Date:         Sat, 6 Jan 2001 14:08:23 +1200
Reply-To:     Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Grebneff <andrew.grebneff@STONEBOW.OTAGO.AC.NZ>
Subject:      Re: Swaybars-worth it(rear)?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

 When you add a rear anti-sway bar, you are moving the "roll
>couple" or roll resistance more to the rear of the vehicle.  This means that
>the rear of your Vanagon is now doing more of the work in holding the van to
>the road as you round the corner.  This is why anti roll bars are more
>fun...right to the point where the tires let go.  Since you are asking the
>question, it says to me that you have an interest in this and may know all
>about this stuff.  Don't let this talk you out of it, just know that it will
>change the dynamics of your Vanagon.

Swaybars can actually cause UNDERsteer, as happened with a hot Corolla
hatch marketed in Australia some years ago. It had fat swaybars front &
rear. Roadtesters hated it because it was no fun to drive, pushing its nose
wide in bends. The introduction of front swaybars to the Split vans
produced mild understeer. I'm not sure about the effects of rear bars; I
expect much of the understeer may be caused by the front.


>Don't go burning too fast into a tight
>corner (in a Vanagon? You crazy man?) get spooked and lift off the throttle.
>Or if you do, be prepared to watch where you are going through the side
>window!

The Vanagon has a reputation for hunting BMWs etc on twisty German
backroads. VW should have marketed it as a sportsvan. Don't knock its
handling (nonNorth American versions anyway). Any Transporter van built
after the changeover to CV joints (ie postmid67) and not converted into a
camper is capable of being driven very hard on twisties. The only time I
got a fright in my 75 1800 was on a very narrow country road, entering an
off-camber righthander way too fast. It began to understeer and I thought I
was going to run off nose-first and see how it handled a high-speed (say
75mph) jump down about 7 feet into a plowed field. But just in time the
rear end let in a little oversteer and corrected the situation. I think
this oversteer was caused by the off-camber, because it was not a normal
handling characteristic to that vehicle.

Well, the Vanagon is supposed to handle better than the Bay. Though mine
understeered badly (but could snap the tail out in the wet, partly due to
the heavy iron 174hp V6), understeery enough to be no fun in the twisties.


Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
VW & mollusc nut
1984 VW Caravelle (currently SVX engine; waiting for a Porsche trans)
1985 Mitsubishi Galant Sigma 2.0 (FWD), for sale
1986 CE80 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel (extaxi)
1989 CE96 Toyota Corolla 1.8DX diesel wagon
1989 CT170 Toyota Corona Select 2.0 diesel (taxi)