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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)


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