Red9 wishbone front setup, have you got one fitted?

I want to put this set up on my van but am a little nervous because I have spoken to someone who has had problems with it. He feels that it is a good setup but needs more development to make it as it should be. Simon at red9 told me that he has done about 20 of these now so where are they all. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like some feedback from people who are running this on there vans. I have looked at all the threads on here about the setup but it all seems to be people who would buy it if they had the money and no real experience of it. If it works I think its a great deal, sorted suspention, steering rack and for about £300 extra, discs up front. I can't wait, but would really like to know how others have got on with it.

All veiws gratefully recieved.

thanks

People are probably sick of me mentioning it but my setup should be ready this week...

My view is to fit it when I return from my holiday, so probably 2-3 weeks time. You have to bear in mind I have never driven a Bay window and my first drive will prolbably be mine when I have all the kit fitted to it, so I have nothing to compare it to. The bus is in Tamworth and I'm anticipating having it ready to drive away mid October your welcome to pop alonmg and try it out if you want.

Cheers

Des

I'll order for one in 2 weeks, 6 weeks to make it....

wilkie said:

I want to put this set up on my van but am a little nervous because I have spoken to someone who has had problems with it.
All veiws gratefully recieved.

thanks

Click to expand...

What were the reported problems?

im also considering this route,having spoke about all other methods none of which sound ideal,thought this prob best method not heard any bad reports,but plenty about all other ways,so what do you do ?

like the old saying goes..." no news is good news"

http://forums.kombiclub.com/showthread.php?t=23453" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ssvc.org.uk/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=55995&start=30" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

well this may open a can "o" worms but... i now have mine :roll:

i posted up the thread a while back saying how well the red9 bus drove and that i put down the cash for one.
well first of all the 4 to 6 weeks wait was more like 8 weeks and when i did get the kit it was not like i expected. in the end i had simon come down to my workshop a few times to see what the problems were.
basically A arm interference, below par fabrication and a lack of research and development.

i wont go into a long list of problems and i do belive the kit is a good idea but its taken me an additional 7 days to rectify problems along with red9 remaking the kit, not happy considering i bought the kit thinking it was ready to go.

the list of problems i have encounted include...
-the bevel box mount being too weak and moving around, it only mounts on 2 bolts

-the A arms will foul on any wheel with a standard or near standard Et, unless you have porsche rims n adaptors or empi 5s with an Et of 12! i spent a lot of time testing wheel combos

-one of my stub axles had barely any thread in the caliper mounting lugs, these should have been tapped beforehand, not everyone has an M14x1.5 tap lying around :shock:

-the shaft from the bevel box to the rack does not fit on the highest setting and has less than a few mm on the second one down, there are four height settings.

-The sideplates were both "over bent" so were not true 90degree bends meaning the front was out of true

-no form of steering stop so your wheels touch the a arms long before you reach full lock, dangerous and an MOT faliure

- you have to remove the brake pipe brackets but are supplied no alternative, more fabricating. you really need to support your pipes

-bevel box doesnt allow enough room for the brake pedal to travel, basically if you start to get brake fade, lose a brake circuit or even once you wear your brakes past a certain point you hit the bevel box and have no more travel. thats not safe at all
my brakes are new all round and i had 1cm of room between the bottom of the brake pedal and the bevel box. you even have to remove the bevel box n gubbins to bleed the brakes as there isnt enough clearence.

-cross bar can interfere with the gear linkage and handbrake if fitted as instructed, servo mounts can be a problem. ive had to mount my crossbar upside down!

there was more issuses but after working my way through it i have mine to a level where id be happy to take the missus out in it, i firmly belive it was unsafe beforehand.
simon has taken a lot of my ideas onboard and i hope they are going into the new kits

im probably more annoyed that i had to overcome these problems which meant calling red9 up, emailing pics to show problem areas and waiting for the modifed pieces or modifying them myself, for £1350 i expected more
also im lucky enough to have access to a ramp and workshop, im a damn good welder and fabricater but if your thinking you can fit it on the drive in a few hours think again.
after speaking to a few people i thought i should give my view as the last post was very favorable to the kit but the fitting of it has been an eyeopener.
if anyone want to chat further then Pm me n ill send you my number

thanks for your time
C

Since the kit is new, I suspected there would be some issues with it out of the gates. Hopefully Simon and crew are addressing these issues...

Thanks for that slammedkustom, its good to have some honest feedback before I go and drop my hard-earned on one of these. Perhaps Red9 can comment at some point on how they have/are planning on resolving these issues for those that are still considering investing in their kit.

well thats a nice report, and nice to have a it of feedback too.

slammedkustom, one thing i noticed on he red 9 van was that the bolt that helt the top part of the shock in place looked to be bent, does yours look like this at all? i also thought it was a bit strange that you have a large bush either side of it.

Thanks

Mark

The price alone suggest a lot or R&D has gone into it!! seems daft to release a product thats as unfinished as that :shock: Not good.

That is way to many problems for a new product. It tells me that they have not fitted it or done any long term testing with it. Makes me a bit worried!

Thanks for your comments, only one comment so far from someone who is running this setup and that dosen't fill me with confidence. Any body else had a better experience?

Slammedkustom is to be 100% trusted.

I'd suggest that Red9 consider using him to help them sort out their problems - with a decent bung for his trouble as well of course.

very worthy report. has helped me reduce what were three options now to two.
appalling considerings how it's marketed and the cost(s). to me says alot if a company puts out like that when obviously it's not fit for purpose and requires alot more development. you seem to have taken it in your stride, slammed', salutations. imagine the grief if you weren't as capable as you are :x
kit is not for me.

Hold on guys, lets please give red9 a chance to reply to slammedcustoms post before anymore comments from people who have no experience with the new setup.

ant said:

Hold on guys, lets please give red9 a chance to reply to slammedcustoms post before anymore comments from people who have no experience with the new setup.

Click to expand...

Indeed Ant... good comment.

SlammedCustoms: Fitting problems aside... how does the kit do for upgrading the suspension/handling/etc?

thanks for the support guys, thought long n hard about posting anything but its been bugging me.

Ant i spent a lot of time talking to simon about the front end, im not trying to shoot them down but i still think there is issuses to be resolved. you know ive been in the scene for a long time so hopefully i know what im talking about

muntz the ride quality is very good, id say almost as good as a standard van without the wallowing. if you read my previous thread again i can tell you simon van held the road very well, mines not finished enough for a full road test but i think the front will be an amazing upgrade to your van once its tweaked a bit more.
a lot of the issuses arise from the kit being a one size fits all but as you all know with VW things change, quite often to be honest. how cables are routed, gear linkage position etc then add a mind boggling array off wheel an tyre choices and your bound to run into problems.

i have to admit im a little peeved that a kit i thought would go straight on needed work, but im trying to put that aside and just deal with the facts.

Thanks for the comments. I'd be really interested to hear Red9's comments as actually I really want this to work.