The goal of this discussion has been lost.  The westfalia (and all vanagons)
suspension could, in my view, be significantly improved by balancing it
left-to-right and front-to-rear, and by stiffening it a little overall.

Based on my experience with dirt bikes, it seemed this could be accomplished
by adjusting the pre-load at each wheel.  To explaint what I was talking
about, I put the YZ 250 manual up on a web page for illustration.  My
position was and is that inserting a spacer above the spring would
accomplish on the syncro what lowering the rear upper spring perch
accomplishes on the YZ accomplishes.

We have gotten lost in terminology, and side arguments over who's right and
who'swrong.  If I am wrong, fine.  The question becomes, then, how can we
adjust pre-load at each wheel to balance and stiffen the suspension.  Who
cares about all the rest. My goal all along was to come up with somehting
everyone would benefit from, not to proclaim myself the suspension guru who
is right while everyone esle is wrong. Perhaps there is no point in going on
with this unless someone makes  a counter-proposal (in view of my allegedly
erroneous theory) for attaining our common goal of better suspension.
steve