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chrisvuc
Samba Member
Joined: May 04, 2006
Posts: 232
Location: henderson, nv
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 Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2025 3:47 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| BYeaton wrote: |
Here is my '70 Deluxe Sunroof:
Front has a 4" Valley Autowerks beam with Wagesnwest drop spindles and their babystang disc brake kit.
Rear is Wagenswest 4.5" horseshoe plates, adjusted splines for about 1" more drop, pipe notch just like tbellisimo posted above, Monroe air shocks with about 35 psi in them.
Wheels are American Eagle polished 5-spokes. The front 2 had 0.25" machined off the mounting pads for more offset and use a 165/65R15 tire (23.4" OD). The rears are a 205/65R15 tire (25.5" OD, stock 185R14 is 25.7"). Hand painted center caps.
Have a set of 17" Raders that are at powder, and those will be an alternate set for me. I'll post when I get those on. |
love it |
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 1:42 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| rob.e wrote: |
| jjjukebox wrote: |
Well, I got my tires figured out so now it is on to what shocks I should try and get. I’m gonna be static and lowered about 6 inches all around. I tried searching this topic for shocks and there’s hundreds of pages that come up all several years old so I don’t know if some of that stuff even still exists like the tires from my previous posts.
Is there anyone out there that currently knows what shocks fit the front and rear of a lowered bay window?
And here it is pre-lowering…
] |
I ran my bus on KYB gas-a-just dampers when i first lowered it. I have no idea why they are called "adjust" as they are not adjustable 
I wasn't happy with the ride on those tbh so i swapped over to T2d Bilsteins. These are way better IMO. I have them on all 4 corners now.
Reach out to T2d and tell them what your measurements are end to end for the damper at ride height and max droop and they'll sell you a set that is appropriate for your setup. They are excellent.
https://type2detectives.com/products/bilstein-shocks-front-bay?variant=36079160098968
My bus:
1978 Volkswagen Westfalia Champagne Edition by Rob E, on Flickr |
Thanks Rob for the feedback. I have been looking at their site and reached out via contact form with no response. Probably will have to give them a call.
Your bus looks great by the way too!
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1971 Bay window |
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rob.e
Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Oxford, UK
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2025 2:51 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| jjjukebox wrote: |
Well, I got my tires figured out so now it is on to what shocks I should try and get. I’m gonna be static and lowered about 6 inches all around. I tried searching this topic for shocks and there’s hundreds of pages that come up all several years old so I don’t know if some of that stuff even still exists like the tires from my previous posts.
Is there anyone out there that currently knows what shocks fit the front and rear of a lowered bay window?
And here it is pre-lowering…
] |
I ran my bus on KYB gas-a-just dampers when i first lowered it. I have no idea why they are called "adjust" as they are not adjustable
I wasn't happy with the ride on those tbh so i swapped over to T2d Bilsteins. These are way better IMO. I have them on all 4 corners now.
Reach out to T2d and tell them what your measurements are end to end for the damper at ride height and max droop and they'll sell you a set that is appropriate for your setup. They are excellent.
https://type2detectives.com/products/bilstein-shocks-front-bay?variant=36079160098968
My bus:
1978 Volkswagen Westfalia Champagne Edition by Rob E, on Flickr
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2025 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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Well, I got my tires figured out so now it is on to what shocks I should try and get. I’m gonna be static and lowered about 6 inches all around. I tried searching this topic for shocks and there’s hundreds of pages that come up all several years old so I don’t know if some of that stuff even still exists like the tires from my previous posts.
Is there anyone out there that currently knows what shocks fit the front and rear of a lowered bay window?
And here it is pre-lowering…
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1971 Bay window |
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cdennisg
Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004
Posts: 20777
Location: Sandpoint, ID
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| Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 9:34 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| rob.e wrote: |
| jjjukebox wrote: |
| cdennisg wrote: |
| jjjukebox wrote: |
Does anyone know where to source a 165/45/15 or 165/50/15 tire now in 2025? I’m having a hell of a time finding any.
Edit: I’ll need the XL rating FWIW. Last summer I saw some Achilles Atr-k Economist 165/45/15’s on a lowered bay but am not sure if that brand/size is NLA. |
XL rating as in heavy duty like C or D or LT? Not gonna happen. |
I don’t drive it much so I could probably get away without the XL rating but I’m having a super hard time finding anywhere that has 165/45R 15 or 165/50 R15.
