Safarifriends.org

TDJohn wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:00 am

chuckster wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 8:25 am I am considering replacing the shocks on my ‘01 Zanzibar 3646 which has the Magnum M-Series "Blue Max" chassis. Where can I find the correct Koni part numbers for my rig?

Thanks!

Chuck,

Does your coach have the VelvetRide (torsional suspension) or does it have the air ride suspension?
If air ride, is it 4 airbags or 8 airbags?

Hi. It has the BF Goodrich Velvetride suspension.

Chuck,

See my reply to you, regarding the shocks you need on my earlier post dated Nov 13th at 2:13pm. If you have any more questions, give me a shout.

chuckster wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 3:52 pm
Hi. It has the BF Goodrich Velvetride suspension.

B.F. Goodrich was the manufacturer of the TORSILASTIC suspension. Also called Velvet Ride. It was manufactured in their Jacksonville FL plant. That division was sold to Lord Corp and the torsilastic suspension components have long been out of production.

And, with this suspension, it is important to check RIDE HEIGHT. Pretty easy to adjust.

wolfe10 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 4:15 pm

chuckster wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 3:52 pm
Hi. It has the BF Goodrich Velvetride suspension.

B.F. Goodrich was the manufacturer of the TORSILASTIC suspension. Also called Velvet Ride. It was manufactured in their Jacksonville FL plant. That division was sold to Lord Corp and the torsilastic suspension components have long been out of production.

And, with this suspension, it is important to check RIDE HEIGHT. Pretty easy to adjust.

Brett,

Even though Lord Corp dropped the torsilastic suspension components, all the components are still manufactured by a Mexican Company.
That company is called Sulastic and they make the torsilastic springs and shackles for Safari coaches and even for Eagle buses, among many other items.
Their website is: https://www.sulastic.com/torsilastic
I know of a few members who have used the torsion springs made by Sulastic and thus for there has been no complaints.

Yes, I am aware of Sulastic. In fact, the owner of the company lives (or at least did years ago when I met him) in San Antonio, TX. He and his son drove over and took measurements off our 1993 Foretravel U240 which uses the same Torsilastic suspension as the Safaris for them to duplicate the Torsilastic suspension components.

I have not seen any of his products first hand, so can't comment on quality.

These suspension components are pretty long-lived if not overloaded. But checking and adjusting ride height is an important part of keeping the suspension working properly and ride and handling at their best.

TDJohn wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 12:13 pm

ccastle wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:00 am Ok, looking for the correct part numbers for my 35 foot 1998 Safari Sahara 3506 with velvet ride. Didn't see specific ones listed for this coach yet. Thanks!

Chuck,

Here are the part numbers for your coach. It is absolutely crucial that you order by these part numbers. If you have already ordered the shocks by the wrong part number, you will need to cancel that order and order the correct ones, otherwise you will have wasted you money and will be very unhappy with you ride and handling of your coach.

The correct Koni shocks are:

Front: 88-1641SP3

Rear: 88-1458SP1

NOTE: It is crucial to order the shocks by part number NOT by year, make, and model. Otherwise you will get the ineffective useless shocks, wasting your money.
These Koni shocks are adjustable, I would suggest to set them at maximum dampening, especially if you will be driving rough roads like in California. At maximum dampening, these shocks literally get rid of all porpoising and severe bouncing on rough roads.

Thank you, John!

TDJohn wrote: ↑Sun Nov 15, 2020 12:11 am Chuck,

See my reply to you, regarding the shocks you need on my earlier post dated Nov 13th at 2:13pm. If you have any more questions, give me a shout.

I was on the road and missed that. THANK YOU!

wolfe10 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 16, 2020 6:38 am Yes, I am aware of Sulastic. In fact, the owner of the company lives (or at least did years ago when I met him) in San Antonio, TX. He and his son drove over and took measurements off our 1993 Foretravel U240 which uses the same Torsilastic suspension as the Safaris for them to duplicate the Torsilastic suspension components.

I have not seen any of his products first hand, so can't comment on quality.

These suspension components are pretty long-lived if not overloaded. But checking and adjusting ride height is an important part of keeping the suspension working properly and ride and handling at their best.

Brett,

It is a small world, if I remember correctly, you were also involved with BFGoodrich regarding those same torsion springs. I didn't know that you and the owner of Sulastic crossed paths. The reason I mentioned Sulastic, is so the newer Safari owners would be aware that we can still get those parts for our coaches (if needed). The way you wrote "the torsilastic suspension components have long been out of production" can possibly mislead some of the newer members into thinking that those suspension components can't be replaced if something were to go wrong. In general, considering how fast time flies, and all the new owners/members we have recently gained, plus with the group changing platforms. It couldn't hurt to rehash some of the well known, older info, like the importance of ride height (and the adjusting procedures) as you mentioned, and shocks, suspension parts, etc. This will help the new owners learn the ropes and hopefully prevent them from making costly mistakes.

For the new members, I will start by saying, that Brett Wolfe is one of the key leading experts on Safari coaches, especially in the suspension and the CAT diesel engine arenas on our coaches. He has helped countless members over the years, including me (Thank you!), and he is also very active with the FMCA and its forum, and has been for a very long time. Take his advice, he sure knows what he is talking about!

John,

Yes. it is a small world. Both Ralph Andrews and I worked with B.F. Goodrich engineers to "enhance" the Torsialastic suspension. Will never forget visiting the Goodrich factory in Jacksonville, FL to work with their engineers. Over lunch, they pointed to the nose of a nuclear submarine they were fabricating.

At that time I had a 1993 Foretravel U240 with the same torsilastic suspension used on Safaris, though the linkage "locating" the suspension was quite a bit better on the Foretravel. The redesigned rear torsilastic beam we came up with became the standard for all future Foretravel orders.

This was when Ralph was working on his "enhancements" to better locate the suspension to chassis on the Safaris. He was surprised by how Foretravel had secured it and suspect it helped him with his designs.

Hard to believe all this was 20 years ago.

More recently worked with Koni in their development of the FSD shocks for motorhome applications-- used our Foretravel U240 as the "guinea pig". Sadly, not enough volume in Torsilastic suspended coaches for them to produce a separate shock for us.

And, after serving as Moderator of the FMCA Forum since 2009 and Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee since 2011, I have finally retired and we are in the process of moving to Ft Myers, FL. No more big house maintenance!

Have enjoyed all of it.

Brett

Brett,

Thank you for sharing this neat and amazing experience, that was an unknown but important part of the Safari/RV history. And thank you and to all of those you mentioned, that were involved in making our coaches ride and handle better, making them much more enjoyable for us.

During what years did you work with the BF Goodrich engineers and Ralf Andrews?

Congratulations on your well deserved retirement!!! I sure hope that you will be able to stay active on this group and the FMCA forum for many years to come, as your input is very valuable. Again, congrats and thank you for all your help and valuable knowledge that you shared over the many years, and may you have many years of good health to enjoy your retirement

Edit: I some how missed the part where you mentioned working with Koni on the FSD shocks.

What years did you work with them on that?

Being that you are acquainted with some of the Koni people, is there any way you can get your hands on shock damping specs for the FSD shocks and especially the EVO99 shock that will eventually replace 88-1641SP3 shocks? The specific EVO99 replacement part number is: 99B-3254