Another bloody lowering thread.

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

I'm still umming and aaahing about lowering my bus a little. I was looking at the transporterhaus gear.

£600 for drop spindles for front
£200 for rear
DIY fitting

Would I then need anything else?
New shocks which are £200 for all 4??
Maybe new wheels and tyres? I'm on the standard wheels at the moment.

I don't want to slam it, just make it look a little better on the road. I think 3-4" is a good drop.

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

new steering track arms - cant remember if you need a pair of fixed's or adjustables but you need to match the pair along with some trimming of your backplates for the front discs!

you will need the tracking resetting as swapping it all round will upset it all!

Zed · Dec 26, 2012

What Mork says + setting the camber.

My opinion on flipped spindles is well known. I took mine back off. TH flipped spindles are lower than 3-4 inches IMO, yes you will need smaller tyres and unless you get strong ones it'll be like driving on jelly. You'll also need coil-overs and/or bump-stops.

If it's a camper I'd advise you go the adjuster route so you don't end up so low. Others will be along shortly to say the opposite. ;D

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

hmm, so probably looking around £1200 all in? ill have to mull that one over a bit longer..

when you say adjuster route.. do you mean removing the beam and welding in the adjusters you can pick up from JK for £100 odd quid?

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

davidoft is in the process of removing a pair at the moment - he'd be worth asking his opinion on them too!

Zed · Dec 26, 2012

hmm, so probably looking around £1200 all in? ill have to mull that one over a bit longer..

when you say adjuster route.. do you mean removing the beam and welding in the adjusters you can pick up from JK for £100 odd quid?

Yes. But get them welded in so you get get standard height at the upper setting. Flipped spindles are sold as being some wonderful thing that retains the original suspension and lovers of them poo-poo the adjusters as for giving a harsh ride. This is in fact crap not quite the whole story. Yes the dropped spindles will retain the original suspension, but 1st time you drive the wheels will hit the arches so you'll fit smaller tyres - harsher ride. Then they'll still hit the arches so you'll fit coil-overs (harsher, bouncy ride) or bump-stops (you'll bounce between the seat and the roof).

So, by the time you've put all these counter-measures in place your ride will be harsher than if you'd fitted adjusters and lowered it a more sensible amount, keeping your OG van tyres and generally saving a bundle of cash.

With the dropped spindles, you need a 2 spline drop at the back to level it out. You'll need shorter shocks for this - more expense. This will also mean you can't get the rear wheels off without removing the bottom shock bolt and using a bloody great crow-bar to prise the springplates down. So you buy yourself adjustable springplates (more expense) and to stop the driveshafts hitting the chassis you notch the chassis or live with virtually zero rear suspension.

You can tell I'm not keen ;D

Fitting adjusters will mean you can go down approx 2 1/2 - 3", retain your shocks, retain your tyres, one spline at the back and still get wheels off without disconnecting anything, still have suspension and your wife (probably) won't leave you.

Here's my (old) 1 spline drop std tyres Westy. Looks ok?

Here's my TH flipped spindle 2 spline Early - looks cool (Of course it does - it's an early ), but costa bomb and was Marmitee to drive unless you were on a nice even road. Speed bumps were a careful crawl at just the right angle. Now I'm back to full height I can drive at 60 over some local roads that I was bouncing about at 30 with the drop.

However, if you go for it, I'll try and help with tyre advice at the least. I went through 8 tyres getting mine drveable not counting the originals. It can get expensive and don't think people like T2 D will get it right for you 1st time either! I've had quite a few of theirs through to be sorted out.

If you do want to go silly low, I'd heartily recommend Matt Balls at Balls'd, just round the corner from me. Lovely, honest bloke and he'll get the bumpers scraping the ground for you.
Click to expand...

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

haha your love for the dropped spindles really comes through your words Zed .

nah im not looking to drop the bumpers on the ground. im totally fine with stock height, but for appearance i was looking to go lower.

so... drop the rear 1 spline.. and get a beam adjuster welded on the front.

this would allow standard shocks and standard wheels etc. whilst still getting a nice 2-3 lowered look. and I can pop it back up to standard height if i want.

sounds good to me.

are the standard rear plates adjustable though? i havent taken any of that off and had a look yet so i dont know...

p.s.. i dont have a wife.. haha

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

on the nail - yes they are!

I researched the whole damn lot & was gonna lower our westy - drop spindles on the front, one down at the back (so it looked like its nose was down a little too). I read up on posts on here and also on earlybay - both offered words of wisdom for both methods, but in the long run, more said pretty much what Zed summed up!