It seems like I have a better chance with the 50 series. My only unknown at this point is how low my bus is gonna be with the flipped spindles that I need to install. |
You're looking for tyres that don't exist unfortunately.
No-one makes a low profile 15" tyre that has sufficient load rating for the front of a heavy bus as far as i'm aware. Achillies used to make some weird sizes with a high load rating but they went out of business or were bought by someone else- i can't remember - either way those are not made any more.
The "XL" load rating actually refers to the pressure it will hold (which also logically needs to be higher for a heavier bus) but the actual load rating is a numeric value. e.g. "75". For my heavy westy i need 85 or above on the front and at least 94 on the rear - i exceed these btw.
I've seen many super-slammed busses at uk shows that run inadequate rating on the front tyres - i guess the owners either don't know, don't care, willing to take a risk etc. Me on the other hand - i put my family /kids in the bus so the getting tyres with the right load rating is more important that looking cool. |
I've said it here before, and I'll say it again. It isn't as much about load rating as it is about the stiff sidewall of load rated tires. By design, a low profile, more sport/race designed tire has stiffer sidewalls by default. That is why lowered vehicles with low profile tires do quite well.
And, you are exactly correct about heavy load rated tires in smaller sizes. They don't exist. There are some small-ish 16" LT tires available for some modern delivery vans, but then you gotta change wheels, and you might not get the overall diameter needed to fit your bus.
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rob.e
Samba Member
Joined: August 07, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Oxford, UK
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| Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:17 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| jjjukebox wrote: |
| cdennisg wrote: |
| jjjukebox wrote: |
Does anyone know where to source a 165/45/15 or 165/50/15 tire now in 2025? I’m having a hell of a time finding any.
Edit: I’ll need the XL rating FWIW. Last summer I saw some Achilles Atr-k Economist 165/45/15’s on a lowered bay but am not sure if that brand/size is NLA. |
XL rating as in heavy duty like C or D or LT? Not gonna happen. |
I don’t drive it much so I could probably get away without the XL rating but I’m having a super hard time finding anywhere that has 165/45R 15 or 165/50 R15.
It seems like I have a better chance with the 50 series. My only unknown at this point is how low my bus is gonna be with the flipped spindles that I need to install. |
You're looking for tyres that don't exist unfortunately.
No-one makes a low profile 15" tyre that has sufficient load rating for the front of a heavy bus as far as i'm aware. Achillies used to make some weird sizes with a high load rating but they went out of business or were bought by someone else- i can't remember - either way those are not made any more.
The "XL" load rating actually refers to the pressure it will hold (which also logically needs to be higher for a heavier bus) but the actual load rating is a numeric value. e.g. "75". For my heavy westy i need 85 or above on the front and at least 94 on the rear - i exceed these btw.
I've seen many super-slammed busses at uk shows that run inadequate rating on the front tyres - i guess the owners either don't know, don't care, willing to take a risk etc. Me on the other hand - i put my family /kids in the bus so the getting tyres with the right load rating is more important that looking cool.
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cdennisg
Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004
Posts: 20777
Location: Sandpoint, ID
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 5:44 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| jjjukebox wrote: |
| cdennisg wrote: |
| What does XL mean on that tire? My mind would be blown if it means it is rated for heavy loads. Never in my years have I heard of 15" low profile tire that was rated that way, but I'm open to learn new things. |
Honestly not sure. They could have just put it on for fun. The 75 load rating comes out to 853 lbs a tire per TireRacks tables. That’s 1706 for the whole front end. |
A load rated tire for a bus should be at least in the 95-100 range, if not more.
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 5:18 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| cdennisg wrote: |
| What does XL mean on that tire? My mind would be blown if it means it is rated for heavy loads. Never in my years have I heard of 15" low profile tire that was rated that way, but I'm open to learn new things. |
Honestly not sure. They could have just put it on for fun. The 75 load rating comes out to 853 lbs a tire per TireRacks tables. That’s 1706 for the whole front end.
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1971 Bay window |
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cdennisg
Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004
Posts: 20777
Location: Sandpoint, ID
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 2:59 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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What does XL mean on that tire? My mind would be blown if it means it is rated for heavy loads. Never in my years have I heard of 15" low profile tire that was rated that way, but I'm open to learn new things.
