drama. Put it in S-sport, and for a van it is a very inspiring drive. And the dynamic part automatically adjusting each shocker at upto 1000 times/sec is superb for control. I know top end vehicles have air and dcc, which is the ultimate i guess.

The only time I would like Air (to date), is to lower the van when parked, as we have 2 storey dog cages in the back (replaced the triple bench seat), and sitting the van low for loading would be handy.

For every day use imo, the DCC is the handier thing to have as it really does improved road manners; but if you are going proper of-roading then may be Air is your bag.

I think there are after market DCC's you can fit with Air, so all is not lost (not VB ), just cannot remember where i saw it. I will have another look and see if I can find it.

If you go air i think VB is the one, because of the interface and the VW - LONO - letter of Non-Objection they offer from VW which means there are no warrantee issues (fingers crossed), and given you probably have a 5 year warranty it is worth thinking about. VB used to be a factory option on VW T's but it was discontinued because of the cost. But in terms of R&D VB is effectively a VW approved option.

I Have DCC, and also ordered the interface plug, just to keep my options open in the future, but at this moment I am very happy as things are.

Re all your options, I which I had got the 80litre tank, as the range is a bit rubbish with the 70litre tank, and the 130mphACC, may have better auto-brakes than the 100mphACC i have got. Have you ordered these?

When you get over £50k there are lots of nice vehicles you can have, but for us, our T6 is by far the
best vehicle we could have.. Have put 6500miles on to date, and I am still like a kid with a new toy.

 

[chriscroft]

VB are the boys so you have been speaking to the right people imo.

VB should have mentioned that you need to order the external interface with your options if you are thinking about VB Air at any time in the future??

I also live on a farm, with a farm track to negotiate
I have got pretty much what you have ordered and I have DCC.
It is brilliant, probably my favourite option, as I had a T5 vel 2wd for 12 years previously and my biggest complaint was the hard suspension.

I thought long and hard about it, the times I took the T5 into mud etc and got stuck (the vehicle is often parked in muddy fields), and as far as I can recall I never ran out of ground clearance, it was loss of traction with the tyres and often due to the rut caused by my own wheels forming a shelf that the back wheels could not clime out of. I have the diff lock on the rear axel (option) and mud/snow/ice tyres. (Nokian all season weather proof), in a slightly bigger spec 235/60/17. which give about an extra 12mm of lift, and really mud grippy tyres.

For how I use the van, it is virtually unstoppable, but if I went land rover style off roading then Air would really help, but I don't.

In C-comfort setting the vehicle will handle pot holes all day long no drama. Put it in S-sport, and for a van it is a very inspiring drive. And the dynamic part automatically adjusting each shocker at upto 1000 times/sec is superb for control. I know top end vehicles have air and dcc, which is the ultimate i guess.

The only time I would like Air (to date), is to lower the van when parked, as we have 2 storey dog cages in the back (replaced the triple bench seat), and sitting the van low for loading would be handy.

For every day use imo, the DCC is the handier thing to have as it really does improved road manners; but if you are going proper of-roading then may be Air is your bag.

I think there are after market DCC's you can fit with Air, so all is not lost (not VB ), just cannot remember where i saw it. I will have another look and see if I can find it.

If you go air i think VB is the one, because of the interface and the VW - LONO - letter of Non-Objection they offer from VW which means there are no warrantee issues (fingers crossed), and given you probably have a 5 year warranty it is worth thinking about. VB used to be a factory option on VW T's but it was discontinued because of the cost. But in terms of R&D VB is effectively a VW approved option.

I Have DCC, and also ordered the interface plug, just to keep my options open in the future, but at this moment I am very happy as things are.

Re all your options, I which I had got the 80litre tank, as the range is a bit rubbish with the 70litre tank, and the 130mphACC, may have better auto-brakes than the 100mphACC i have got. Have you ordered these?

When you get over £50k there are lots of nice vehicles you can have, but for us, our T6 is by far the
best vehicle we could have.. Have put 6500miles on to date, and I am still like a kid with a new toy.

No, I was mistaken, you can get aftermarket DCC for a T6
KW automotive UK Ltd - Gewindefahrwerke, Rennsportfahrwerke, Sportfedern - KW DDC

But not with Air at this moment.

 

[Caravellet6]

I do love DCC especially in sport mode it's surprisingly good on the bendy bits.....

