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Date:         Tue, 4 Sep 2007 21:03:22 +0000
Reply-To:     rubatoguy@COMCAST.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Todd Last <rubatoguy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Re: Don't push ME around..Van directional stability
Comments: To: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET>

Just curious what tires and wheels you are running.

I can speak from personal experience that the tires and inflation have a huge impact on drivability in sidewinds. My '71 Adventurewagon was much worse on crosswinds.

One thing I keep in mind when driving in sidewinds is that you want to drive as if you had a sailboat. Keep things going in the right general direction, but don't try to correct for every fraction of an inch the van moves - otherwise you will be tired and exasperated in short order.

Anyway, I found having the right tires makes a huge difference in handling in crosswinds. I have Michelen XCA radials and they are hardly bothered by crosswinds.

When I had my transmission redone I had them add a difflock from a syncro - have not had the chance to try it out yet. A bigger problem I see - particularly when backing up is the lack of weight over the rear wheels. This seems especially true with the taller coil springs.

Todd '88 Westy

-------------- Original message ---------------------- From: Don Hanson <dhanson@GORGE.NET> > Hey, I have owned a lot of vans, but never a bay window. Now, the 84 is > drivable in wind, it just takes the fun right out of it. On calm days, or > days with a constant wind, no problem and I enjoy the drive immensely..But > give some side gusts, or a constant side wind and lot of big > rigs....(Highway 395 outside LA comes to mind here) and it becomes a big > chore. I've considered stopping and camping till the side winds quit, even. > Don't get me wrong, I ain't complaining about the van. Overall, probably > the best all round vehicle I've owned so far, but it has a few shortcomings > in a few areas of performance, and those, I want to minimize (within > reasonable cost and effort) So now that mine works dependably and > efficiently, has all the creature comforts I want, etc..I am working on the > remaining flaws like poor traction and poor directional stability..relative > term "Poor"... > I did almost get stuck on a dry road. Drove into a potential campsite and > decided it wasn't good so we tried to back right out...no go...had to rock > the van a bunch to get out..A locker diff would work or a Limited slip, I > guess, but I don't see many lockers for sale and fitting a limited slip is a > bit pricey...for now. > Don Hanson


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