Hi everyone, I found myself wondering today after pulling into the somewhat uneven apartment parking lot in my old '79 beater wagon, whether anyone else has given much thought to the awkward ride of our wagons' rear ends, particularly when going over a bump. Seems like they tend to go over a bump with some degree of reluctance, and then bounce down and then back up again before regaining composure. Not too good for confident handling on anything less than a smooth surface, not to mention the fact that it's just plain annoying. The air shocks I have on the '87 did smooth out this phenomenon quite a bit when I put them on, so I'm not sure if that was related to the difference in damping over the SensaTracs I'd been running, or the slightly higher effective spring rate from the air chambers, or what.
Perhaps this is related to the fact that when the suspension was stock, my '87 always rode better with the rear end loaded down? I don't have the car here with me, but while I remember the rear springs as being single-rate, there are a whole bunch of rubber doodads strung around part of each spring like beads, which could probably provide the effect of a progressive spring rate by taking a coil or two out of action when loaded down.
I know there are some folks here who have experimented with different springs on their wagons, so I'm curious to hear how that affected this aspect of ride.
Perhaps this is related to the fact that when the suspension was stock, my '87 always rode better with the rear end loaded down? I don't have the car here with me, but while I remember the rear springs as being single-rate, there are a whole bunch of rubber doodads strung around part of each spring like beads, which could probably provide the effect of a progressive spring rate by taking a coil or two out of action when loaded down.
I know there are some folks here who have experimented with different springs on their wagons, so I'm curious to hear how that affected this aspect of ride.
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