Wallowing...

[Old Crows]

Ok. You made two changes.

New tires. Same brand and design as the old Michelins. Right? Using the same pressures. ?

The other change is the alignment.

Frankly, if themtires and the pressures are the same as the old ones and the RV handled OK, you really need to examine the alignment. Its the only thing you have done that will affect handling.

Unless.....the replacement tires do not have the exact construction and capability as the old ones.

[Bobnoxious]

How much does your vehicle weigh and loaded???

[Fredb]

Thanks to all for the input and suggestions. I added a 5 lbs front and rear and seems to have helped... perhaps improvement is also a function of new tires finally settling in.

Regarding the rear sway bar, wverything looks fully intact to me... did a pretty thorough inspection.

Regarding wheel mounting I confirmed that the correct length bolts were used and that everything is snug.

Regarding shocks I have the red Koni’s plus foam bumpers (am forgetting the name right now). They were set to the medium compression setting and so could probably benefit from an adjustment to increase the dampening.

The last point raises another question I’ll put out to the group... we’re on a swing through the northwest (currently at Lake Louise) and will be making our return to SF thru southern Oregon. I’m thinking to get the van serviced as we make our way through that area (where I know is a haven for Sprinter RV suppliers and aftermarket shops) and am curious whether folks have a mechanic/shop they recommend. Am thinking to get a standard service and get the wheels/suspension checked out/adjusted (and maybe get a new set of tires for the front). Thoughts recommendations would be welcome/appreciated

[OldWest]

If going through the Seattle, Washington, area, there is an Airsteam Westfalia owner and Sprinter mechanic who has worked on several Westies.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/sh...Chang+mechanic

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/sh...7&postcount=13

The widely known contributing UpscaleAuto/SprinterStore in Portland, Oregon, is often recommended BUT there is a small quiet undercurrent of mixed reviews among Westy owners (as well as other Sprinter owners). While the company has changed hands in the last couple of years, do not know if these issues have been resolved.

There is an outfit in southern Oregon which focuses on suspension and handling. Do not know if any Westy owner has paid for their evaluation but it'd be interesting.

https://www.hendersonslineup.com/motorhome-rpa

https://www.hendersonslineup.com/coupons

[Pnwsquid]

Originally Posted by Fredb

Tire pressures at good both front and rear... that’s not the issue.

Sounds like it is the issue.

[Fredb]

Oldwest... any contact info for Michael Chang... checked both threads and didn’t see anything and did a google maps search yield anything either

[OldWest]

Somebody may have better info. Last info I had was:

Mike Chang
Ravenna Ave NE
Northern Seattle.
Think his home number is
206 Ignore 227 Ignore 7870 Ignore

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/sh...7&postcount=16

[Fredb]

Belated return to this thread...

Sooooo, after trying tire pressure and getting the bushings/rear anti-sway bar inspected and putting a new set of tires on the front to go with the rear, I had the folks at SprinterStore in Tualatin (south of Portland) adjust the compression setting on the Koni shocks. Somehow they were set to only 10% compression by original installer. They bumped the compression setting to 70%. With that change, the handling noticeably improved. That said, I'm still not clear on how it went from good to bad following the initial tire change and so that will remain a mystery. Additionally, I 'sprang' (pun intended) for the 'spring assist' kit that the SprinterStore folks sell (they're on sale right now!) to further strengthen/stabilize the back end. I haven't actually driven it yet (something to do with running square into a deer on the way to the Oregon coast), but am confident that it will only make the handling better, particularly as I'm fond of carrying a motorcycle on the back end of my Westy.

[Riptide]

10%??? That would definitely do it. It seems most Westy users that install the Koni's have them dialed up closer to 100%, since we're so close to the GVWR as it is...

[Fredb]

Originally Posted by Riptide

10%??? That would definitely do it. It seems most Westy users that install the Koni's have them dialed up closer to 100%, since we're so close to the GVWR as it is...

What I'm still confused by though is that it handled great before the tire change and can't believe that the folks who changed the tires made any adjustment to = the shocks. Guess that will have to remain a mystery.

Am excited to see what effect the 'spring assist' has. Will report back once I get to drive it.

Again... FWIW, for those who might be interested, the SprinterStore has a pretty significant discount on the spring assist right now https://www.sprinterstore.com/produc...st-suspension/