I second that opinion on the KYBs. I have them on my vanagon, which
travels mostly empty except for a couple of bicycles. I think they're
awful. They do make the van track and handle much better, but at a huge
cost in comfort. Sometimes I think I have 4 blocks of wood in there
instead of 4 shock absorbers. Washboard dirt roads, rough pavement,
potholes, etc, are amplified and resonate thru the van. They also make me
acutely aware of my worn out front end, loose sliding door, and squeaky
dash trim. Maybe they're better on a heavier Westy but I don't think
they're the best choice for an old worn out van.

Walter
85 Vanagon

On Sun, 2 May 2010 14:29:00 -0700, Loren Busch <starwagen@GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> RE: Better Ride with Better Shocks
>Okay, based directly on my experience with an '85 Westy and now a '90
Westy.
>Going from 'wrong' tires to right tires: Oh Wow!!  I don't feel like I'm
>riding on an elephant in a mud wallow!
>Replacing badly worn shocks with new KYBs:  Double Wow!  The damn thing
>actually tracks on the highway! (Include a wheel alignment also)
>Replacing the KYBs with Bilsteins (HD, Bilstein doesn't list the Touring
for
>the Vanagon) because replacing shocks was cheaper than replacing the
>fillings in my teeth, I now have a vehicle I can drive with both
confidence
>and comfort.  A friend is sure the KYB stands for "Kill Your Butt" or
maybe
>"Keep Your Bilsteins".
>Neither one is perfect, you're not going to get sports car handling.  If I
>never drove on anything but very smooth blacktop or concrete the KYBs
would
>be fine.  But on any rough surface, especially washboarded dirt roads,
they
>are just to stiff.  With the Bilsteins my Westy handles much better.
There
>may well be a better solution (some say Koni) and I know the Syncro
drivers
>love the OMEs but for what I do and where I drive the Bilsteins are a very
>good solution.
>YMMV