Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2010 06:41:25 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: 84 Westy -- Shock Questions
In-Reply-To: <y2i1250b1e91004020456q50c27a65s3e41a34d20445c73@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Highway scales might help you, assuming you can get a wheel at a time on
there and still keep the van somewhat level. To really corner balance a
vehicle properly, special scales are used and the 'range' (for a race car)
is taken down to a few lbs. When I worked on my van's suspension I did a
very rough "eyeball' job of it with no specific equipment (other than my
best guesses based on 4-5 yrs of racing) My 84 has an inline gas motor on a
50degree slant, like a diesel Vanagon, so I could see a lot of extra weight
was on the driver's side. Going up my driveway in snow my right rear wheel
was obviously lightly- weighted. So I put a donut of aluminum under the
spring there to transfer some more weight onto that wheel...and of course,
onto the left front..(remember those crossed pencils in your hand?) "Quick
and dirty" is what 'adjustments' like that were called by race
mechanics....but it helped a lot, both with traction and with drive ability.
Ride height and corner weight are interdependent. It's a compromise,
adjusting the two in concert. If you want to to a real corner balance, you
will probably need to borrow some corner balancing scales and maybe borrow a
guy who knows how to use those scales. Here's a couple of helpful sites.
http://www.cachassisworks.com/
http://www.hypercoils.com/
Page around for the tech help sections.
Don Hanson
On Fri, Apr 2, 2010 at 4:56 AM, Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@gmail.com> wrote:
> Don,
>
> I assume you mean measuring the weight on each wheel at the loaded
> conditions? So how much weight difference were you trying to compensate for
> with your 1/2" shim? This is something I may try after installing my new
> Bilsteins - is a highway scale sufficient for this, assuming I can place one
> wheel at a time on it?
>
> On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 11:02 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Ride height is only one part of it. And ride height can really vary if
>> the
>> suspension is not "settled" properly.
>> I laugh when I see so called suspension experts and alignment guys lift
>> up
>> a vehicle then just plop it on the alignment rack and start making
>> adjustments. Who knows exactly where that suspension is in it's range of
>> motion? You must drive around a little before measuring anything to do
>> with
>> alignment.
>> What is also important is the Corner Balance...Think of your van as a
>> table with the wheels being the legs. It's possible to have two of the
>> legs
>> a little long and still have a level table...but the other two are not
>> carrying any of the load and the table is easy to "rock"......In a van it
>> is
>> possible to have things out of whack and have very little weight on one or
>> two wheels..."Corner Balance"..it makes for strange behavior and if the
>> driver has an 'educated seat of the pants' it is noticeable.
>> Just as when you cut off one leg on a tippy table, it affects all 3 of
>> the
>> other leg's relative load... One way to visualize the concept is to take
>> a
>> couple of pencils and cross them at right angles, holding them in your
>> hand
>> parallel to the ground. Now, roll your hand around a little and watch the
>> 4
>> ends of those pencils...That is exactly how your vehicle's wheels work...
>> My 84 needed almost 1/2" of shimming on the right rear to get close to
>> corner balanced (as close as I needed in a 5000# camping utility van
>> anyhow)
>> Getting the corner weight properly adjusted really helped my traction.
>> When you measure that stuff, you need to have the van configured like it
>> will be driven....driver's equivalent weight in the seat, tank with proper
>> fuel load, your normal load aboard the van..
>> Don Hanson
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 7:10 PM, Jack Reynaert <jack007@comcast.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > I'm running the HD Bilstein's in my 84 Westy, and haven't noticed the
>> > height
>> > difference of 7/8".
>> > I'm 210lbs, and even with a full load, it only drops about 1/2" at most
>> for
>> > me.
>> >
>> > Where did you measure at, the top of the wheel well in front?
>> >
>> > How does it compare to the rear?
>> >
>> > Jack R.
>> > 84 Westy Wolfie
>> >
>> > -----Original Message-----
>> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
>> Of
>> > Geo
>> > Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:18 PM
>> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> > Subject: 84 Westy -- Shock Questions
>> >
>> > My Westy rides lower on the drivers side by 7/8". Not surprising as
>> > the kitchen, H2O tank, propane tank, closets and one heavy driver are
>> > over there.
>> >
>> > Part 1 -- Is it okay to use air-adjustable shocks to level the ride?
>> > They would, of course, be installed with individual air-lines, not a
>> > tee, allowing separate adjustment left-to-right.
>> >
>> > Does this (different pressure side-to-side) introduce undesirable
>> > issues in handling? I checked the archives but didn't find much on
>> > the adjustables.
>> >
>> > Part 2 -- Some sites seem to think different shocks are needed for 85
>> > and earlier vs 86 and later... others show the same part number
>> > throughout the range. Which is correct or is the answer 'it depends'?
>> >
>> > TIA for any help.
>> >
>> > Geo
>> > No virus found in this incoming message.
>> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> > Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2784 - Release Date: 04/01/10
>> > 14:32:00
>> >
>>
>
>
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