Freshly slammed and narrowed with gas burners
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Justin & Muttley
Well-known member
Grazy,
If you imagine all of the suspension setup being the same as stock - but the spindle part (that's the bit that has the brake rotor & hub on) being a few inches higher - the net result is that the bus sits lower but the ride quality is the same as stock.
It does have some minor drawbacks though:
1. Dropped spindles aren't available for all years of bus (generally speaking drum brake models are OK).
2. It can increase the width of the front track (but not by much) meaning that your wheels will stick out more - this is one of the reasons that they are commonly seen on buses with narrowed front beams.
3. Early dropped spindles were welded instead of machined - not very strong and prone to failure (not a part of your bus you want to snap off!).
4. They are considered expensive - especially if you need a narrowed beam too.
5. You can't adjust them, if you get a 3" lowered set of spindles then your bus goes down by... 3"!!! If you use an adjustable beam too then you can still make minor adjustments to get things just right.
In short, a bloody good idea - get the best you can afford from a reliable company!
If you imagine all of the suspension setup being the same as stock - but the spindle part (that's the bit that has the brake rotor & hub on) being a few inches higher - the net result is that the bus sits lower but the ride quality is the same as stock.
It does have some minor drawbacks though:
1. Dropped spindles aren't available for all years of bus (generally speaking drum brake models are OK).
2. It can increase the width of the front track (but not by much) meaning that your wheels will stick out more - this is one of the reasons that they are commonly seen on buses with narrowed front beams.
3. Early dropped spindles were welded instead of machined - not very strong and prone to failure (not a part of your bus you want to snap off!).
4. They are considered expensive - especially if you need a narrowed beam too.
5. You can't adjust them, if you get a 3" lowered set of spindles then your bus goes down by... 3"!!! If you use an adjustable beam too then you can still make minor adjustments to get things just right.
In short, a bloody good idea - get the best you can afford from a reliable company!
Airtime
Well-known member
Slammedpanel in Holland rebuilts (machines, NOT welded!) stock spindles to dropped spindles for early bays and they'll cost about 500 euro (including new ball joints).
68only
Well-known member
Don't you have to flip the trailing arms upside down with the slammedpanel bay spindles though, meaning the ball joints are upside down with nothing to stop them pulling out of the arm?
Justin & Muttley
Well-known member
My understanding is that the spindles are machined where the balljoints go in and fitted with phosphor inserts? This way the b/j's go in the right way up!
68only
Well-known member
I guess they have changed it then. When I saw some at a friend's in Belgium a couple of years ago the trailing arms were flipped upside down.
68only
Well-known member
In this pic on their website it looks like the balljoints are upturned..?
68only said:
In this pic on their website it looks like the balljoints are upturned..?
Quick hijack ....
Whats the waiting time with you at the mo for an 'in out' bay van lowering job?
68only
Well-known member
About 2-3 weeks at the moment Clem.
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