Fed up with Speed hump issue/ ground clearance

Hi all ,

As said in topic speed humps grind my gears so I’m raising my bus . Also want to go to a few off grid camping sites next year ( if we are ever allowed out again ). Does anyone have information regarding suspension lift & off road tyres?
All best & happy new year


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

raised spindles from the states and bigger cv’s for a “lift kit”

but stock with a set of biggish tyres is quite a lot of lift in general

 

So how high do you want to raise it and from where ??
Stock is fine , off road generally you`ll run out of traction before running aground ...

If you need a set of stock spindles drop me a PM

 

Stock rocks... Go anywhere.

 

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0NdOqeATbVyIa1_CdMMgOI9mQ

Stock suspension, 16” rims with 205 all terrains. Can work under it without jacking it up!

 

WHAT BEAM HAVE YOU GOT
SWAP YOU BEAMS LOL

 

Wouldnt want to go any higher than stock for cornering problems
stock beam and the rear raised a bit to take out any sag 16" rims jobs a good one
unless your planning a reall 4x4 offroad adventure

 

Hi I’m running 16 inch caddy wheels fronts banded smaller . I may try those first . I know low looks cool but suddenly you realise it’s not right .


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

^this. Stock height, stock tyres, and you’ve just about got the same ground clearance as a 4x4 (as VW intended). Stock rocks.

 

My bus is 3 inch lowered with no anti roll bar and coilovers on the front. ( so fully indpendent suspension, less to catch underneath) The rear is maybe a little higher.
On 185/65R15 tyres.

Speedbumps at indicated 20mph no trouble. Eddies field at 20mph when rutted with mud no trouble.

It has a few scrapes on the front pedal pan and the underside of the exhaust is remodelled by a few kerbs, and the edge of the oil cooler scoop has hit something once.

Just raise it to stock is good enough. Going higher with bigger tyres will reduce its hill climbing performance as all gears end up as lower ratios from crank to wheel, resulting in falling off the power band on the low speed side of things.

 

This is exactly what I’m up to at the moment. I’ve just raised the lintel (finally) in the garage along with the door to allow me to get back to stock or maybe just a tad more, we’ll see when we get there. I’ve kept my stock front spindles so I’ll go stock plus anything I can grab extra with some coilovers on and raise his ass to level off and probs some extra shocks just to tighten the ass end up a bit. I didn’t have any plans to go crazy with tyre sizes mainly because of the gearing as mentioned above but possibly a slightly more aggressive tread pattern for no real reason apart from I’m liking the look. On the Facebook there’s a page primarily in Oz called raised bays where they’ve gone to extremes with the raise as we did with the lowered in this country. Another one called lifted VW bays

Ozziedog,,,,,,,,,,praise the raised

 

Theres a thread on thesamba.com about off-road modifications thats good read.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=270489

 

Mine was lowered when I got it - only by about 3" - don't seem to have any trouble on speed humps - a campsite field was OK too.

 

I’ll have to knock the ‘P’ off once raised


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I changed rear shocks as they were going cheap at GSF one time, and I think the new shocks are actually softer than the rusty and orrible looking previous shocks.
But going by the control systems damping test (jump on the bumper, step off , the back should come up fairly fast then stop), they are very slightly under damped, the 'up' bounce is noticeable. However the ride seems OK, mostly controlled by the front end coming up hard on bumps but not banging.

 

My older 1700 was lowered with low profile tyres,
Handle great on roundabouts, better than some cars I’ve owned!
But going to Santapod one day, lots of little backroads, the centres of them seemed higher the the edges. The bar underneath would scrape. Also, muddy field were difficult. Lowered is great on flat roads, really improves the handling, with decent struts etc, but they are for camping in, and now, I prefer the ability to go off road and I like the gentle lurch around corners. Lowered was Well suited to the 1700, as quite a bit quicker than the standard 1600.

 

If it’s of any use to anyone, air adjustable Monroe Load Leveler shocks can be fitted on the rear if you want to tweak the ride height a little from time to time for load or clearance.
You can just add air pressure using a bike pump, car foot pump etc. and raise it by up to 3” as and when required.
Might help if you have a lowered bus and want the ability to raise or lower back down again.
Model numbers: Monroe MA824 for the rear (£92 pair delivered without air lines) which I have, and I believe MA803 fit on the front, although I haven’t tried those (I’m aware that some have).

They can also be fitted with an electric pump operated from a switch and gauge on the dash if desired. It’s fairly crude and requires running the airlines to the pump and then one to the switch unit for air release. I never got around to fitting that, I just have them linked and routed to a tyre type valve fixed to my tow bar, which comes with the standard air line kit.

There are thin air lines going to each shock that are coupled together to equalize left and right.
The airline and valve kit is usually sold separately, but may be sold together with the shocks, check the listing. It’s ref ALK something or other.

In essence the increase in air pressure inflates presumably a bladder in the shock which effectively extends the shock for any given load it’s under. More pressure, more ‘upward push’.

A similar product range is available from Gabriel but they are sold by length and harder to figure which is right for a given vehicle and I haven’t done much research on them.

The 824s I have on the rear I run at around 40-50psi normally (they’ll take up to 150psi), which gives a little extra support. I’ve never had any issues and have had them on for years.
I’ve not run them consistently at a higher pressure, I just add some air when using a tow bar bike rack loaded up.
My bus has a 3” drop on splines at the back and Avis adjusters on front with standard spindles.
I have coilovers up front set for a little pre-load on the springs for a slightly higher resting height and extra support to prevent bottoming out from the reduced travel.

 

@Datsolow have you tried running it with the adjusters set to max height?

My bus is lowered (not slammed) and i've never had a problem with speed bumps or getting in and out of camping fields.

If you still want to go higher take a look at @slammedresto gary's thread here:

https://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/1976-westfalia-berlin-sage-green-pebbles.79440/page-4

His bus looks ace:

 

.