Hi all,

Sorry if some of you remember any of my previous threads regarding 2.5 inch dropped spindles but am at the end of my teacher!

Scenario is..

Adjusters fitted to my beam
Wound down to a nice ride height the ride is too harsh and it is giving the wife's poorly neck too much grief
Wound all the way up as far as the adjusters is lovely ride, but 3.5 inch flipped spindles will be just too low as I reckon I would have about 3 inches between the road & my steering box guard (don't want to fit a steering box raise)

Transpoterhaus is supposed to be doing some 2.5 inch forged spindles, which the wife was buying me for my 50th birthday (which was on 25th November) - Alex said they would be ready in November, then December, then January then February - I have given up on the guy now as he won;t respond to my emails, texts or phone calls.

Does anyone have 2.5inch dropped spindles, or know where I can get hold of any that actually exist in real life, rather than just on a CAD drawing (Transporterhaus)?

i believe that Wagenswest do them, but I believe they are welded, and also they are in America!
Are welded ones safe?

Any ideas anyone?

thanks

Try coolair as they used to stock the transporterhaus ones.
All I would say though, is I tried roughly what you are looking at but with a bay window ball joint beam and it was terrible. I ended up junking the lot and starting from scratch with a Red9 front end. Best thing I've done.

Cheers, Lee.

There 2.5" spindles are still in production, there's a lot of work involved in producing the forgings & the jigs to machine them & some set backs. Nobody else has put the time into producing them, They will be worth the wait. Try messaging him on FB, I've never had an issue with a reply.

Ball joint beam setup is a completely different issue, so not fair to compare.

Personally, I wouldn't be the first to buy those spindles. I want to see them on some high mileage daily drivers after a 2-3 years usage.

I've seen aftermarket suspension & steering systems fail / crack / wear out after 1-2 years / 15K miles usage.

Won't you just be better off with the steering box raise ? seems like a lot of expense and hassle when there's a simple solution. Also look at your tyre profile, if you're on slam tyres increasing the aspect ratio will raise the bus a bit. Finally, are your adjusters fully in the "up" position ? I had problems getting mine there as there was conflict with the front shift rod.

In the end I had the shift rod notched (£30) and now no clearance issues

PM me if you want a notch on your rod and I'll put you in touch with my man who can....

wind your beam adjusters all the way down
keep your stock spindles

install spax 1.9" diameter coil over with adjustable dampers…fit 130-150lbs springs, put the damper setting on the softest setting
raise your ride height back up a little on the spax


the ride is better than stock and height is totally adjustable



people will say 'I don't like the idea of my suspension being on a single bolt"
its not an issue…and even in the VERY worse case scenario and the bolt sheered (which it won't) the beam suspension would simply take over…apart from a clunk, you probably wouldn't even notice (apart from the ride quality reverting back to 'firm'

thanks for the replies guys, and in response..

I realise that a lot of work has gone into these 2.5 inch spindles - it's not the product, its the fact that the service is shocking - been waiting 4 months now and Alex just will not respond to my calls, emails or texts (don't do facebook) - if I can't even get so speak to him before he takes my £400 off me, can't imagine I am going to get much in the way of after-sales service if there's a problem.

Also, as VWJim points out, there is no shakedown on these as they are a new product, and have no confidence in there being any comeback in view of the lack of response to any kind of communication.

So, whilst these would be ideal, I think deep down that this is starting to look like a non-starter!

Didn't really want to start cutting through chassis rails to fit a steering box raise as may go down the steering rack route in the future.

I started off with 185/75x15 tyres on. When I first fitted the beam, the adjusters were set at a nice ride height & I had about 1.5inch clearance tyre to arch. The ground clearance was fine but like I say the ride was crap.

So, I raised the adjusters as far up as they will go (the top adjuster nut is just touching the front shift rod & the bolt is at the top of the adjuster, so no more to go) - the ride is lovely. At the same time, I have also changed my alloys, and the front currently have 165/50x15 tyres, so I now have about 4.5 inches of clearance, tyre to arch.

So, if I fitted 3.5drop spindles, I may just have enough clearance (although I may get some scrub loaded up) tyre to arch, but I think the ground clearance could be a bit marginal - I did want to change the tyres to 165/65 to get some more tyre height back, but not sure that will give me any tyre-to-arch clearance then!

