# Bagging B4V. Ride quality?



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

I just acquired a B4V TDI and my wife is giving me grief about my desire to bag it. We have put 27,000 miles on the bagged Cabrio since January and the one word to describe all that experience is simply "rough". That car rides like balls. I have assured her that the Passat would ride much better due to being able to ride at lower pressure. I run the Cabrio at 37 front 47 rear and we are just high enough to "barely" drive it. Mind you we've taken this car on 4 x-country road trips of 3k miles one way towing a trailer for most so she's not happy about the prospect of the new car riding like the old. I have the Bag riders special which is the slam series Air Lifts aka "lifestyle". Can anyone give me an idea of what a wagon would ride like on these bags? I don't want to go back to springs ever on any of my cars. Thanx!


----------



## [email protected] (Feb 19, 2010)

GreasySideDown said:


> I just acquired a B4V TDI and my wife is giving me grief about my desire to bag it. We have put 27,000 miles on the bagged Cabrio since January and the one word to describe all that experience is simply "rough". That car rides like balls. I have assured her that the Passat would ride much better due to being able to ride at lower pressure. I run the Cabrio at 37 front 47 rear and we are just high enough to "barely" drive it. Mind you we've taken this car on 4 x-country road trips of 3k miles one way towing a trailer for most so she's not happy about the prospect of the new car riding like the old. I have the Bag riders special which is the slam series Air Lifts aka "lifestyle". Can anyone give me an idea of what a wagon would ride like on these bags? I don't want to go back to springs ever on any of my cars. Thanx!


Out of curiosity, do you find the the Cabrio rides poorly regardless of the pressure, or is it only rough at certain pressures?


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

Rough regardless of pressure. Sometimes I'll take all the crap out of the trunk and air it down to 25 and it seems to ride smoother *however* at 25psi I'm about 3/4" off the ground so my rockers will hit parts of the road that aren't flat (note: wife cringes with disgust every time I hit something, I think it's fun, go figure). This is what leads me to believe it would ride smoother if I didn't have those big-ass rockers to deal with. 27k miles on the air and not a single hiccup but man is it rough. I swapped MK4 seats just so I can have a little lower back cushion on the long drives.


----------



## darcness (Aug 8, 2008)

Odd that you can't find a happy medium on your setup. I've wanted to go to a dedicated air strut myself, but am still running bags over coils due to lack of funds. To be honest I hated the ride at first. I ended up taking my bags out I got so frustrated. I missed that "coil-over" feel of being connected to the road and still having decent ride quality. 

I just ended up playing around with different pressures and ride heights until I found something that really worked for each different road condition that I encounter. That way with a quick adjustment I can get quality ride by making a few slight adjustments if needed.

If I can do it with BOC's, you should be able to achieve it with a better air setup. Just for reference I'm on an MKV, might make a big difference, might not, not sure.


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

Yeah, the Cabrio has huge rockers due to having no roof for structural support. These rockers hang down about 2.5" lower than a normal MK3 so for the best ride quality I need to run very low pressure. Alas, at the correct pressure setting for smooth I will never know, the car sits on the ground before I can get it there. I am going to run stock suspension on the B4V until I get home in December, then I'll bag it.


----------



## arethirdytwo (Apr 4, 2007)

I will tell you that few things on air ride as bad as a mk3/3.5 cabrio. I rode in Corts plenty of times and it was awful, especially expansion joints on the highway. Always bucking, regardless of pressure. 

My R on the other hand rides honestly better than stock (if I am remembering it correctly). Very smooth, not bumpy or floaty. I think she will like it, my Fiancee enjoys the R but I can tell you she would NOT like the cabrio. 

GO FOR IT!


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

Copy that. I just got confirmation from a bagged B4V that ride quality is titties and beer. Damnit, now I gotta rip all my custom **** out of the Cabrio and buy more air line.. I have all the air stuff behind the rear bumper cover so nothing is in the car. Too cool to cut up.


----------



## Cort (Aug 18, 2004)

My cabrio never quite rode right. Never felt like other people's cars. It was a great install, but the chassis just hates it. The car rode great with coils slammed on it's nuts. I think it is just too much overall weight for a short chassis and all that weight in the rear.


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

Here's how she sits this evening. I routinely tow 1200+lbs with the car and it rides fantastic if I have 250lbs of tongue weight. The MK4 seats make it more bearable.


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

Threw the air on the wagon and drove 3k miles to Charlotte. No problems and it rides %100 better than the Cabrio did. That's 30,000 miles on those bags this year with zero problems and I still gotta drive home in December.


----------



## jazzcat2001 (Mar 17, 2004)

that wagon is badass...im still kicking myself for passing on one of those:banghead:


----------



## GreasySideDown (Mar 4, 2011)

It looked like a bum orgy happened in it when I bought it. It took me a solid week to restore to new inside. It got hand-laid (by me) green recycled content carpet, MK4 cloth seats, SEM coated panels to black (highly recommend there products), and other crap I can't remember. I had only 1 week to get this car ready to go before I had to drive out here to the Carolina's and it barely got done to the point it was solid. I get home at the end of December and this car is getting a brand new AHU with ALH oversized pistons and a general underhood restoration to new. Also didn't have time to fab a fiberglass sub enclosure so there's a crappy stereo in it for now (this bugs me since I usually run Sundown Audio gear and Morel's in all my cars). The car has some very minor waviness on the driver side rear door that needs to be fixed but otherwise the car has new paint and has never been in a collision. Car came with a brand new injection pump (from Boraparts) and a brand new k03/k04 hybrid (also from Boraparts) AND a whole other 1Z engine complete with wiring harness. I paid the guy $5k for the whole thing if you can believe it. 

By the way, the Cabrio will be up for sale as soon as I get home. I built it with the intention of never selling it so someone will get a very special car. Mk3.5 dimple interior with Beetle seats, brand new top, Mk3.5 ABS rear disc beam, hitch, and to top it off, an AHU TDI engine with 27,000 miles on it (build completed in January this year). Cab gets 50mpg and that's been verified consistent on extended roadtrips all the way to city driving. Stage 3 egr delete Malone tune, PP520 nozzles, custom (by me of course) 2" stainless exhaust, false floor in the back, Sundown 12" sub in molded enclosure in the rear corner of trunk, 2000w Hifonics Brutus, Morel's in the door/dash on a JBL, power windows. Will have a sport style suspension installed before selling and it needs some minor body work (small surface rust spot and the rear bumper cover has a tear). Interested?


----------

