Tired of running on marshmallows (suspension needs changed)

[purplepeopleeater]

Well, we put a little over 1000miles on the H6 this week (it did great btw, but the gas mpg sucked, thats for a drifferent thread!)

I am running 215/70/16 geolanders, and i'm getting bad rubbing on the outter edge of my wheel well when i'm going up an incline or heavy braking.

I know my springs are way too soft with all the added weight I have on my westy (plate bumpers, dual batts, suby motor)

This is pretty much the wifes reqeusted upgrade too, the wind was so bad coming over the pass that I couldn't barely do over 50 without loosing control, if the seat had buttons on the bottom of it I would have swallowed it.



I am thinking I want do use the moog 5660 S10 springs up front along with some koni's.

However, in the rear (pretty soft too) I'm not sure where I wanna go there, I thought about air bags but I haven't seen much posted on those.

I haven't even put my tire carrier or jerry cans on yet.

[buildyourown]

Monroe makes shocks with a built in helper spring. Search the forum for sensatrac. Cheap too. I think the sacrifice in quality of the damping vs a koni

[purplepeopleeater]

Interesting...

looks like I could use Monroe Sensa-Trac Load Adjusting Shocks in my situation...model#58253 front and #58633 rear.


think using these would solve my dive issue alone? I am happy with the ride hight I have now, and if I go any higher I won't be able to fit it under my garage door.

[levi]

If you currently have the 1986 springs, I think the moog's will jump your front end up at least an inch and a half.

I went from the stock 85 springs, which are supposed to be the tallest, to the moog, and gained a little over an inch, also very heavily laden van with tube bumpers, AWagen, etc.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[purplepeopleeater]

[levi]

I was going to add on the sensatracs, just haven't done it yet. Front and rear.
Looked like they were a fairly cheap gamble, and folks seemed to be not too disappointed.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...p;start=20

Not having them on yet I haven't anything to go on, except the moog up front that I have.
_________________
One of these days I'm gonna settle down,
but till I do I won't be hangin round.
Going down that long lonesome highway,
gonna see life my way

https://youtu.be/cSrL0BXsO40

[heidi85ho]

When my 85 2wd went soft, I replaced shocks with Konis, and springs with Steves new 2wd springs at Syncro.org. I feel like I am in a new vehichle! The van is extremely stable on the road, with and without full loading. Even my wife feels comfortable driving in high winds now.

[climberjohn]

Hi Purple,

I had your same problem. My 15" tires were rubbing on wheel wells under hard turns, hitting small curbs, etc, yuck! The tired stock springs had to go.

I have an 86 Westy, heavy, with GW bumpers Suby motor, water, 2 peeps, etc.

My suspension upgrades:
- Moog 5660 springs
- Koni red shocks all around, adjusted as per InSyncro's recommendation to 2 turns
- Addco front 1" sway bay
- Steering rack bushings from Loogy
- Rear left spacer over the spring of approx 1", to combat westy lean.

The ride height is now about 17 1/4' all around, way better cornering, no more tire rubbing. Moog springs and Koni's make the most difference.

Downside: The alignment is not quite to spec. My alignment guy said no biggie, just rotate the tires every 5K miles or so.

Hope this helps!
CJ
_________________
'86 Westy, 2.5 Subaru power
Know your limits. Exceed them often.

[insyncro]

[presslab]

[insyncro]

[deutschewerks]

I have the Monroe Sensatrac Load Adjust shocks all the way around and they will definitely not cure your soft front suspension by themselves. Did it help a little? Yes. Still get quite a bit of dive. The rear feels perfect, and the LoadAdjust shocks actually raised the rear a little, so now I have a decent difference in wheel opening from front to back (the van still sits much taller than all of my local Vanagon friends, gotta love '85s) I just recently came across all of this Moog 5660 info, and think that may be my ticket as well. Level out the van and higher spring rate for $50? Sign me up!
_________________
1985 Vanagon Westfalia 1.8t "Buelah"
1994 Golf GL 1.8t 350+hp monster
1999 Golf GL TDI
2000 Golf GL Race car
1993 Eurovan GL

[presslab]

[j_dirge]

Purple,
I'd suggest you include the big 25mm (1") swaybar to your plans.. as noted by Climberjohn.

As an admitted novice mechanic and tinkerer..
I installed my larger sway bar before doing any further suspension work.
Honestly. For the money it was the biggest leap forward.

Since then much more has been done.. but I think the sway bar is step number one.
Provides for a more stable platform from which to assess your own preferances in shock, spring, and bushing combinations.
And tis an easy install (relatively).

BTW.. Have you done the steering rack bushings? Powerflex from Loogy.. Firms up the steering noticeably.

I do not recall if you've rehabbed your front end.. but now is a good time to R&R all the bushings/sleeves/BJs/TRds.. etc.

All of this will tighten up the hanlding and contribute quite a bit to any new spring choice.

Best of luck in your project!
-j
_________________
-89 GL Westy, SVX.. finally.

-57 pan f/g buggy with a 67 pancake Type 3 "S"
"Jimi Hendrix owned one. Richard Nixon did not"
-Grand Tour, Season 1, episodes 4 and 5

[purplepeopleeater]

Bags is sure where i'm leaning towards on the rear, that appears to be my best option.

However, the GW 2wd lift spring set is only $299...I am worried I might get too much lift with these and it would require me to buy more expensive shocks.

The moog 5660's in the front and bags in the back sound like the best price option for me, plus I could use the extra money and buy the monroe sensatrac helper shocks...I should rehab my whole frontend....nothing is too worn out but once I get poking around there i'm sure something will fall apart so I need to watch what I spend.

I won't need an air management system really either, I can just set the PSI I want before I hit the road...

[presslab]

5660 springs $50
Slam SS-6 bags $150
Fittings/plates for bags $50

So the 5660/bags is $50 cheaper, but you'd need to do some welding. I just run independant schrader valves on my bags, that works fine.

Anti-sway bar and springs is a trade off. Stiffer springs need less anti-sway bar. This is typically the German tuning technique. Softer springs need more anti-sway bar. This is typical with American vehicles.
_________________
1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti

[buildyourown]

Assess your own desires before commiting to a sway bar. A sway bar has zero effect on fore/aft motion. It will help with handling and wind buffeting, but not brake dive. It will also limit independent suspension travel.

I do wish somebody would make a stiff rear spring to complement the 5660 fronts. If somebody finds a place that would make custom springs, I bet you could sell a lot of them.

[insyncro]

25mm swaybars and detachable links are in the works.

[insyncro]

[gl98115]