You talking about us again?...

Rich and Annemarie Bias... (last name)
85 GL "Buba"
98 Bug

It is almost Friday right...

>From: Scott Catlin <SCatlin@REI.COM>
>Reply-To: Scott Catlin <SCatlin@REI.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Vanagon Brakes
>Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 11:11:22 -0700
>
>I forgot one thing. The previous comment about adjusting the brake bias
>valve is extremely unadvisable. Giving too much brake power to the rear
>will induce oversteer and could cause the rear to come loose. When your
>backend comes out you are risking a spin, and in a top heavy car such as
>the Vanagon, a possible roll. If your brake bias valve is bad, by all means
>replace it, but adjusting the brake bias should only be attempted on track
>cars, or by people with great know-how. That's just my opinion on bias, or
>I guess that's my biased opinion. Whatever.
>- Scott
>
> > ----------
> > From:         Scott Catlin
> > Reply To:     Scott Catlin
> > Sent:         Thursday, September 14, 2000 10:58 AM
> > To:   vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject:      Re: Vanagon Brakes
> >
> > Your Vanagon dips under braking due to Newton's law of motion, I believe
>the first, that says an object in motion stays in motion until you hit the
>car in front of you, or something like that. Your brakes stop the wheels,
>but since the rest of the Vanagon is on squishy springs, it continues to
>travel forward until the springs and dampers compress enough to stop it's
>travel as well. If you have worn springs and dampers, replace them. If they
>are fine and you still want to eliminate the dip, get springs with higher
>spring rates and the dampers to accompany them.
> >
> > As for brakes, there are a few things you can do before you install
>bigger rotors, calipers, and all that. First, go to Midas and check the pad
>and rotor thickness. If they're too low, the pad is travelling too far to
>meet the rotor. If they are old they may be glazed or cracked, giving
>ineffective surface friction, or ineffective surface area, respectively. If
>you replace the pads, have the rotors turned to create a flat surface for
>the new pads to mate to and follow the correct procedure to break them in.
>And get GOOD PADS. There's no reason and no excuse to skimp on pads. Call
>some VW specialty shops, people who also work on VW aftermarket go-fast
>goodies, and see what they recommend.
> >
> > Secondly, since your brake system is based on pressure (your foot puts
>pressure on the pedal, which puts pressure on the fluid in the system, and
>since liquids don't compress, it puts pressure on your calipers to put
>pressure on your rotors) you may be losing that necessary pressure
>somewhere. While at Midas have them check for leaks where air can get into
>the system. Air is compressable, so some of your foot pressure is used to
>compress the air before it's used to compress the fluid in the system.
>Also, you probably have rubber brakelines, which flex, expand and stretch
>outward when pressure is applied from inside. You can install braided
>stainless brakelines which will not flex and will give you a much improved
>and firmer pedal feel. Under hard braking you can really tell they're
>working, and if your fluid is hot from stop and go traffic, your rubber
>lines will flex even more.
> >
> > Try those steps and see how you do. If you're still not satisfied, then
>get the bigger brakes.
> > HTH - Scott
> >
> > > ----------
> > > From:         Gary McEachern
> > > Reply To:     Gary McEachern
> > > Sent:         Wednesday, September 13, 2000 8:35 PM
> > > 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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> >

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