I believe they do perform the majority of the braking,
but remember that the vans are entirely top heavy.
The center of gravity is way above the brakes, so
there will be an even greater lurch forward than in a
sedan-type of car....

If your brakes are in good condition I wouldn't mess
with them - those german engineers spent more than a
few hours going over the specs for front and rear
brakes, and I personally wouldn't try and second guess
them....

Mark

--- Pat Dooley <pdooley@GTE.NET> wrote:
> You may try an adjustable proportioning valve.
> Just don't go overboard.  Too much rear bias can
> lead to some hairy panic
> stops.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List
> [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]On Behalf
> > Of Gary McEachern
> > Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2000 3:36 AM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Vanagon Brakes
> >
> >
> > Hello
> > When I brake hard, the front of the van drops
> down. Because of this I
> > believe the front disc brakes provide the lions
> share of the
> > braking force.
> > I find the brakes on the Vanagon are lacking
> particularly given  the size
> > and weight of the vehicle. This is even more of an
> issue when
> > travelling at
> > highway speed with 4-7 passengers!
> >
> > I know that larger front disc brakes have been
> made available in the past
> > from several list vendors. How well do these work?
> >
> > What about improving the rear brakes?
> >
> > Gary
> >
> >
> >
>
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=====
Mark
Just because you have an opinion, doesn't mean that anyone wants to hear it

87 Westfalia Gl
84 Scirocco 8v
http://student.fortlewis.edu/~mwmages/

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