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 2:18 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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Here is one of the tires I was trying to track down. It has an XL on it.
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1971 Bay window |
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 2:07 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| cdennisg wrote: |
| jjjukebox wrote: |
Does anyone know where to source a 165/45/15 or 165/50/15 tire now in 2025? I’m having a hell of a time finding any.
Edit: I’ll need the XL rating FWIW. Last summer I saw some Achilles Atr-k Economist 165/45/15’s on a lowered bay but am not sure if that brand/size is NLA. |
XL rating as in heavy duty like C or D or LT? Not gonna happen. |
I don’t drive it much so I could probably get away without the XL rating but I’m having a super hard time finding anywhere that has 165/45R 15 or 165/50 R15.
It seems like I have a better chance with the 50 series. My only unknown at this point is how low my bus is gonna be with the flipped spindles that I need to install.
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1971 Bay window |
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cdennisg
Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004
Posts: 20777
Location: Sandpoint, ID
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 12:38 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| jjjukebox wrote: |
Does anyone know where to source a 165/45/15 or 165/50/15 tire now in 2025? I’m having a hell of a time finding any.
Edit: I’ll need the XL rating FWIW. Last summer I saw some Achilles Atr-k Economist 165/45/15’s on a lowered bay but am not sure if that brand/size is NLA. |
XL rating as in heavy duty like C or D or LT? Not gonna happen.
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jjjukebox
Samba Member
Joined: February 02, 2017
Posts: 47
Location: Seattle
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| Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2025 11:01 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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Does anyone know where to source a 165/45/15 or 165/50/15 tire now in 2025? I’m having a hell of a time finding any.
Edit: I’ll need the XL rating FWIW. Last summer I saw some Achilles Atr-k Economist 165/45/15’s on a lowered bay but am not sure if that brand/size is NLA.
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house of dubs
Samba Member
Joined: January 17, 2021
Posts: 8
Location: Vancouver, WA
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| Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2025 5:40 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| @riverart- Great looking stance on your bus with 17" wheels, What kind/ size of tires did you go with? Any rubbing issues? How do you feel that the ride is over all? |
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riverart
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2017
Posts: 55
Location: Pomona
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| Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2024 7:23 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| No notch...though i'm thinking about it. |
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riverart
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2017
Posts: 55
Location: Pomona
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| Posted: Thu Sep 12, 2024 7:23 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| No notch...though i'm thinking about it. |
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chongtautz
Samba Member
Joined: October 09, 2016
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Thu Aug 22, 2024 9:56 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| @riverart. Any C notch in back? Perfect stance BTW |
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riverart
Samba Member
Joined: September 20, 2017
Posts: 55
Location: Pomona
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| Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2024 2:20 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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Here is my 1971 Bus. 4" narrowed beam, 2.5" drop spindles with 3.5" horseshow plates. Wheels are 17" BRMS. |
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eblaikie
Samba Member
Joined: June 10, 2008
Posts: 77
Location: San Marcos, CA
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| Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2023 10:14 am Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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I have a question about narrowing the front beam. If I am installing adjusters do I need to narrow my front beam? Do I have to narrow the front beam if I go beyond a specific amount?
Thanks |
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cdennisg
Samba Member
Joined: November 02, 2004
Posts: 20777
Location: Sandpoint, ID
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| Posted: Mon May 22, 2023 12:19 pm Post subject: Re: Lowering a Bay FAQ |
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| Lokidazbus wrote: |
Thanks for the reply and yes there’s a lot of “toe out” in the rear wheels, the front is leveled and straight.
I’m just wondering if there is a way to lower the back with the drop plates in the rear and correct the negative camber.
Makes me wonder if the torsion bars are weak and need to be replaced.
Thanks |
The torsion bar' strength has nothing to do with the camber adjustment. They are the springs. Camber on the rear of an IRS bus is a function of ride height (indexing of torsion bars, not their strength) and alignment of the trailing arms and spring plates. There is a camber adjustment procedure in the bentley manual for your bus, but with an extremely lowered example, it may not be enough to fix your camber.
And just to be clear, toe-in and camber are two very different things. You have obvious excessive negative camber, and possibly excessive toe-out.
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