VW T5 Coilovers

[rob64981]

Just thought i would link you all to this thread on the Brick Yard about the problems with coil overs on a T5.........
H&R coilovers - The Brick-yard - Page 1
Hope it stops anyone else having similar problems.
Rob

[77dual]

Hi all, I have an '05 Transporter that currently has airbag suspension and I'm looking to replace the front bag setup with coilovers. Has anyone tried any other brands besides KW? Just curious to know how much difference there is between them and some of the cheaper options. I've found a couple of options for KW online, one local place Coilover Variant 1 inox - KW
And these from the UK at a much better price, $1600 landed KW Suspension Variant 1 Coilover Kit - Demon Tweeks I can't see much of a difference between the two, any of you had experience with either sets?
I don't really need damper adjustment, just height, it's a work van / part time family hauler that I'd like to ride better than it currently does and have a bit of height adjustment.

[Sunny43.5]

We have Bilstein coil over in our 2011 T5.1 they are really good I will admit the first set which were from FK in Germany were crap they groaned something nasty as it seemed that they were not the right strut length for the front and when the car was back on the ground it was making the struts bend slightly which was why they made noises . The Bilsteins were the correct length and have been faultless now for the last 16 months .

[77dual]

Good to know Sunny43.5, thanks. I know a fella with Bilsteins as well, his are H&R I believe with a Bilstein insert.

Anyone else?

cheers, Scotty

[aussiet5]

Awesome to see a fully bagged van getting around!!
i was going to bags in mine but ended up on coilovers.

i am running kw v3 coilovers in my van and very happy with the ride.

east coast suspension supplied them for me

[77dual]

Cheers mate, the bags are fun but the ride is bloody terrible! It's handy as a work van when I need to raise it up to occasionally get up gutters etc. but I'd rather decent ride quality, must be getting old

I'll check out East Coast, thank you.

[Lams]

I have the V1s... wish I got adjustable dampers too, the ride is a bit too much for me (it's a passenger service van)
but great product!!

[77dual]

I was thinking of the V1's, quite a bit cheaper and I didn't think damper adjustment would matter that much, good to know it does. I'm surprised they seem to have such stiff dampers in a lot of the coilovers, maybe they're a universal insert and it's just the rest of the strut that differs depending on the car. It's not like a bloody van needs shocks that stiff!

thanks for the info Lams.

[BilsteinB14VWT5]

At the german T5 Forum the coilovers are a big theme (approx 300.000clicks just the matter Bilstein B14 coiloverkit ! ) because especially at "cars" like our T5 the suspension and lowering is a bit more complicated as for example at a VW Golf or a normal car, due to the big variety of axle loads. Empty Transporter without rear seats, short wheel base, long wheel base Multivan Highline with adjustable rear seats..etc plus the dissapointing original VW dampers means that lowering just with springs is really not the best solution for the T5. Concernig the sometimes funny looks when the back of the car is lower than the front or the handling when it came too low an the T5 rides at the bumpstops at the dampers.
For the T5 a coiloverkit really makes sense but a lot of users and guys I know were not happy with the handling because it was too firm, too noisy and some had problems with oil leaking at the dampers etc. The orig. VW (Monroe) dampers were completely unsatisfying for me and I tested the Bilstein B6 dampers with standard springs for a while which improved the handling of the T5 but I wasn´t 100% happy and I still wanted the T5 a bit lower. It was a chance when Bilstein made a product recall for the B6 front dampers because they had found out that at some T5 chassis types the monotube dampers at the front made noises or transmitted noises from the suspension into the chassis and so Bilstein decided to develop the T5 B6 dampers at the front as a twintube damper. With my longterm experience with Bilstein in general and with the knowledge that Bilstein is the OE supplier for Porsche since 30 years , for Mercedes E + S class and all AMG etc I decided to take the new Bilstein B14 which came in 2011 with twintube damping at the front + enlarged bumptravel and the sensitive monotube damping at the rear with a typical Bilstein setup which means enough comfort for the familiy but much much better cornering. Better than a lot of passenger cars ! Now I am 100% happy with the suspension !
In the german autobildsportscars magazine they tested tuned T5 s and the Bilstein B14 was the winner also against the 4 times more expensive multichannel airridesuspension kit even regarding comfort !
Also at the german T5-board forum a lot of longterm forum users which tested a lot of different brands , some with fully adjustable damping etc , but came to the conclusion that the Bilstein B14 plays in a different league and offers much better handling and a superb ride quality which they before thought couldn´t be possible with a 70mm lowered kit.
Regards
Stef
PS: this is unfortunately not my own T5 ( my T5 looks much cheaper with steel wheels) , it is the T5 of a dutch T5 freak with 20" Breyton wheels

[Sunny43.5]

Pretty sure the B14's were the ones I finally fitted to our T5 as I had said earlier they are really the best for our van .

[77dual]

That's good info there, I'd love the Bilsteins but they're a quite a bit more expensive than the KW V1's, too much for me to justify.

[Sunny43.5]

Buy them from the UK so much cheaper , local prices are outrages .

[BilsteinB14VWT5]

Here in Germany the T5 B14 kits cost at the most onlineshops or at ebay approx 1200 Euro. But I have no idea what they charge for the freight to Australia.
By the way: Don´t forget that two different type of front suspension brackets are used by VW at the T5. The most T5 have the standard cylindrical strut clamp ( see VW Codes at the vehicle data badge/sticker in your T5 service manual for example 1BA or 1BV) and the second type is the rare strut clamp bracket at the front struts which have for example the VW codes 2BQ, 2MR, 1BH, which were used as far as I know for the T5s with 3.2 tons gross vehicle weight . Therefore you have to choose between two different Bilstein B14 or in general at all coilovers or front suspension dampers for the T5. The standard cylindrical strut clamp type has the Bilstein part no 47-196704 which are for example always (in Germany) used in all Multivans and Californias for which you had no option for the 3.2tons suspension by the configuration. An online dealer who I know( to avoid misunderstandings I am not working for this dealer )
has here photos of both different types of the suspension: Bilstein B14 Gewindefahrwerk 47-196704 VW T5 Transporter

And here the T5 from a norwegian chap wit 22" wheels + Bilstein B14 at his nice T5

[77dual]

Sunny, yep I've been looking and the KW's seem like good value for money from the UK, should be about $300 cheaper than here once they're landed.

BilsteinB14VWT5, I've heard about the front brackets being different, thanks very much for all the detail on exactly what differs. I'll have a look on ebay and see how much shipping is on the Bilsteins.
Both of the T5 pics you've posted are great looking vans, I love the one just above.

[BilsteinB14VWT5]

I guess you couldn´t compare the Bilstein B14 with KW or FK or Vmax etc. As far as I know KW V1 are oildampers and twintube at the rear. In the t5-board forum ( welches Gewindefahrwerk für VW T5 ? Bilstein ? | T5-Board ) some longterm Forum members switched from KW to the B14 and reported that the B14 plays in a different league. At 38 pages in this thread with approx. 300.000 clicks I could not find anyone who switched from the Bilstein B14 to KW.