Maddison- I know you are a lover of coilovers - didn't want to wind my adjusters down again as the ride will get harsh again (especially with the additional suspension provided by the springs), but was thinking...what if I was to fit 3.5inch dropped spindles & then coilovers to get the suspension back up by ab inch to get my desired ride height (I understand that coilovers will increase the ride height by about 1inch?) - surely that would give me a nice ride and the right height??

winding the beam down won't make it harsh…cos the coil over lifts the weight off it…making the beam leaves redundant
you could actually remove the serrated adjusted off the beam totally…but nice to keep them there in the extreme case of coil over failure…as a back up


just passing on my experience….mine drives the best it ever has on coil overs….and i have tried pretty much every variation out there
same coil overs as on the £3k red9 fancy nancy front end….and there is a reason people say it drives nice….the coil overs

Thanks Maddison - do the coilovers just replace the shocks?

Where do you reccommend getting the coilovers & can u give me the exact spec so I get the correct ones? I assume there are different spring lengths.

I have a 2" narrowed (CB Performance, I think) beam - not sure if that will make any difference.

Thanks

Yes, just remove dampers and bolt the coil overs on
(I run red 9 top mounts, which moves the top mount back a couple inches, makes the coil over sit vertical and gives a little more clearance, i would recommend this)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAZ-Universal ... SwrklVQPRR


^^ thats in the ball park, you would need to measure your bus to be more precise

7'' or 9" x1.9 springs both work…i'd recommend the 9" ones (or there a bouts) 130-150lbs works well on the front of a bus, being fairly light with no engine

as you have a narrowed beam…..you will defiantly benefit from coil overs, as by cutting 2" off your beam leaves, that has helped in making your current ride harsh (like cutting coil springs basically)

maddison wrote:Yes, just remove dampers and bolt the coil overs on
(I run red 9 top mounts, which moves the top mount back a couple inches, makes the coil over sit vertical and gives a little more clearance, i would recommend this)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GAZ-Universal ... SwrklVQPRR


^^ thats in the ball park, you would need to measure your bus to be more precise

7'' or 9" x1.9 springs both work…i'd recommend the 9" ones (or there a bouts) 130-150lbs works well on the front of a bus, being fairly light with no engine

as you have a narrowed beam…..you will defiantly benefit from coil overs, as by cutting 2" off your beam leaves, that has helped in making your current ride harsh (like cutting coil springs basically)

Ade

I have those coilovers on my bus and the red9 top mounts and I'm in Wolverhampton if you wanted to take a look before sorting your own.

Richard

Also bear in mind you can flip your tie rods so that they enter the steering arm from underneath. Butty does a bump steer kit which is ideal for this. It means that your tie rods have a much shallower angle going to the spindles, so might not need chassis notching.

thanks guys - I have some dropped spindles on the way, so will fit those, see how the bus sits height wise & then source some coilovers to raise it up a little.

I was reading an old thread where someone had fitted some cheap GSF ones & he reckoned they were fine?

Hopefully with the dropped spindles, the tie rods should be well clear of the chassis rails.

Would like to take you up on the offer of checking out your bus Richard, can u pm me your tel no & I will give you a shout when I can get over to Wolverhampton - hopefully you maybe able to take me for a spin in your bus, so I can feel how it rides with the coilovers

Thanks

if your fitting coil overs….you are totally wasting your time and money fitting drop spindles

the coil over is doing the suspension work….all the drop spindle is doing is moving your wheel 3" up into the arch (which can be achieved by just slamming your beam adjusters)


i KNOW the splitty world is brainwashed into think dropped spindles are the messiah for 'original' ride comfort….but trust me, coil overs do work really well…BUT…..they override all the other hack ups along the way
i.e…trashed ride by running a narrowed beam and hacked torsion leaves - RESOLVED
trashed ride by running drop spindles and then finding your tyres rub - RESOLVED
trashed ride by fitting beam adjusters wound right down so your drop arms have no leverage on the torsion leaves - RESOLVED


what i'm saying is….flipped spindles are pointless if you have beam adjusters and good coil overs LOL (unless your tubbing your front end and want the front end on the floor…then they work well in tandem with the beam adjusters…and the coil overs )

also, steer clear of the GSF / T3 detectives crap…..buy good quality fully adjustable, like Gaz, spax etc….buy crap coil overs and your ride will be crap

Thanks Maddison - just one question - wouldn't the ride still be harsh with the beam adjusters wound right down AND the effect of the coilover?