Best way to lower front end?

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Pete The Greek, Aug 13, 2019.

  1. Hi guys. .the back end on my westy is a good height but I want to lower the front just a few inches. I don't want to spoil the stock ride..any ideas / advice please... IMG-20190809-WA0016.jpg
     
    Merlin Cat and rob.e like this.
  2. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Mines on welded in adjusters ....dropped it enough to level van and no ride issues .
     
  3. Baysearcher

    Baysearcher [secret moderator]

    High is the new low.
     
    Faust, mgbman, nicktuft and 4 others like this.
  4. Stock is the new high and low
     
    JamesLey, nicktuft and Dubs like this.
  5. Razzyh

    Razzyh Supporter

    Dropped spindles
     
  6. Your front’s supposed to sit higher with no-one in the driver’s seat :thumbsup: Yours looks normal to me.
     
  7. Dubs

    Dubs Sponsor supporter extraordinaire

    I would keep it standard personally.. but if you just want to lower it an inch or so, I would go adjusters. Drop spindles tend to be a bit too low for a standard van tyre.

    Plus you can easily put it back up when you get bored. :thumbsup:
     
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  8. Cheers....does using adjusters change the ride as it drives lovely atm...only want to go down 2 inches or so? Ta
     
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  9. Dubs

    Dubs Sponsor supporter extraordinaire

    It will a bit yes. If you are going 2+ inches, then maybe drop spindles are worth considering, but then you have no adjustment, so you have to live with whatever height it ends up, and rely on messing about with different shock / tyre combos to avoid arch clearance problems.

    If you really like the ride as it is, I would seriously consider leaving it alone.... stock is the best it will ever get (in my opinion anyway)
     
  10. CA3C70F6-4544-4A94-B859-CE303BDB1F2E.jpeg Stock height as VW intended :thumbsup:
     
  11. Moons

    Moons Supporter

    Yeah but everything VW intended wasn’t the best idea...e.g. zero rust proofing and battery trays under primary vents with no drain holes!
     
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  12. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    To be fair, the rear looks a little saggy
    ( no offence), but with the weight of the interior, it's to be expected.
    I had adjusters fitted to level things up, and I find that I rarely need to use levelers on sites, I know once a couple of people are in the front it levels out, but when you are sleeping in the back, it will still be nose high.
     
    Merlin Cat likes this.
  13. Betty the Bay

    Betty the Bay Supporter

    Found a photo that will explain what I'm trying to say. [​IMG]

    Sent from my SM-J330FN using Tapatalk
     
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  14. Pudelwagen

    Pudelwagen Supporter

    Fit low profile tyres at the front.:)
     
  15. Yep that picture was taken fully loaded in the rear on way to campsite. Fairly level when unloaded. :thumbsup:
     
    Betty the Bay likes this.
  16. Define "best"? Cheapest? Ride quality? Handling? Adjustability?

    Adjusters are pretty easy if you only want a couple of inches drop but they'll affect the ride quality - generally a bus lowered on adjusters rides harder than stock. Dropped spindles will keep oem ride but you might find you need smaller tyres and/or extended bump stops to stop the tyre hitting the arch. They will usually also widen your track - should be ok with steels but might limit you if you wanted to fit alloy wheels /lower offset wheels later on.

    I'd say prob the "best" option is to fit a full red9 wishbone setup; full adjustability on height, plus you get rack and pinion steering - not cheap though.

    Mine has dropped spindles, (slightly) narrowed beam with adjusters set to max height, wheel width and offset on my rims means my track is as per oem near enough. Ride is great, a bit firmer than stock but still lovely (rides better than my daily driver honda) but took a lot of messing around with wheel/tyre size etc to get to this point, plus i made up a custom front ARB ... add up all of that and i prob would have been better off just getting red9 in the first place :rolleyes:
     
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  17. Don't do it, unless you like looking at your van rather than driving it.
     
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  18. They didn't do too bad considering how many are still around compared to Bedfords Fords BMC/Leyland of the era.
     
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  19. Mine looks like this since I ditched the EZ rider kit. I think it would be better if I splined up the back a fraction.
     
  20. ^this
     

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