To those that reminded me of the Vanagon's nearly 50/50 f/r weight
distribution, I don't disagree. The issue with the Vanagon is the polar
moment of inertia (I think I have that term right) not strictly engine
weight in the rear.  Though 50/50 it may be, each "50" is at the extreme
front or rear of the vehicle.  Think of holding a barbell with 25 lbs. on
each end. Try to spin it from the center; hard to get it moving, hard to
stop it from moving. Now hold the same two 25lb weights together in front of
your waist.  Try to spin; much easier to initiate and to stop.  It's the
barbell's "hard to stop" behavior that can make Vanagons tail happy.

Gary
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Stann" <ChrisS@informs.com>
To: "Gary Stearns" <gstearns@OPTONLINE.NET>; <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, April 09, 2002 10:35 AM
Subject: RE: Benefits of a rear sway bar?

>
> >One caution though; from the factory VW set up the Vanagon with a lot of
> >understeer for safety reasons. With the engine in the rear, a shift of
the
> >roll-couple to the rear can create a situation where the van tries to
> >spin-out at the worst possible time (in a fast corner, realize you're
going
> >too fast, take your foot off the gas...there she goes, your in the trees
> >butt first)
>
> Sorry, I had to butt in.
>
> The Vanagon has its weight more or less equally distributed on front and
> rear axles, with the passenger Vanagon actually carrying more weight over
> the front axles.  It's not a Porsche 911 with sudden and scary
throttle-off
> oversteer.  Granted, adding a rear anti-sway bar will reduce understeer,
but
> not to the extreme you have indicated.
>
>
> Chris,
>
> '85 Westy
>