Great dicussion happening here!  I am currently using an extra stock
"donut" on each side of the rear of my Double Cab.  I have a question about
the front spacers that we are talking about.  Where do you put them in and
what do you use?  I am assuming that it is above the spring cap and the
piece that attaches to the frame where the spring cap rests against.  If I
am correct, how high can one go before the spring/strut assembley could pop
out sideways?  In the rear there is about 3" worth of spacers you could use
before you risk everything popping apart.

I have done the same on a Rabbit where I installed a 1" metal spacer
between the fender and the strut bushing but I replaced the oringinal bolts
with longer ones to hold it in place there was no chance of it popping out.

I am all for lifting my Syncro a bit, but safety first!

At 00:48 6/18/98 -0700, Steven X. Schwenk wrote:
>With a vehicle as neat and versatile as a vw syncro, good suspension is
>almost a necessity to fully utilize and realize the value of the
>vehicle.  Of course, the stock suspension sucks.  And there are limited
>alternatives.
>
>KYB is not an option.  While they are arguably somewhat better for the
>rear than the completely stock set up , you can only get them for the
>rear...and they are poorly matched to the front Boges.  The result is an
>improvement so insignificant and with drawbacks that it does not really
>qualify as an improvement.
>
>The KYB lack good dampening, but offer some measure of stiffness the
>stock set up lacks.  The stock Boges offer decent dampening, but overall
>everything is a little too soft.  Not much you can do about the KYB
>dampening.  You can, however, firm up the boges and still take advantage
>of their "better than the KYB" dampening.  Plus, the Boges are much
>better matched to the front Boges than the KYB, and thus work better
>with the front.  (The KYB and Boges are the only shocks available in the
>U.S. for the syncro rear...only Boges are available for the syncro
>front.)
>
>The suspension basically has three components.  Compression dampening,
>when the shock is being compressed; upswing dampening (I think there's a
>better term), when the shock is extending; and spring rate.  Further
>adjustments can be had by adjusting the amount of oil and the pressure
>of the gas/air, if any.   You can also change the size of the valves
>that control the flow of oil and improve the efficiency of the other
>components.  These are not options on any syncro shocks available in the
>us, however.  Nevertheless, if money were no object, the  syncro could
>be outfitted with killer suspension that would vastly improve all that
>the vehicle can deliver above and beyond just about any other
>modification you could do.
>
>On off road racing bikes, you can (must) adjust both the compression and
>upswing dampening as well as the spring rate of both the front and rear
>suspension, with the goal being that front and rear work together and
>independently.  Mosr experts also have the shock custom valved for their
>weight and riding style.  The factory suspension for the top
>professionals is vastly ahead in performance of anything available to
>everyone else.  The only way to obtain the right set up, though, is to
>test and test and test.  There are general rules to follow.
>
>The suspension should be firm yet supple and responsive.  To achieve
>this goal, you have to have the right spring rate and dampening, which
>must work together.  Since there's not much to be done with the
>dampening on the shocks available to us, all we are left with is tuning
>the spring rate.
>
>On off-road racing bikes, the spring adjustment is referred to as "sag
>height."  This is the amount the suspension sags when fully loaded.
>First you measure the suspension unloaded.  Then you measure the
>suspension (the amount of compression) with the rider sitting on the
>bike.  You adjust the "pre-load" of the spring until the difference
>between unloaded and loaded "sag" is within pre-determined specs.  The
>pre-load, or spring rate, adjustment is accomplished by turning a large
>nut which can be tightened to compress the shock spring or loosened to
>de-compres it.  The same adjustment can be had by inserting a spacer
>between the spring and the shock body, thereby further compressing the
>spring even when the bike is unloaded.
>
>There is an optimal "sag height" for the syncro.  No one has figured it
>out yet, at least that we know of.  Ideally, we would start with a
>bilstien shocks with adjustable dampening and an adjustable spring rate,
>and then do a lot of testing to figure out the best settings for both
>dasmpening and spring rate.  All we can do with what's available,
>though,  is adjust spring rate to the best available and
>front-rear-matched dampening, which happens to be the stock Boges.
>
>        Derek Drew introduced me to the concept of using stock spacers
>used in the rear suspension to pre-load the rear springs.  Derek added
>three spacers or donuts to each of his rear springs.  His goal was to
>raise the height of the vehicle (ground clearance).  From my dirt bike
>experience, I deduced that what he was doing was reducing the "sag
>height" of his syncro.  Yes, this raised the clearance of the
>vehicle...but it did so by increasing spring rate, so that at every
>level of compression, the spring was stiffer, and hence the vehicle sat
>higher, than before he inserted the three spacers.
>
>If ground clearance is your only objective, then insert as many spacers
>as necessary to cause your suspension to be fully unloaded even when
>fully loaded, i.e., no "sag height."  If you also wanted want your
>suspension to perform optimaly, however, you would not do this.  If the
>springs are too stiff, they will inhibit the shock absorber's dampening
>action, on both the compression and upswing strokes.  The result will be
>un-responsive compression dampening and bouncing up-swing dampening.
>This makes for a pounding and abusive ride.  Even at low speeds, it
>unduly streesses other components.   Your traction will also suffer
>appreciably in the wet/mud and the snow, and over fast rough stuff.
>
>My guess and experience suggest that the best shocks to use are the
>stock Boges, front and rear.  I have not done any testing to determine
>the number of spacers or donuts to insert to obtain the optimum spring
>rate.  thus far, I have inserted one on top of each rear spring.  this
>set up is definitely better, IMHO, than the KYBs.  The stiffer
>spring-rate adds firmness without sacraficing dampening.  One spacer on
>top of each spring gets rid of the rocking and rolling, and provides a
>more stable ride, but it still allows the dampening of the Boges to
>abosrb bumps, without bouncing back too quickly on the up-swing stroke.
>
>For me, I am guessing that a spacer the size of the stock donut on the
>left front and rear, with a slightly thinner spacer on the right front
>and rear would be pretty close to optimum or a good starting point.
>Only through testing can you know for sure.  Ideally, we would all get
>together and have someone build us each a set of shocks with adjustable
>dampening.  This is more feasible than you may realize.  Untill then,
>all we can do is play around with those spacers and see what we can come
>up with.
>steve
>1990 syncro westfalia
>
>

-- David Marshall, Quesnel BC, mailto:david@volkswagen.org --
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