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Did you know that a vehicle that is equipped with a standard air suspension can be lowered using individual coupling rods? Over 90% of all cars with factory Airmatic chassis can be lowered for a lean course and with minimal effort. Often these vehicles can also be lowered by programming the control unit for the air suspension, but in most cases this variant rarely allows a lowering of more than 10-15 mm. Or you need a new tax part for an often high three-digit or even four-digit amount. We would like to explain the variant with the coupling rods to you, but show you insistentlythat we do not assume any liability for the correctness. We do not assume any liability for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided. Liability claims against us relating to damage, defects, material or immaterial nature that arise or have arisen as a result of the use of the information in this report are generally excluded within the permissible framework. So in good German: SEid you are not sure, please seek the nearest specialist workshop and let you once again advise in detail and possibly the coupling rods (pendulum supports) there obstruct the same!
⚠ Update 2019: qualitatively, unfortunately, underground ➡ klick
There is information about defective standard coupling rods / pendulum supports HERE
Our test vehicle is an 2008er VW Phaeton GP01 which has a standard Airmatic air suspension. Alternatively, this vehicle can be lowered by approx. 15 mm using VCDS or you can use a module like this KW DLC lowering module that allows lowering by a maximum of 30 mm at the front and rear at the push of a button. But we wanted to spend a few millimeters more on the one hand and significantly less on the other. So we opted for coupling rods from the tuner BBM Motorsport at a price of € 99. As a lowering set, the rods enable the body to be lowered on the front axle by up to 70 mm and the rear axle can even drop as much as 80 mm if desired. Since the VW Phaeton is factory-set from a speed of 140 km / h a further 15 mm front and rear, you should of course pay close attention to this because this increases the risk of owning an "inoperable" vehicle, of course.
our tutorial
the VW Phaeton "must" be on high level or in jack mode before it is lifted
If the vehicle is on a lift, it may be possible to swap the rods without removing the wheels. The rods are screwed to the top of the level sensor for the Airmatic (10er key width) and clicked into a ball head at the other end. The assembly instructions from BBM Motorsport indicate that only the upper screw has to be loosened and the coupling rod can then be clicked out of the ball head screwed below. This is correct so far, but we decided to remove the ball head as well, because, as BBM correctly mentions on its website, it is often very dirty and sometimes very worn. Once you have removed the ball head, it is, on the one hand, much easier to clean it with a wire brush and, on the other hand, you can optimally attach the modified coupling rod, including its locking pin, and check that it is correctly positioned.
250.000 km leave tracks
Our ball head at the front was also quite "worn out", which is not really surprising in view of the 250.000 km mileage. If necessary, you should think about it when the modified coupling rod is clipped on and despite the splint has a lot of play to order a new part from your friendly VW dealer. IMPORTANT! It is very likely that you planned to lower the vehicle by more than 10-15 mm and so it is essential that you loosen ALL of the load-bearing links of the chassis and tighten them again after installing them in a "lower" position. If you do not pay attention to this, it can be assumed that all chassis components may soon quit their service and high repair costs await you.
Adjusting the coupling rods
This is an approximate indication. If you shorten the front coupling rods by approx. 10 mm, the vehicle should lower by 30-40 mm. On the rear axle, 5 mm means roughly the same difference. We decided to shorten the coupling rod by 12 mm and the rear axle by 7 mm. The lowering should result in approx. 45-50 mm on the front axle and the same on the rear axle. BBM recommends installing the coupling rods to the same length as the standard rods and only when this has been done, lowering the vehicle evenly by shortening the rods. We measured the standard rods precisely using a vernier caliper (from hole center to the middle of the threaded rod) and set all four coupling rods to the required level before installation by subtracting 12 mm from the measurement result at the front and 7 mm at the rear.
⚠ current pictures from 02.03.2018 ➡ klick
The installation is then carried out in reverse and on the front axle you should first screw the ball head back on (if you have loosened it) and then attach the other end of the coupling rod to the sensor. You should also try to clean the ball head on the rear axle so that the modified coupling rod has a secure hold. Make sure that the coupling rods on both the front and rear axles sit completely on the ball heads. If this is not the case, you can 100% assume that you will receive an error message and your vehicle may be completely crooked.
