front beam questions

1stCar · Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2005 11:19 pm Post subject: front beam questions

Ok, I had a good look at your guys cars at the show Sunday and am hoping for a little input about how much I will need to narrow my front beam so that my car sits nice and low. I have a 66 bug which I want to put disc brakes on the front, I plan to put 5 spoke (empi's) all around. I'd like to put a set of 205's on the back and 195's on the front. Would a 2 inch narrowed beam work well with this combination? And what about dropped spindles , are they necessary as well?

The show was alot of fun by the way,glad I could make it. Recharged my drive to get my bug finished as soon as possible! Can't wait!

Johnny · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:47 am Post subject:

if i was you i would run a 5 inch narrowed beam i know it sounds big but by the time you get spindles and discs and 5 spokes thats going to push the wheels out like 4 inches so you'll be looking at a 1 inch beam with stock wheels

1stCar · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:18 am Post subject:

Can I have a 5 inch narrowed beam and keep my shock towers? With out modifying the body?

Johnny · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:38 am Post subject:

no shock towers at 5 inches there is no need for them i don't know how many times i've told people this and the only people who seem to believe me are people who have rode in cars with these beams they ride beautifully

1stCar · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:28 pm Post subject:

OK so they ride beautifully, is it safe also? What about the dropped spindles, do I need them with an adjustable beam as well? I guess I've heard too many different opinions on this matter and now I don't know which way to go because I haven't had the opportunity to drive/ride in any that are lowered to the height that I want for mine. I appreciate your input though, thank you. Smile

66beetle · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:42 pm Post subject:

Just gonna jump in here and say, Johnny did my beam (4" no shocks, no sway bar) and it rides great and handles great. I drove the car to San Jose and back this spring and never had any control or drivability problems.

Dropped spindles aren't necessary if you're not gonna slam it, but I *highly* recommend them either way. They mean the difference between a car that rides like crap and a car that rides like a dream and if you want to go as low as John and Billy and Me, then you pretty much gotta have them.

NineteenSixtyFizzZi · Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2005 7:50 pm Post subject:

I'm gonna piggy back this thread(sorry) instead of starting another with the same title.

I don't need to ride much lower.
But would love to get rid of fender breaks.
I hate camber'd back wheels - to me it looks wrong / \
And front wheels that are tucked in looks so nice.

I'm running on stock wheels but also plan for 5 spoke empi's in the future.
195/60 Rear - 195/50 - Front. And if lowered spindles make a world of difference as mentioned then I would grab some of those as well....I'd stay with stock drums just because I like em and never plan to require disc.

Devin highly recommends your work there Johnny.
So my questions are... Would you require the whole car or just the beam?
Can you give me a PM/Hint on approx price of your great work?

Not in a hurry, I gotta solve a leak first - but the idea is in my mind for something to do before body and paint.(pan off job)

1stCar · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:57 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I guess I have some decisions to make on this topic pretty soon. This should help.

1stCar · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:57 am Post subject:

Thanks for the info. I guess I have some decisions to make on this topic pretty soon. This should help.

Johnny · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 4:54 pm Post subject:

yes its always a big decesion when planning on cutting a beam up but as devin says me him, billy, clark, paule, mike, we all run beams with no shocks and we seem to be the ones driving not trailering our cars to shows from here to california do you think that i could let somthing go out of the shop unsafe when were doing 75 miles an hour on the i-5 somtimes?

put it this way i've built 5 inch beams with shocks and its just more work for a shitty ride if i was building a car to drive around the world i would build a 5 inch beam with no shocks and run cb spindles with drum brakes (yes drum brakes) and drive it till it died

so good luck with your decision and i am not trying to get buisness out of you and i can coach you through it if you wanna try it yourself just remember that everyone who disses on no shocks seems to be the guys who dont dare to drive to a show more than a couple hundred miles away!

keep us posted on your decision johnny main

NineteenSixtyFizzZi · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:59 pm Post subject:

Pfffft Shocks - who needs em. I feel every bump and shadow on the road already. I don't think having them chopped off would make any difference.

Thanks for the PM.

Ovalzealous · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:28 pm Post subject:

Now Johnny, some of us might need a bit of gentle convincing to let go of our oil filled safety blankets. Not everybody on the internet gets a ride in your car.

However, on the rational side of things, the front end of a bug is pretty light and therefore will not get out of control easily. Also if it is lowered, there will not be much chance of serious nosedive without shocks.

woodsy · Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:34 pm Post subject:

Shocks are for dampning. What they are used for is to apply an opposite force to the suspension travel to inhibit the suspension from becoming unstable. Now lucky for those that ride with no shocks, like oval said the beetle front end is relativily light and requires little force to inhibit suspension harmonics. Unlike say a large American auto which can easily become unstable when cornering, or braking. So it is my opinion that shocks have little if nothing to do with reliability or drivabilty over VW's with shocks it is more just a preference.

Jeff

Johnny · Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2005 8:06 am Post subject:

woodsy and ovalzeleous are exactly right although running a stock width beam with no shocks is bouncy when you cut the torsion stacks 4-6 inches shorter it makes an incredible difference on how much stiffer the ride becomes and as for anyone who wants a ride in one of our cars with a beam don't ever be afraid to ask i'll take anyone for a rip

bug beams over 3 inches need no shocks
bus beams need shocks there is no way around it

good luck!

lowlife_mike · Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2005 11:25 am Post subject:

in calgary at the clubveedub.com page there is always the same arguement, shocks vs. no shocks.
paule was the first guy out here to run a 6.5" narrowed beam with no shocks on his old oval, and now quite a lot of people are running beetles with no front shocks. i rode in john's and devin's cars in california and they both rode great.

i have 2" cb drop spindles and a 5" narrowed beam with no shocks on a 63 beetle and it rides fine. the ride is great. stock wheels with 125-R15's up front. tires that are a bit bigger than temps. only problem i found with going that narrow is the tires rub on the headlight buckets. 700 miles so far like this with no problems.

at the great canadian or the host hotel this year, there will probably be lotsa cars like this that people can test drive.