I may do adjusters on the front, who knows - for now its had a full steering, suspension and brake refurb all round and it drives spot on. I may just leave it be, I dunno!

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

is yours stock height mork?

mine hasnt got an engine or any form of interior or glass so it hasnt got any weight in it at the moment i know.

but it looks REEEALLY high. hopefully it sill come down a reasonable amount when done.

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

the westy is through and through!

love how it looks but I do want to reduce the gap at the front wheelarch!

Our 73 is a bit hit and miss at the moment - it was lowered on adjusters with one spline at the back but the beam was rotten so we replaced with stock. Its still low at the back so when we are in a position to do the front, we will:

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

coor the westy does look nice, well atleast i have a better idea on what to go for now.

Ill have a good think, Im swaying more to the beam adjusters up front now.
Is this something that can be done DIY?

im assuming it would be better done by a pro. any ideas on cost for this?

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

If you are a competent welder then you could do it yourself (no disrespect here) you need to ensure the weld has a good strong penetration, if not bear in mind the whole lot could collapse.

You can get a one day lowering job for ~£500 ish - I dont know what that entails though

chrisgooner · Dec 26, 2012

Hi Carl, Zed is the wise master on this subject!
I have adjusters on the front and a 1 spline drop at the rear, it's nothing too drastic just takes the gap away from under the arch. I use my bus as a daily and would recommend this set up. I bought my bus with smaller wheels on it but with stock wheel it would look even better. Here's a pic

Like Mork said about the one say lowering service, that's what I did, it was all in for between £250-300 I can't remember the exact figure

MorkC68 · Dec 26, 2012

^ that

Robo · Dec 26, 2012

Hi Carl, Zed is the wise master on this subject!
I have adjusters on the front and a 1 spline drop at the rear, it's nothing too drastic just takes the gap away from under the arch. I use my bus as a daily and would recommend this set up. I bought my bus with smaller wheels on it but with stock wheel it would look even better. Here's a pic

Like Mork said about the one say lowering service, that's what I did, it was all in for between £250-300 I can't remember the exact figure

I'm deffo looking at adjusters at the front to loose that gap, who did you use for yours?
Click to expand...

carlperkins001 · Dec 26, 2012

Brilliant!
I can weld but i wouldnt want to risk it. Id pay £300 for peace of mind haha.

That^ is exactly the stance im after.

My bus is in bits at the moment, would it be easier/ cheaper for me to remove the beam now, or finish the bus then do it at a later date?

chrisgooner · Dec 26, 2012

Hi Carl, Zed is the wise master on this subject!
I have adjusters on the front and a 1 spline drop at the rear, it's nothing too drastic just takes the gap away from under the arch. I use my bus as a daily and would recommend this set up. I bought my bus with smaller wheels on it but with stock wheel it would look even better. Here's a pic

Like Mork said about the one say lowering service, that's what I did, it was all in for between £250-300 I can't remember the exact figure

I'm deffo looking at adjusters at the front to loose that gap, who did you use for yours?
Alright Robbo had mine done at the old dub shop in Bristol
Click to expand...

chrisgooner · Dec 26, 2012

Brilliant!
I can weld but i wouldnt want to risk it. Id pay £300 for peace of mind haha.

That^ is exactly the stance im after.

My bus is in bits at the moment, would it be easier/ cheaper for me to remove the beam now, or finish the bus then do it at a later date?

Carl, if you're going for the one day lowering jobby I would say do your van and then drop it of for the lowering service when it's all up together.
Click to expand...

Robo · Dec 27, 2012

Hi Carl, Zed is the wise master on this subject!
I have adjusters on the front and a 1 spline drop at the rear, it's nothing too drastic just takes the gap away from under the arch. I use my bus as a daily and would recommend this set up. I bought my bus with smaller wheels on it but with stock wheel it would look even better. Here's a pic

Like Mork said about the one say lowering service, that's what I did, it was all in for between £250-300 I can't remember the exact figure

I'm deffo looking at adjusters at the front to loose that gap, who did you use for yours?
Alright Robbo had mine done at the old dub shop in Bristol

Cheers dude I shall look them up on the net later...
Click to expand...

robin101 · Mar 25, 2013

I have just bought horseshoe plates for the rear and plan to weld in adjusters to the front. How far down can you go on the front with standard wheels and tyres before you start fouling the arches? The horseshoe plates give a 3 to 3.5" drop.

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Another bloody lowering thread.

carlperkins001

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Another bloody lowering thread.

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Zed Gradually getting grumpier

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