increased clearance, transporter

[adrian_coops]

Hi,
I am wanting to increase the ride height/ground clearance on my 4motion T5 Transporter. Does anyone know if the 1BB rough roads upgrade from VW increases ride height? Is it possible to source the seikel suspension that trakka uses? Or should I just put spacers under the springs, or get longer springs made/sourced locally? I am only looking to gain about 20mm (which will then let me fit slightly bigger tyres).
Thanks

[gldgti]

i think a lift of 20mm would be safely achieved with standard struts, so the cheapest rout will likely be for you to source some longer springs...

i'm not an overt advocate of king springs, but they will make springs for you at a reasonable price, to you're specifications.

if you look at the king springs website for their catalogue, you can find you're vehicle. if it is in the catalogue, it may be as easy as a phonecall.

good luck.

[Graeme]

Trakka of Mt Kuringai offer the Seikel kit.

The problem is that they significantly overcharge for just about everything they sell and the cost is over $5,000, fitted by themselves. (Another item I priced has an rrp of $1,100 elsewhere and they charge $1,650.)

The NSW ambulance service wanted raised suspension on their 4Motion ambulances which are fitted out by Emergency Transport Technology (aka ETT, of Milperra NSW). Their specifications led to...

Heasmans (Sydenham, NSW) developing a "copy" of the Seikel kit using Bilstein shock absorbers and, presumably, Bilstein McPherson struts with Kings Springs.

Heasmans are the Bilstein agents. Maybe they use the same Bilstein bits as Seikel.

The ambulance service wanted tougher than standard springs so the springs as specified are a bit hard for,say, a lightly loaded camper. I'm not sure why they needed stronger springs as their equipment is not overly heavy and they only travel three up.

ETT started with the Heasman "kit" and Heasman installation but then decided on a DIY approach. I suspect they still use the Kings and Bilstein bits and maybe the latter from Heasmans.

Heasmans will fit their kits for you. I am having installation undertaken this week on my T5 SWB 4Motion van.

There is some uncertainty about the height gain. Trakka talk of actually 50mm for a Seikel kit which at face value should offer around 32mm. So if a precise height is desired then you might want it in writing as part of a quote.

[adrian_coops]

Thanks for the info Graeme, will be interested to hear how your van turns out and how much it ends up costing. I think Trakka get quite a bit of their "suspension lift" by fitting bigger tyres (235/70's). I looked at King's catalogue but could only see rear springs, with 2 inch lift. Too much I think for CV joints to handle (up front at least). Still thinking about my options, not in any real hurry.

[Graeme]

I forgot to mention that the raised suspension kits mentioned include a spacer to drop the rear differential 20mm. The claim is that the front CV joints cope without a problem. Hopefully!

[Graeme]

The actual result of the Heasman/Bilstein/Kings raised suspension installation on a SWB 4Motion Transporter van is...

...height increase of 37mm (don't know if it will "settle down" in use)
...firmer suspension with greater load capacity

The firmer suspension is very noticeable on an empty van. It would be less so on a Caravelle/Multivan as the empty weights are significantly greater with these.

The claim by Heasmans is that the cost is "reasonable" as replacement VW-installed shock absorbers/MacPherson struts is very expensive and it is allegedly of less quality that the "sports" type Bilsteins. I have not checked the dollars on this. But if you are ready for new shock absorbers anyway the raised suspension may make more sense.