Picking up my 72 Bus tmrw. Would just like to know what is the best setup for good handling? I have seen a few kits with KYB shocks and anti roll bars, which look good. Also, what is the best wheel and tyre setup. Have 5.5 x 15" wheels at the moment with 175x55x15 tyres. I have noticed that some buses run narrower wheels at the front with skinnier tyres and larger higher profile tyres on the rear. Is this just for looks? Any info on getting the best setup would be much appreciated. Mine has been lowered slightly as well. Will get some pics up soon as I can.
Pretty much stock is best (in my opinion) unless you're going to to spend loads on an whole aftermarket set up. Gas shocks and a heavy duty ARB would be the only improvements I'd recommend over stock.
I have actually been pleasantly suprised y the handling of my stock '72, particularly it's cornering. The only thing I would try a nd change is its habit of wandering in high winds. I still want to dropped but I am wary about affecting it.
Depends what you mean by 'best'. Mine is slightly raked and i'm also running 15s with crap tyres. Frankly driving down the motorway at 70 isnt really a challenge to handling. Does wander a bit in the crosswinds. It's got standard shocks, probably a bit tired but on roads where shocks are 'challenged I'm not doing more than 50ish. The improvements I'm going for are (in order): Decent set of commercial rated tyres with sidewalls that actually exist! Change the swivel pin (under £20 for parts and some swearing to get it in, should improve motorway wandering) decent shocks like Horts says when they come up on sale.. Cheers s
Cheers for the reply's. All I am after is getting it to feel as solid as possible and not wander or feel unstable. Maybe I should wait until I drive mine home from Nottingham first, to see what it feels like, as I have only driven it for 10 mins so far. Any preferences to tyre sizes ?
Welcome to the club Keeping it stock but as VW intended is more than enough, I used to have a Nissan 350Z and never drove it like I drive my van - they handle really well and are very chuckable (within limits of course). Keep the steering and suspension greased at regular intervals, geometry checked out and replace any worn or duff rubber bushes. As mentioned before they are not sports cars they are a commercial vehicle from a 1940's design. You can spend a fortune on aftermarket stuff all you like but unless you put big aftermarket brakes and a firebreathing engine they will still be limited by their design age and condition. I might consider a rear anti roll bar but only because my other half complains about my driving when she is in the back!! ;D
Ratwell has some good info here about shocks and ARBs: http://www.ratwell.com/technical/SwayBars.html I've driven a mates stock height factory high top bay with a heavy westy interior which was fitted with Bilstein shocks, heavy duty anti roll bars front and rear and good quality commercial tyres on stock bus rims and it handled beautifully. You could throw it into corners and it would stick to the road with minimal body roll and on motorways there was dramatically reduced wind buffetting. He had spent a lot of money replacing everthing underneath though (all balljoints, tie rod ends, steering box, rear torsion bar rubbers) etc but i think the money spent was well worth it. Basically, make sure anything suspension/steering related that can wear is in good or new condition, then fit good quality gas shocks (koni/bilstein/GAZ?). After that see if you need an uprated front ARB and a rear ARB. I've got a type 25 as a daily driver which handles lovely and even though its got a more modern suspension system than a bay i think a lot of the improved handling is due to its gas shocks and firestone tyres its got. My bay has cheap commercial tyres and oil shocks and doesn't feel as sharp.
