Hi all Got gaz coilover adjustable shocks on the front of my 71 bay. Bus is fitted with a standard width adjustable beam, and I changed the standard shocks for coilovers just yo rise the bus up a tad and firm it up a bit so the tyre doesn't rub the inner arch on undulating roads. Drives OK, with no rubbing, but it is a bit 'bouncy' - how can I rectify this? Not sure which way I need to adjust the spring tbh.
If I recall correctly, Mikedjames has coilovers, and he refers to his camper as 'the bouncy bus'. This could be entirely coincidental........
You adjust the damper dial on the shock to reduce it pogoing along. I think mine had 8 dots and it's set to 5 out of 8 damping. Push down on the front and let go suddenly and adjust so it returns as quickly as possible to resting position without bouncing up and down . The spring provides the extra bounce which has to be harder than stock because a coilover is increasing the spring rate with a secondary spring. Either the suspension bottoms out with no extra spring like stock torsion leaves alone , or the extra force from the coilover coil spring (and damper ) makes it push back before it bottoms, lifting the front of the bus harder. TLDR physics is against you. This solution is harsher. I chose to live with it because I can take 20mph speed bumps at 20mph, while with my welded up cut n twist beam lowering 100mm and stock torsion leaves alone I couldnt drive along some roads at 20mph..
Adjust the spring? Not sure what you mean. If you have bouncing, then you're under-damped (damping is not matched to the spring). If you have adjustable dampers like mikes then you need to increase the damping - this will also make the ride stiffer. Your bus now has two sets of springs on the front suspension -the oem torsion springs plus the coilover springs. When you say "adjust the spring" are you talking about raising/ lowering the spring perch on the coilover? that won't have any affect on the damping - its just setting the ride height. Does your beam have bump stops? I've seen badly lowered vehicles in the past where they were bouncy because they were literally riding around on the bump stops all the time.
Thx guys, I'll try adjusting the damper rate. Think I've got it quite soft at the mo. Wasn't sure whether adjusting the spring on the coilover affected the ride quality, or just sets the height.
Maybe not applicable to your bus but when I had the EZ Rider set up there were two separate adjustments on the Spax coilovers. One would raise and lower the suspension, the other would damp/undamp the ride. It required a pair of C spanners to adjust the height.
Nothing wrong with the ride on a stock bus . I really can't see the point of adding an extra set of springs which will just stiffen up the ride so you need to over damp the rebound to compensate , the perfect solution would be stock leaf springs with adjustable dampers but then that's just waaaay too easy ... Edit , I'm not a coil over expert btw and just can't see the point , it's still a big silly 70s delivery van ... Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
My welded up cut and twist beam on my old van used to hang itself on it’s ball joints. Fast around roundabouts though.
It's because people buy a lowered bus thinking they can raise it back up if they don't like it, then find the adjusters are fitted in a way that won't allow that. .. and the reason for that is if you fit then for stock to low they interfere with the gear change shaft. Avoiding that leaves you with low to wheels coming through the tub. There is probably a way to avoid all this by not following the instructions. @Dubs might know. However once it's done you're stuffed until you get so fed up you replace the whole beam for a nice unsullied stock one.
The springs affect the rate I.e. how much the bus nose rises for a given force , the dampers also provide a force proportional to how fast you hit the bump so turning up the dampers makes it harsher but less likely for the wheels to un weight on a corner and skid because the nose starts to oscillate when damping is too low. You are aiming for something like the 0.7 curve here, and not the 0.0 curve ! If the springs are harder to compress, the damper needs to be proportionally stiffer. Picture from Wikipedia "Critical Damping". On my bus there are some places where HGVs have bounced as they brake unloaded that produce ripples in the road that make it hard for feet to find the brake pedal at 50 mph... I am now used to its characteristics, but when I change my front beam for a less rusty one I may consider other ride height options.
Indirectly, reducing the width of the tyres I suppose while keeping the same percentage profile is another way to gain suspension travel. But you are trading load carrying capacity and just looking silly with small wheels. I am sure I have seen a picture of somebody's bus running 12 inch rims on the Samba.. think clown car.
You only gain 1/2" of travel by ducking in a bit, it's not really a solution is it? I had 175 on my lowered early but only because I couldn't find slightly smaller 185 / 14" tyres with a high enough load rating.
Was it cut and twist lowered or adjusters lowered? Mine was cut and twist and had the 160’s on, when I bought it. It was fine on open roads, but on a lane with a camber, the tie bar underneath would constantly grind out. It was also a pita when I had to Jack it up for any reason. Went well though, that old 1700
