Hi all,
Intro
I am a proud owner a T6 DSG 150 SWB Highline panel van, which had a full conversion at the beginning of this year, and life has been great since; the whole family loves the van and we look forward to our mini getaways every weekend.
The problem...
But it was during one of these getaways that we discovered our 5yo was prone to motion sickness every time we hit the A roads. So I set out to find a remedy to our little problem. I quietly lurked and trawled through this forum and discovered tons of information. Like most, I was undecided whether to just lower the spring, add ARBs, or go for coilover kit like B14s. After a few more weeks of research and chat with VanStyle, I decided to bite the bullet and go for the B14s. Unfortunately, vanstyle didn’t have any available slot till first week of September and they could only book me in during weekdays, so instead I opted for Demon Tweeks in Wrexham and I just had it done this weekend. Here’s how I got on...
The solution...
I had emailed Demon Tweeks months ago for a quote on the B14s, to supply and fit with 4 wheel alignment, they charge just a little over £1200. It’s a lot of money but it’s still very reasonable and comparable to what others charge. I had it booked in for 8:30am on Saturday, and was told it would be around a 3 hour job - which was a big fat lie as it took closer to 6 hours!
The result...
They initially lowered the van to 60mm at the front and 40mm at the back, I was invited to have a look but it was dipping forward too much for my liking so I had the front raised by 10mm. So in the end, it was lowered by 50mm front, 40mm back.
On standard suspension, the distance from the centre of the wheel to the wheel arches were:
440mm Front, 460mm Back
After with the lowered B14s:
400mm front and back
Final thoughts...
Well, I wouldn’t go as far as saying the changes were ‘Night and Day’, but all in all, it’s like what others have already said, it drives a lot more car-like; the floating feeling is gone, it hugs the road much better and feels very planted, cornering is much more assured - you feel as if you’re leaning into the corner as opposed to being thrown out of your seat. The single most significant thing that I’ve noticed is that it reduced the sideway movements to almost zero. Previously, the van had a tendency of making you wobble side to side each time we go over a speed bump, or worse still when you’re coming out of the corner as your steering straightens out. I noticed that I no longer have to tense my torso to counter-balance the effect, and have much more confidence going in and out of a corner or roundabout.
It’s not perfect mind, the understeer is still there (Perhaps a set of ARBs will help with that) and I still don’t know whether it’s fixed my little one’s motion sickness in the back, but if it does, then I’d say the upgrade is worth every penny!
Finally, big thank you to all the information I've gleaned from this forum.
I hope the information above helps with anyone else who are in similar situation, especially when trying to decide which option to go for to improve the ride. Despite the high costs, and having to wait twice as long as I expected at Demon Tweeks to have the work carried out, I am generally happy with their service and I'd recommend them especially if you're based around the North West. The cool dude who fitted it was called Jay Z and he did a great job at explaining it all to me and wasn't at all bothered when I wanted it adjusted to fit my taste.
Intro
I am a proud owner a T6 DSG 150 SWB Highline panel van, which had a full conversion at the beginning of this year, and life has been great since; the whole family loves the van and we look forward to our mini getaways every weekend.
The problem...
But it was during one of these getaways that we discovered our 5yo was prone to motion sickness every time we hit the A roads. So I set out to find a remedy to our little problem. I quietly lurked and trawled through this forum and discovered tons of information. Like most, I was undecided whether to just lower the spring, add ARBs, or go for coilover kit like B14s. After a few more weeks of research and chat with VanStyle, I decided to bite the bullet and go for the B14s. Unfortunately, vanstyle didn’t have any available slot till first week of September and they could only book me in during weekdays, so instead I opted for Demon Tweeks in Wrexham and I just had it done this weekend. Here’s how I got on...
The solution...
I had emailed Demon Tweeks months ago for a quote on the B14s, to supply and fit with 4 wheel alignment, they charge just a little over £1200. It’s a lot of money but it’s still very reasonable and comparable to what others charge. I had it booked in for 8:30am on Saturday, and was told it would be around a 3 hour job - which was a big fat lie as it took closer to 6 hours!
The result...
They initially lowered the van to 60mm at the front and 40mm at the back, I was invited to have a look but it was dipping forward too much for my liking so I had the front raised by 10mm. So in the end, it was lowered by 50mm front, 40mm back.
On standard suspension, the distance from the centre of the wheel to the wheel arches were:
440mm Front, 460mm Back
After with the lowered B14s:
400mm front and back
Final thoughts...
Well, I wouldn’t go as far as saying the changes were ‘Night and Day’, but all in all, it’s like what others have already said, it drives a lot more car-like; the floating feeling is gone, it hugs the road much better and feels very planted, cornering is much more assured - you feel as if you’re leaning into the corner as opposed to being thrown out of your seat. The single most significant thing that I’ve noticed is that it reduced the sideway movements to almost zero. Previously, the van had a tendency of making you wobble side to side each time we go over a speed bump, or worse still when you’re coming out of the corner as your steering straightens out. I noticed that I no longer have to tense my torso to counter-balance the effect, and have much more confidence going in and out of a corner or roundabout.
It’s not perfect mind, the understeer is still there (Perhaps a set of ARBs will help with that) and I still don’t know whether it’s fixed my little one’s motion sickness in the back, but if it does, then I’d say the upgrade is worth every penny!
Finally, big thank you to all the information I've gleaned from this forum.
I hope the information above helps with anyone else who are in similar situation, especially when trying to decide which option to go for to improve the ride. Despite the high costs, and having to wait twice as long as I expected at Demon Tweeks to have the work carried out, I am generally happy with their service and I'd recommend them especially if you're based around the North West. The cool dude who fitted it was called Jay Z and he did a great job at explaining it all to me and wasn't at all bothered when I wanted it adjusted to fit my taste.
