Date:         Sat, 18 Aug 2007 08:59:36 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>
Subject:      ride height adjustment? (long post)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252"

  I know, "Check the Archives"...but my dial-up connection is so slow that
when I try to get something odd-ball out of the List Archives, it sometimes
takes me all dang morning to not succeed anyhow.
  Problem: My 84 2wd van seems a bit 'off' in it's "stance".   It is not
exactly 'even' in how it sits.  With our racecars, we called it
"Corner-balanced".  Ideally, each wheel would share an equal weight, giving
you an equal amount of traction at all four tires.  In reality, most cars
are heavier at one end or the other..Examples would be...say,. the Olds
Tornado for a heavy front end weight bias and the Porsche 911 for a heavy
rear/front bias..  You can't do much about the F/R balance, but you can
adjust the side to side/corner to corner balance by adjusting ride height at
the wheels.  That is what you always hear about on NASCAR TV broadcasts when
they talk about "loose, tight" and making an adjustment during a pit
stop..Those cars have easily accessed ride height adjustments that allow a
crewman to 'tweek' the ride height in a few seconds.  Many vehicles have
'coil over' suspensions,  where the springs sit around the shock body and
rest on a threaded spring perch, allowing you to adjust the ride height by
moving the spring perch up or down.
  So my van, if you look closely or pay attention as you drive in low
traction situations, it seems like the left rear and the right front wheels
are taking more load than the other diagonal corners..If you can picture the
van as a table with four legs, it would be like a table with un-even
legs..The table, you'd stick a matchbook under one or two legs and it would
be steady again..The vehicle, you need to extend the suspension at one or
two corners.  Or, you would cut off one leg of the table to make it stable
again, or lower a corner of the van..
  Mine, the right rear wheel (or the left front)  seems "light", so I want
to either extend that and put more of the load there, or lower the left
rear/right front to allow the right rear and left front to carry more load.
It is a bit difficult to visualize..but hold a book parallel to the floor
and rotate it around a bit, you will see the relationship between the
corners.."corner balance"  In a racecar, we used four scales and actually
weighed the load on all four tires, and then adjusted the suspension for the
best balance we could achieve...
  So on  a van, is there any way to influence/adjust the suspension for
"length"...Not the right term, I know.."extension?"  Ride height is the term
used for racing..but  a van is hardly a race vehicle..
  Sorry if this has been discussed before and it's "in the archives"...
  Don Hanson