To Drop or Not to Drop, That is the Question

This is how they do it in NC.

Anything you do to it will decrease its resale value and you will be paying to do that.

That being said, no I have never done that to a van - sports cars, yes.

However, lowering ride height is not the secrete to improved handling. It won't hurt.

Better valved struts and shocks, anti-sway bars, and correct alignment go along way (along with wheels and tires).

If you use progressive springs you can maintain compliance, yet still have increased performance.

Sway bars will help with body roll.

Wider, lighter wheels and tires will improve grip.

After everything is installed you should have the vehicle realigned by a good shop that knows what they are doing.

It won't be cheap and you may simply decide that all the money and time is better spent elsewhere.

Not concerned with resale value.....I've already replaced the shocks, ball joints, tires....the problem is that the van has high center of gravity....the 2nd and 3rd row seats have been removed, so the suspension is unloaded....the van rides much better with a full load of say 1000 lbs....but on a windy day with no load, you can really feel it....I was looking at a kit that has front springs(-2") and a flip kit for rear(-4-6") around $450, but was concerned about losing ride comfort(rides like a Cadillac)....

That is where progressive wound springs really shine.

The initial travel is more compliant, but as they compress further they are stiffer.

Modern sports cars use these a lot and the ride quality is stunningly smooth, yet offers higher performance than stock springs for handling.

Additionally, adding larger sway bars reduces body roll.

S.E. that kit will most definitely improve center of gravity and handling after installing as long as you follow A.H.'s advice and get a proper alignment after all is done. It will probably ride just as well as before unloaded. My question is what happens when you put a normal 1000lb load in it, will you be riding on the bump-stops? That wouldn't be so Cadillac like.

I dropped a Ford Ranger a few years back with a kit similar to that and was very pleased with it until I put a halt ton of rocks in the bed, kind of rode like a Cat D9.

That is what I was afraid of with the flip kit, which keeps the leaf springs....and wondering if the bag suspension like air ride would be a better choice....but the only ones I've seen have heavy frame modifications and even intrude into the cargo space, and require gas tank relocation....not looking to get that radical...

What about something like this slam kit ?

http://www.suspensionconnection.com/cgi-bin/suscon/59111-slam-air.html

This looks like it will work, the slam kit works with flip kit and eliminates bottoming, thus maintaining Cadillac ride even when loaded.....$450 + $275 = $725 + labor and misc

Might add the heavy duty sway bar.....but what about wheel size? It has stock 15", would say 17" wheels add control, or just bling? It seems there would be less cushion on the bumps, perhaps a tradeoff of comfort for quicker steering response?? Still considering spring type....they claim no loss of ride comfort with above springs in kit.....

Probably bling.

Larger wheels mean the tire aspect ratio can be smaller for the same circumference, which reduces the ride compliance, but improves the "turn in" when turning the wheel.

Basically, you get a more go-kart feel to the steering and a more bumpy ride. I would think 16" would be a better compromise.

I just Googled "air shocks for Chevy Astro van"... Whole lots of ideas and techniques there from others who want something similar to you. There was even one system with a wireless remote for setting the level. I've used air lift shocks in the past on vans and they are great.

If I remember correctly, the stock rear springs on those vans were a single leaf fiberglass unit, but there are kits to replace them with multi-leafs. I'd go with an air-ride system all the way around. I had a 1995 Astro and when I finally junked it it had 350,832 miles on it!

50 series tires, 5/8"sway bars (possibly from a 20 series Astrovan if they make them), and wider spaced wheels.

I had a 1970 Chevy 9 passenger window van, extended body style with windows all the way around, that I put G60 radials on (no metric back then) and it would out-corner Mustangs, etc.

It did come stock with over-sized front and rear sway bars because of the possibility of actually hauling 9 passengers and their luggage. I took all the back seats out and hauled scaffolding in it at times, otherwise a full complement of construction tools.

Cornered like it was on rails!

You will never, ever, be cool while driving an Astro.

Trade it in for a Cavalier.

I'm cool driving anything, or nothing at all.....

Huh? I relpied earlier, and it never made it to the thread.

I said something like, " I like the way you think; I too am cool always".

I also managed to get myself banned for life from the "Conservative Political Forum", in my spare time.

Oh well.

I will continue to spew my garbage, even if I only end up with Lyn's email address.

Hey SolarEagle why not try dropped spindle's out front no ride loss with these then replace rear spring with new multi-leaf and lowering blocks since the rearend is on top of the spring no ride comfort loss. Then add sway bars front and rear for the cornering capabilities increase. Last time I needed a set of sway bars added to my E350, J.C.Whitney had me covered in three days for less then all of the local shops. Only took about three hours and two cases of beer with one box of band-aids for the skinned knuckels. But while you are under there check the upper and lower control arm bushings they are notorious for going bad after major changes in suspension. Ask me how I know, just replaced front shocks to also find both upper and lower were bad, original owner had just had the ball-joints replaced and aligned no one caught the bushings. That is going to slow my conversion to propane down a couple of months. It is all of the things we find for the first couple of months of owning a new to us vehicle that just make it a love affair with vehicles to keep doing what we love to do. Keep driving them and modifing them.Duke

Yeah the dropped spindles do seem to be the best, and in fact the easiest.....Belltech 2700's $311