Tyres on lowered bus

Hi Everyone,

My bus had a new beam on it over winter and new shocks. The wheels and tyres are still the same as before.
I have an issue now with the tyres rubbing when going down hill and going over bumps.
It’s pulling the steering all over the place.

Didn’t notice this when driving it back from the garage but it’s since it’s been loaded up with camping stuff and more people.

I’ve got 15 inch alloys with 185/60/15 tyres.

Is it too big of a tyre or has it been lowered too much?

 

Did you do any reading before the lowering? It’s an issue for any lowered bus, so planning what you’re going to do with tyres really needs to be part of the planning before you spunk a bunch of dosh on a shiny new beam.

solutions (in no particular order) raise it up, lower profile tyres (but make sure they are appropriately load rated for a heavy bus) custom bump stops, stiffer dampers or coil overs, narrower beam, higher offset wheels.. Or a combination of the above.

mike will be along in a moment to post his coil over sermon

 

Yes. Coilovers came after trying Beetle rear shocks.. no banging just rubbing.. then coilovers which have heavier shocks in them. This raised the front end 25mm giving 100mm of travel. Which allows me to cross speed bumps at 20mph or 30kph in a French village.

I have a somewhat rotten cut and twist lowered beam and no bump stops at the front, so no adjusters. ( if you still have front bump stops then you will just be bouncing on those all the time, but not rubbing..)

Obviously I adjusted the rear springplates by rotating the splined shafts to get the rear level both fore amd aft and across the bus. Not the lazy "One Spline"..

I use 185/65R15 tyres.

 

Not really lowered then is it?

 

My bus was already lowered but I think the issue is that it was cut and turned so was slightly narrowed. I’ve put a standard beam on it so it’s catching the arch. Would have thought the garage would have advised me a bit better.

 

Well, maybe, but once you start messing around with the suspension you're largely responsible yourself or at the least you're the only really interested party! After all - what did you expect them to do - load it up for camping to test drive?

If you didn't have the problem before then perhaps it's lower now so you could take it back and ask them to raise it back up to where it was?

If it had a narrowed bean before then you've lost an inch of travel right there.

 

what wheels are you running? Some aftermarket rims have lower offset than stock which will put the wheel closer to the bodywork. Not a problem with a narrow beam but could potentially now be your issue if you’re back to full width? Simple fix could be to switch back to oem steels?

 

A standard 185x14 tyre will be about 25.9” diameter, your 185/60x15 about 23.7”. With a standard beam there should be loads of clearance, or is it a lowered beam you’ve had fitted?

 

JBW 5.5x15 I’ll see if I can get the garage to lift it up slightly as it’s an adjustable beam. Hopefully that’ll sort it without having to spend a fortune.

 

Its been lowered on the adjusters I think.

 

It was 75mm clearance when I got it.
Mine is the blue one, compared with stock ...

 

Jbw make a bunch of different styles. Most of their designs seem to be ET20 which will move the wheels closer to the arch (wider track) by 20mm per side compared to a stock vw wheel. This is fine with a narrow beam or stock height bus but it’s the opposite of what you need if you’re lowered and stock width. Pretty much guaranteed to catch/rub.

their brm wheels are ET12 which is even worse!

 

Thanks for this. Looks like I’ll need a raise. Is it easy enough to raise the rear? I’m not sure how this is done?

 

The rear is technically quite simple to adjust, but like a lot of things on a VW , there is a sequence to get there. . At one stage it takes some 22mm spanners to get to be able take the spring plate off - nothing impossible to DIY, if you have a jack and axle stands and a socket set and some spanners, but like all these things a lot easier with somebody beside you to talk you through and help you.

The adjustment uses a combination of moving the spring plate that controls the height of the rear wheels around the splines on the outer end of a torsion bar, and also rotating the inner end .. A trick using a different number of splines on each end of the bar.

 

What coilover shocks do you have?
Where’s the best place to acquire some?

 

I bought GAZ coilover dampers and springs from Rally Design. https://www.rallydesign.co.uk/index.php?manufacturers_id=53