Hi folks, another long one from me!
Thanks
aggie for the info. I wouldn't want to weld anything to the actual torsion bar directly for various reasons, unless I've misunderstood and you're talking about welding to a rigid part of it? Either way the top arm and torsion bar is definitely the area we're looking at, and that's a very interesting theory for tackling it from the other side. Much better to only put the big forces on the bits that were designed to do so in the first place.
You're right in pointing out the other mods/limitations for "slamming", as I said I'm only working from pics and diagrams at the moment so it's useful to know what's going to be the first limiting factor. We're hoping to get a kit together that will allow for enough travel should the installer wish to make extra mods and get it lower, but at the same time allow for a reasonable amount of adjustment without the mods. Anything else beyond that will be up to the person fitting the kit, such as tucking the wheels under the arches and protecting the underside, but it's all relevant.
It sounds as if you and I have a similar view on modifications. Manufacturers put good engineers and millions of pounds/euros into the design of these systems to find a balance between each of the variables (eg clearance, comfort, handling, reliability, safety, cost etc), so when it comes to modifications more often than not something, or some things, ends up being compromised for the sake of another, and without being inside the head of the original engineers it's tricky to know which areas have sufficient room for modification. You're very right to say caution is key.
What I'm getting at is that we're not looking to just knock a couple of brackets together, say "that'll do" and offer them up for sale - that'd be easy, but also kind of foolish, if that were the case the first build would be on the way. We're looking at some pretty extensive R&D before the first working prototype is made, then multiple prototypes before anything is installed and tested. Only once (or if) a satisfactory design is found will we fire up the CNC and hopefully bring out a product.
Admittedly it'll be impossible to get a single system to appeal to everyone's taste, some will want to drop it fully, others will just want adjustment, an improvement of ride quality or even to raise it upwards more, but here's where this discussion comes in handy to gauge what people are looking for, and what has already been considered.
cant believe it . claire has given me the go ahead for this if/when you get it right . what we looking at price wise ? a couple of k ? how much are the systems you already have on the market , need to know to count the pennies T:
also could the compressor and gubbins be mounted underneath the van , limited room inside to be honest !
Great stuff. The mounting locations will be left up to the installer, though we'll certainly have some suggestions eventually. The compressor it's self isn't that big, off the top of my head they're approximately 300mm long, 200mm high and 100mm wide, but will need to be protected from the elements to some extent. The main bulk of the system is the reservoir, though there are a few different shapes and sizes available. You might in fact get away without a reservoir but it'd be very slow, and you'd lose the benefit of being able to inflate tyres and such - surprising how often having a compressed air supply on board can come in handy!
The big question on everyone's lips, price: it's very difficult to say at the moment, however to give you a bit of an idea most fully adjustable systems start from about £1600, and can go upwards from there for digital controllers and other "bells and whistles". This is for an off-the-shelf kit though, so the cost will depend largely on what kind of mountings we're looking at. Though of course there will be some kind of group discount/bulk buy arrangement should the idea get off the ground.
Keith that van is mad! Very cool but I don't think I'll be doing that sort of chopping
Bargain though when it sold, looking at the amount of work that went into it!