Date: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 00:01:41 -0800
Reply-To: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss )" <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Organization: Cosmic Reminders
Subject: Re: Volksiebus - 88 Transporter - Rough Running Engine
In-Reply-To: <52DB801B.70908@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Then you are probably running 8 PR ( D load rating ) tires front and
rear , would be my guess.
if so ..why is it so hard for people to get that vanagons call for C
load rating tires front and rear ? See the tire sticker.
what works even better is D's in the rear and C load rating tires on front.
I have written about this dozens of times on these lists...that combo
really helps straight line tracking, turn in, and cornering stability ..
about 15 % improvement over C's front and rear.
and about 25 % better than C's front and rear. D's front and rear Just
Sucks.
Every time I put D load rating tires on the front, I Can Not stand it ,
not even for two days.
lowering tire pressures doesn't help ..turn-in goes away.
also tire pressures in general..'more' is not 'better.'
The tires are a critical part of the suspension.
the pneumatic tire is a great invention !
lower tire pressure will not compensate for too stiff a tire.
higher tire pressures will not compensate for an under-rated tire.
C load rating tires in front..
if you don't have those ..then yes........you'll feel every tiny ripple
in the road, or at least I sure can.
and if no one believes me about D's in the rear, C's in the front..look
at a syncor tire pressure sticker sometime.
says right on it ...rear 8PR, front 6PR.
re the load.
2WD vanagons weigh more on the front axle than on the rear. Not really
that good an idea at all from handling and traction viewpoints.
the reason your front feels less harsh as load is added , is that as
load is added in the load area...weight may go up more on the front axle
than on the rear axle .
I had an 85 Weekender stuffed with old growth 2 X 12's I found in a
dumpster outside a remodel of an old building ..
I wieghed it at one of those truck scales..
that around here in Southern Oregon ( notice I didn't say 'around here
without saying where that is !! ) ...they leave 'em on ..you just pull
on and get your weight ...axle by axle, or total.
I was about 6,000 total with ............guessing, about 3,800 on the
front ..or at least 'proportional' to that, whatever the real weights
were.
betcha ..you're running D load rating front tires.
if so ..
I would get rid of them NOW. They suck on the front of vanagons. They
can't work right. They're too stiff.
and running anything over about 35 psi cold in front ..
in my world ..that's as high as I go in the front.
the flexing and compressibility of the tires are part of the non-truck
suspension on vanagons.
always run at 4 psi or so more in the rear.
again ..see the tire sticker.
some are even 38psi front, 48 rear I think I've seen. I
never go over about 45 cold in the rear myself.
try different tire pressures on your favorite windy road.
Vanagons do not have to be Unsteering PIgs ..but many of them are just
due to not having the right tire setups.
in some years the front springs are too tall and that sure doesn't
help. You put 8 PR tires on an 85 Weekender that''s 2 inches too talk
in front and it's a serious Understeering Pig ...just wants to tilt over
and grind of front tire rubber...badly, and you can't do a think about
it except slow down
a proper handling rear wheel drive car even takes a set in a corner with
power applied, and does better acclerating slightly as oppossed to
steady speed or slowing down.
there's a lot to be gained in the tires, wheels, and tire pressures, and
tire stiffness.
ALL modern 2WD cars have tires/wheels in the rear that are 'more' .
Becuause that's worth an easy 15 % improvement by itself in handling
dynamics. Check out any Porsche, Corvette, Ferrari, Lotus etc.
I don't grind off my front tires so needing to rotate front-to-rear is
not an issue for me.
On 1/18/2014 11:34 PM, JRodgers wrote:
> Actually - by "Truck Suspension" I mean stiff enough that on a ripple
> surface road your dentures clatter together separate from jawboning!!
>
> Add a 500 lb load between the front and the back seats and it rides like
> on air cushions. Designed for that purpose - the load - I suspect!
>
> John
>
> On 1/19/2014 12:48 AM, SDF ( Scott Daniel Foss ) wrote:
>> but trust me ..vanagons do NOT have 'truck suspesnsion.
>
