I have H&R springs on my 1988 Westy. According to H&R they will lower the van 1.5" and they note that "Performance shocks are highly reccomended."  I have KYB shocks with the H&R springs and would not reccomend this combination - particularly for the non-gas front KYBs.

The ride is very harsh sometimes to the point that you feel you have no suspension at all - mainly when you hit large bumps or potholes.
The ride gets much worse if the van is loaded. My thought is that some of this roughness may be related to how well the installed shocks work at the lower parts of their travel. One listmember made lower shock mounts so that the shock was at its normal position with the lowered springs and reported a great increase in ride.

The springs are great fun for blasting around corners (unloaded) and they do make the van handle extreemly well (except on bumpy roads) - but at the expense of ride comfort. My van lowered much more than 1.5" and the van takes on a noticable forward rake.

The good news is that I can park just about anywhere.

The measurements on my '88 westy with the H&R springs and factory alloys and Michelin MXT 205/70x14 tires are:

Height: ~78"  (Note this may not be that accurate because of my tape)
Wheel center to fender lip Front: 14"
Wheel center to fender lip rear:  15"

While the H&R springs had their moments, I am in the process of changing them over to the new springs that Steve (Syncro.org) has made up. I'm hoping these springs will be a good combination of ride and handling. I'll be posting my results when I get them installed - hopefully this weekend.

Hope that answers any questions.
I can send a .jpg of my van with the H&R springs if anyone needs a visual of how low the springs lower the van.

Todd
'88 Westy

beekj@GHG.NET wrote:
> Hi Volks,anyone tried H&R springs on their vans?  If so, how did you like them and did
you wind up changing your shocks as well?

Joachim
90GL