Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 22:56:11 -0800
Reply-To: Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
Subject: Re: Re; How to lower a Westy?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Amazing. I heard the exact opposite from a listee about two weeks ago...the
KYB's failed...seals failed...fairly early on. He went to Bilsteins and loved
them. Did you have the stiffer sport shock? Maybe you got a defective set.
Maybe he did too!
The KYBs are a monotube design, a design Bilstein invented and pioneered and
patented in the 50's. Bilstein has an unmatched record in off-road racing and
is the shock of choice at Baja 1000 and other such off road events. The KYBs
are basically cheaper knock offs. They copy bilstein technology, but not all of
it, and they do not use the same quality materials.
Did you by chance get the blue bilsteins, or yellows?
Anyway, if you like the KYBs beter, great. I guess i do come down on them too
hard...but i grew to hate them the short time i owned them.
steve
Karl Wolz wrote:
> Steve,
>
> I've used KYBs and I've used Bilsteins. The Bilsteins did not last and rode
> like rocks. The only way to get them warrenteed was to ship them to San
> Diego (at my expense) from Phoenix because there is no dealer for them in
> AZ. They simply came apart, especially at the mounts. Lasted, at most,
> 50,000 miles.
>
> KYBs have gone at least three times that far and are still working fine.
> Less money, better ride, more durable.
>
> Karl Wolz
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve <Steve@SCHWENK-LAW.COM>
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Date: Wednesday, March 24, 1999 4:15 PM
> Subject: Re: Re; How to lower a Westy?
>
> >If you want better suspension, junk the KYBs. Of all the
> >shocks available for the 2wd vanagon, these are the cheapest
> >and junkiest in terms of performance and materials and
> >construction. The stock boges are a much better shock. The
> >bilsteins are the best buy...they will last the life of the
> >van unlike the kybs (despite the lame warranty...read the fine
> >print) and the others, and will perform ten times better.
> >steve
> >
> >Grant Holst wrote:
> >
> >> I put H&R springs in my '85 GL. They are harsh.
> >> The van does handle great though. On hard bumps
> >> the front end used to bottom out on the shocks. I have
> >> KYB shocks front and rear. To keep the front
> >> from bottoming out I made some shock extenders.
> >> Basically they allow the shock to return to their
> >> original length. All front Vanagon shocks are the
> >> same length, 80-92. The shock extenders bolt through
> >> stand-offs to the outside of the lower control arm.
> >> 1/4" plate drops down 2" to two more stand-offs that
> >> bolt to the lower mounting of the shock. Tabs must be
> >> welded to the inside of one of the 1/4" plates to keep
> >> the whole assembly from rocking back and forth. The tab
> >> hits on the lip of the lower control arm. I've had these
> >> shock extenders on for several months and they work great.
> >> Without doing something like this you will bottom out.
> >> The Eurospec Vanagon has some really short front shocks,
> >> but don't know what they came from.
> >> The H&R rep. says you need Bilstein gas shocks up front
> >> to keep from bottoming, but I think Bilstein's would make
> >> the ride even more harsh. I drove the Eurospec van and it
> >> has late '88 springs in it. The ride was about the same as
> >> mine, maybe alittle more harsh.
> >> The rear H&R springs are a joke in my opinion. There are
> >> 7 coils of which the first 5 1/2 coils are touching each
> >> other. This gives you 1 1/2 coils of suspension. The H&R
> >> rep. says that is the way they designed them. The first
> >> 5 1/2 coils are used as a spacer.
> >
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