 

[Buggirl]

DCC was awesome on my Polo GTi. Sport was hair raising with the immediate power it had and I really wish this option had been available on the Kombi. Nice to have the option.

 

[BiTurbo]

Just spotted this in vwbus mag

 

[Loz]

Not cheap though..

 

[chriscroft]

Just spotted this in vwbus mag

View attachment 3561

Good find, thats an interesting upgrade route for a DCC from a very reputable suspension company.

 

[BiTurbo]

Not cheap though..

No pockets in gowns and shrouds... Lol

 

[Loz]

No pockets in gowns and shrouds... Lol

I already used up that excuse paying 60K for the Cali we have now! any more and I'll be fitted for said shroud....

 

[BiTurbo]

Laughs! I do know what you mean these women hey....

 

[scholar]

Hi all

Thanks for the various comments - all helpful and noted.

A couple of points/queries:

.. you need to order the external interface with your options if you are thinking about VB Air at any time in the future??
...
I Have DCC, and also ordered the interface plug, just to keep my options open in the future, but at this moment I am very happy as things are.

Re all your options, I which I had got the 80litre tank, as the range is a bit rubbish with the 70litre tank, and the 130mphACC, may have better auto-brakes than the 100mphACC i have got. Have you ordered these?

There seems to be general support for DCC, so I have gone with that, but I have ordered the interface, just for future flexibility also.

I enquired about the 80 litre tank - the 204PS petrol van has an 80l tank, but the 204PS diesel only the 70l; my dealer said there is no option to add the larger tank (and indeed the price list doesn't offer this).

Likewise the updated version of ACC - I recall from playing with the configurator that there were two versions, but the price list only offers the one (up to 99 mph) and again the dealer could not find any UK available option for the higher rated one. Whilst there is no way I would use cruise control at 99mph, let alone 130mph , if the braking assistance was superior, I would have gone for the higher option, if available.

Otherwise, I did pretty well splurge on the options, including the Digital Sound Pack - my dealer said he is looking fwd to seeing/hearing this as it is the first one he has sold (it had better be good for £1464!).

Just been told that build has been brought forward to week 4 so should have it for Mar 1st - just time to fix the ruts in the drive...

Cheers

 

[scholar]

Just spotted this in vwbus mag

View attachment 3561

Thanks for this - I have looked at the website
Höherlegungsfahrwerk für VW T6 mit DCC | TWIN-MONOTUBE-PROJEKT
..but mind some of the google translation "...which offer an unbeatable, comfortable response and a significant reduction of the lateral inclination, wanking and pitching movement on the T5 and T6..."

Seems to offer a permanent height raise of 35mm, which could be helpful - it is probably an expensive price per mm of lift, but the blurb suggests there are other advantages - I will look into this some more.

As far as I can tell, the Caravelle exec SWB has a standard ground clearance of 178mm - the 18" wheels I have chosen must add 13mm, making 191mm. By reference to what I am used to, I'm not sure what the standard Land Rover clearance is, but the off-road height goes to about 12"", say 300mm. Hmm, every 35mm helps...

Cheers

 

[chriscroft]

Thanks for this - I have looked at the website
Höherlegungsfahrwerk für VW T6 mit DCC | TWIN-MONOTUBE-PROJEKT
..but mind some of the google translation "...which offer an unbeatable, comfortable response and a significant reduction of the lateral inclination, wanking and pitching movement on the T5 and T6..."

Seems to offer a permanent height raise of 35mm, which could be helpful - it is probably an expensive price per mm of lift, but the blurb suggests there are other advantages - I will look into this some more.

As far as I can tell, the Caravelle exec SWB has a standard ground clearance of 178mm - the 18" wheels I have chosen must add 13mm, making 191mm. By reference to what I am used to, I'm not sure what the standard Land Rover clearance is, but the off-road height goes to about 12"", say 300mm. Hmm, every 35mm helps...

Cheers

Your thought process is pretty much exactly the same as mine. I also had the 18" wheels to start with, but ditched them because we wanted a spare wheel, plus 17" tyre chooses are far better for all weather/terrain tyres at thiss moment.I also had the dynaudio picked, but changed, because my Mrs wanted the centre dash storage box. I now have a brilliant after market upgrade from absolut t5/6 for similar money. I also went for an electric drivers seat which is fab.