If the rods are installed and the nuts are correctly countered, you can leave the vehicle off the lift or, if necessary, from the jack, and sit in the vehicle and with closed doors start the engine. It is best to let it run for a few seconds and only then should you switch the jack mode or the high level to the normal level. The vehicle now goes much deeper than before and if everything is set correctly, there is of course no difference left or right. If necessary, you should measure this from the center of the hub of the rim to the fender and, if necessary, adjust it on the coupling rod concerned. As already mentioned above, at the latest now, if everything is set correctly and the vehicle is in the low position, you should release all important suspension components on a lift and then tighten again. Only then can you prevent consequential damage.
And of course, as already mentioned, you should find out in advance whether the vehicle will lower itself again at higher speeds (That's the case with the VW Phaeton) and consider further lowering when installing. Alternatively, you should see whether this automated lowering can be deactivated by coding.
in the video 20 inch rims and with H & R wheel spacers
the front axle
the rear axle
Important NOTE! Please check that you have a parts certificate included with the coupling rods or you will try in any case for a single approval and the resulting registration the registration of the vehicle! Does that not invalidate the operating permit.
We have no specific information about the legal assessment if you install the coupling rods as "spare parts" in their original length. In this case, an entry in the papers should not be necessary, but then of course there is no lowering. Please make sure to inquire about this. So far so good! But what if the steering wheel vibrates suddenly when accelerating or braking? What if the whole vehicle shakes and you have no idea where the imbalance is coming from? Then maybe our contribution on the topic "Car vibrates or wobbles while driving - why?"!
We still have many thousands more tuning reports on tuningblog.eu, if you wanted to see an excerpt then just click HERE. And there are still a lot of test reports from us. Below is a small excerpt:
Update
News from 02.03.2018
A couple of new pictures that show our VW Phaeton a few millimeters lower after we have changed the coupling rods a little bit. But this is definitely "the highest of emotions" and now all that's missing is a chic set of wheels, which we will definitely report on in the near future.
Update
A good 1 1/2 years later it turns out that the quality of the accessory coupling rods is anything but satisfactory. After about 25.000 km there is only a lump of rust left. We wanted to change the height of the vehicle a little and therefore adjust the coupling rods again. When looking "under" the vehicle, it was immediately apparent that these coupling rods could only be adjusted with a lot of luck. And they could not be loosened from the ball heads, so that we have the coupling rods inklusive Brackets (fortunately possible with the VW Phaeton) have expanded. Then everything was sprayed abundantly with rust remover and waited. Three of the four rods could be persuaded to be adjusted again with a little effort and a sure instinct. Bar number 4 turned off immediately and thus vanished into thin air. So a replacement was needed here. In our opinion, the rods are absolutely unsuitable for a later adjustment and to what extent they continue to do their job due to the rusted heads is also questionable. Of course, it was freshly oiled and greased during installation, but it is definitely not permanent.
Coupling rod / pendulum support defective - symptoms, repair / replacement and the costs incurred:
- Coupling rods are often referred to as pendulum supports.
- A distinction is made between coupling rods with ball joints and coupling rods with rubber bearings.
- A stabilizer is usually built into each axle, so that a "normal" car has four coupling rods.
- They are part of the chassis. (they transfer the deflection / rebound from one wheel to the stabilizer and thus to the opposite wheel)
- Age-related wear can ensure that the coupling rod is worn out and no longer fulfills its task.
- defective coupling rod symptoms / signs
- Rumbling noises / rattling noises
- high inclination when cornering
- Play on the wheel or stabilizer
- high inclination when braking
- Bumps while driving
- the symptoms can be heard especially when driving over potholes, bumps, cobblestones - Do you continue with one or more defective coupling rods?
- reduced driving safety
- limited driving comfort
- Damage such as to the stabilizer bearing can occur - Can a defective coupling rod be mixed up?
- possibly with defective shock absorbers
- possibly with worn out stabilizer bushings
- possibly with a defective tie rod
- possibly with worn out wishbones
- possibly with a defective spring - Repair / change of the coupling rod / pendulum support
- A change on both sides / axially is not necessary, but advisable.
- only replace the defective coupling rod with a new part (Repair is usually not possible or worthwhile)
- Drive the car onto the lift
- Dismantle the respective wheel
- Loosen the fastening nuts of the coupling rod
- replace the defective coupling rod
- mount the wheel again
- take a test drive - Costs: changing a coupling rod
- Material costs for a new coupling rod are between 35 and 90 euros
- Manufacturers of non-tuning spare parts are Meyle or Febi Bilstein
- the duration per page is between 15 and 60 minutes
- The labor costs are around 30 to 200 euros
- the total costs are around 65 to 290 euros
Of course, that wasn't the end of it!
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