Date:         Mon, 17 Mar 1997 14:46:24 +1100 (EST)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         s.overmyer@uws.edu.au (Stephen Overmyer)
Subject:      Re:'87 Mods.

Perry,

There is a German company called Oetinger who manufacture all the various
bits'n'pieces to convert 2.1l WBX's into 2.5l engines with the extra
low down torque and grunt you require.This is a fairly common conversion
in Australia as certain VW establishments have connections with Oetinger.
There must be a similar connection somewhere in the US.
A word of warning however,their stuff is good but it don't come cheap!
They also make a 3.7l 6cyl WBX but I have been told that it costs something
like 43,000DM !!!! (you figure out the conversion in your currency)

As for improving the handling,(which is not bad even when stock) I am
happy with the set up on my '92 Transporter which has been improved by
replacing the front sway bar with a stiffer one of a larger diameter.
The original one was about 20mm dia and the new one is 25mm dia.It is
locally made here in OZ so a brand name won't be much good to you.(But
anyone who is interested,e-mail me)It comes with new polyeurethane bushes
which are an improvement over the stock ones.
I have also replaced the original stock 185 14 wheels and tyres when they
wore out with 15x7 alloy wheels with Falken 215 60's which in conjunction
with the sway bar,feels very safe and with hardly any body roll.I find
the handling exceptional in the wet too with these tyres (similar to the
Bridgestone G Grid if you happen to know those tyres)
When the shocks are due for replacement,I'll put Bilstein or Kony 
adjustable (and rebuildable!) ones in place of the originals but only when
the original ones are worn out-I don't replace things for the hell of it!
These will improve the handling even more,as would a rear sway bar as well
but while very good,I wont be doing that as it limits the rear wheel
travel which is fine if you only drive on sealed roads but otherwise you
lose a bit of that good old VW off-road ability,which is part of the
reason I drive them in the first place.
With the wider tyres I now use,I may be adding slightly to my fuel
consumption compared with the original 185 14 Michelins but the superior
feel,handling and reduced understeer the van now has makes it all worth
while.No doubt there will be varying opinions on this.

Cheers,

Steve O.

'92 Transporter
'76 Crew Cab (with similar suspension mod's)