Polle
New Member
You may PM me a price for a set of 4 shocks please !The KONI shocks will be great with the 50 mm Vogtland springs .I don't think the shipping to Belguim is a lot about 30 quid ? happy to send a set to you
You may PM me a price for a set of 4 shocks please !The KONI shocks will be great with the 50 mm Vogtland springs .I don't think the shipping to Belguim is a lot about 30 quid ? happy to send a set to you
Hi There, @.50 I'm new to this forum, but I have been talking to Steve at CRS just this morning. My needs are perhaps slightly out of the ordinary. We have a child with special needs and sensory challenges, but we also require space for personal care. Currently we have a Chrysler Grand Voyager which has been OK but now we need more headroom. I have previously had our daughter in a Transporter (don't know which type) and it was a total disaster, the ride was way too harsh for her and we had to get her out within about 5 miles.Ever since I have had my 2017 T30 Kombi I have found the ride to be quite harsh.
I fitted -40 Cobra springs to the standard dampers more to just reduce the arch gap above the wheels than for comfort.
Like me, many people over the years have asked, "how do I make my Transporters suspension smoother", and it seems that the most common answer is, "fit bilstein adjustable sports suspension".
Now this is ok if you want to try to make you're van handle like a track day car, but no good if you actually just want it to give a smoother ride.
Fortunately, as a result of this forum, I have found Steve at CRS Performance, who is a specialist suspension supplier, and EXACTLY the right kind of person to talk to about suspension.
As a result, he has fitted for me a set of Koni Active dampers, (FSD), and -40 H&R springs.
The results have transformed the driving experience of my van.
You can still feel the road beneath the wheels, but it's as if you are driving on foam matting.
Everything is just
smoother.
Bumps are still bumps, and potholes are still potholes, but this suspension just takes the edge off everything.
The van seem to track the road surface better giving a feeling of greater stability.
Nose dive under braking is reduced as is body roll under cornering.
The 40mm drop the springs give, to me, is perfect and really suits my 19" alloys.
Steve also has the ability to mix and match spring rates to accommodate increased vehicle weight thus giving you the ride height you want.
I really have been impressed by CRS and the equipment they have fitted to my van.
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Sounds like you need to go out for a test drive as a familyHi There, @.50 I'm new to this forum, but I have been talking to Steve at CRS just this morning. My needs are perhaps slightly out of the ordinary. We have a child with special needs and sensory challenges, but we also require space for personal care. Currently we have a Chrysler Grand Voyager which has been OK but now we need more headroom. I have previously had our daughter in a Transporter (don't know which type) and it was a total disaster, the ride was way too harsh for her and we had to get her out within about 5 miles.
So, we think we need a van type vehicle, that basically feels like a car from a suspension perspective.
This set up here is the exact set up Steve discussed with me this morning, the Active / H&R combo.
I'm new to the whole van thing, so I'm not sure if you are all comparing ride feel with van to van, what I'm after is a comparison to how this set up feels like compared with a car, rather than a van.
What do you think? How close does this feel to a car type ride?
Many thanks
Adam
Yeah; I’m hoping to do that via Steve in the coming weeks, but in the interim I’m looking to garner opinion. Mobilising the family for a test drive is not an easy feat, and has a high chance of some kind of sensory disaster, so the more I can learn beforehand the better.........Sounds like you need to go out for a test drive as a family
Was the kit fitted by us ?? One of the reasons we have damping adjustability is to cope with the increase in Unsprung weight , It sounds odd but its true stiffening the rear shock can help the comfort . Give me a call to discuss
Actives,What’s the differences between the koni actives and the sport shock? On say a 40mm drop?
Actives, self adjust on bumps , cant be used on drops over 40 mm , What springs are you using ??
Usually the comments we get are more :- My camper conversion DOESNT rattle as bad any more after fitting the KONI shocks
T32 T6.1 on order Steve, i'll come straight to you for the setup. Its a panel van (for work) and will be used daily on mostly crapy bumpy roads so just sussing out weather to go sports or active. I don carry much weight, maybe 300kg
Cheers
I’m stuck as to how to lower mine, not fused about handling, I just want it 70mm lower and at a minimum the same comfort level as my OEM set up.That's a mostly great review and really interesting reading, but a bit of feedback from an owner who only yesterday chose a different route...... I had B14s fitted, and they are wound all the way down...
You made this statement about the bilstein suspension: "Now this is ok if you want to try to make you're van handle like a track day car, but no good if you actually just want it to give a smoother ride." That's just not true, I'm sorry, but it really isn't. My van was previously lowered on 50mm H&R springs and standard shocks, but the Bilstein setup has noticeably improved the ride, in fact, several statements you made about your new suspension could be applied to mine. Everything you have written from "Everything is just smoother" all the way down to "roll under cornering" applies to my van, and I have found myself genuinely surprised at the quality of the ride considering I'm about 70mm or so lower than standard.
Your setup looks great, and I'm glad it works for you, I would expect it is even more comfortable than the B14s, but it's a bit short sighted to criticise a setup you haven't run yourself, unless of course you have, in which case, fair enough.
I also spoke to CRS and was very tempted with one of their options, but chose the Bilstein route instead, simply because I was able to test drive 2 different vans running the same suspension, but set up two different ways. That was a major advantage for me and confirmed that yes, it is true, you can go low and still improve comfort.
The handling is something you get for free with a quality suspension kit , 70 mm is already extreme actually and you will not get great comfort from B14 or Vanslams at 70 mm drops and definitely not much better ride than stock , The Handling will be a bit better however . The H&R kit will be the absolute best kit you can use it does 50 to 80 mm and is the most comfortable kit we have experienced . Oddly its 400 quid cheaper than the Bilstein Comfort kit which has no where near the features the H&R kit does ????I’m stuck as to how to lower mine, not fused about handling, I just want it 70mm lower and at a minimum the same comfort level as my OEM set up.
Is yours harder on B14 than OEM?
I also heard Vanslams are Bilsteins and softer?
Hi, my comments that you’ve quoted are now quite out of date, I was still in the honeymoon period and although I thought they were, they weren’t actually all the way down. Once I realised that and wound them all the way down it became much harder than OEM. So much so that I’m changing the B14s for the Koni/H&R coilovers which are much more comfortable than the B14s. I was so impressed by the Koni/H&R setup when I test drove them that I chose them as the flagship suspension product for my new business.I’m stuck as to how to lower mine, not fused about handling, I just want it 70mm lower and at a minimum the same comfort level as my OEM set up.
Is yours harder on B14 than OEM?
I also heard Vanslams are Bilsteins and softer?
Hi, my comments that you’ve quoted are now quite out of date, I was still in the honeymoon period and although I thought they were, they weren’t actually all the way down. Once I realised that and wound them all the way down it became much harder than OEM. So much so that I’m changing the B14s for the Koni/H&R coilovers which are much more comfortable than the B14s. I was so impressed by the Koni/H&R setup when I test drove them that I chose them as the flagship suspension product for my new business.
So B14 and Vanslams are better ride than stock?The handling is something you get for free with a quality suspension kit , 70 mm is already extreme actually and you will not get great comfort from B14 or Vanslams at 70 mm drops and definitely not much better ride than stock , The Handling will be a bit better however . The H&R kit will be the absolute best kit you can use it does 50 to 80 mm and is the most comfortable kit we have experienced . Oddly its 400 quid cheaper than the Bilstein Comfort kit which has no where near the features the H&R kit does ????