TheSamba.com :: View topic - Coil-Overs or Torsions??

Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:53 am

I am trying to decide wich way will work best, I know that C-O set ups look trick but also cost alot more to do.

For sand I am just wondering what set-up you guys think would work best.

After bouncing around all last weekend on the stock (lifted) front BJ front susp. I gotta do something quick!

Wed Feb 23, 2005 10:09 am

Scrap the bj front end and go to coilovers. You wont be sorry, and hey, it's only money.

Wed Feb 23, 2005 11:03 am

Hey it was good to meet another Samba member. I was the guy on the dirtbike and over by the vendors who stopped and talked to you. I am glad to see you got it running better. I hope to get back to mine tomorrow. The house flooded yesterday so everything is F'D up right now.

Coilovers are the way to go. Like baja5 said it's only money ( btw his car is badass!! Yes it has coilovers! ). Start out slow do one end at a time. I would switch to a link front end with longer arms, rack for steering, and run coilovers. Tie into the rollcage and push the front end out about 3in. It will be a world of difference! Good luck! We are here to help you spend your money....I mean help you!!! :lol:

Wed Feb 23, 2005 12:13 pm

Thanks for the plug Jed. I'm glad you will finally get your car together. Barstow is coming up quick. April 23-24 and i'm hoping to get a few Samba people together to make the run. Last year was a blast.Sorry for the post hijack.Bajabuggin there are some pics of my front end in my gallery. my front end is streched about 5 inches..but with the long arms the wheel base is not too long.

Wed Feb 23, 2005 12:56 pm

[quote="jedrattle"]Hey it was good to meet another Samba member. I was the guy on the dirtbike and over by the vendors who stopped and talked to you. I am glad to see you got it running better.

Yeah nice to meet you as well. We gotta meet up for a ride in the dunes. I have a YZF450 for dune scoots. Looked like you had a nice group of bikes. There is only one other DB rider in our group. I went through the carb and adjusted the floats like you sugg. and the thing ran pretty good for the rest of the weekend. We had a blast in it!

As for the front end, I was def. planning a link swap but wanted some opinions on torsions and emulsion shocks Vs. C-O

I am planning a 6" inch beam with longer arms and stretching the front end about six inches either way.

Good luck with the flood..... that sucks.

Baja5, your car def. is a bad ass machine. Im sure I will have plenty of questions for you once I get out the sawzall and start cutting!!!

Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:50 pm

Just let me know if i can help.

Wed Feb 23, 2005 3:57 pm

if you have the budget, theres no reason not to go coilover. the adjustability alone beats the hell out of the torsion arm setup (particularly the rear splined bars)

Wed Feb 23, 2005 4:22 pm

That's the main reason I did it. I had to reclock one of my torsions before i converted it and that was enough for me. Now a few turns of the spanner and i'm set.

Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:44 pm

[quote="BajaBuggin"] jedrattle wrote: Hey it was good to meet another Samba member. I was the guy on the dirtbike and over by the vendors who stopped and talked to you. I am glad to see you got it running better.

Yeah nice to meet you as well. We gotta meet up for a ride in the dunes. I have a YZF450 for dune scoots. Looked like you had a nice group of bikes. There is only one other DB rider in our group. I went through the carb and adjusted the floats like you sugg. and the thing ran pretty good for the rest of the weekend. We had a blast in it!

As for the front end, I was def. planning a link swap but wanted some opinions on torsions and emulsion shocks Vs. C-O

I am planning a 6" inch beam with longer arms and stretching the front end about six inches either way.

Good luck with the flood..... that sucks.

Baja5, your car def. is a bad ass machine. Im sure I will have plenty of questions for you once I get out the sawzall and start cutting!!!

Yeah I love that crf450. more hang time then I care for. Wait it's more like hang on time!!! :lol: I am going to take you up on that. The guys I was with, ride a little slow for me.

Watch out on that beam situation. I bought that $90 warrior beam that everyone sells. I also bought 4in longer arms and lift spindles from tweeds. I went to put it togather and guess what? It no workee!! No one has bushings that fit that beam. I took it back and bought a beam at Kartek......guess what they don't have bushings to fit it either!!! :evil: The problem is the supplier on that one (out of stock). It's been two months now and still no bushings. The problem in this sit. is that everyone Kartek , Mckenzies, etc. use the same supplier for them.

Hey Brad change that damn picture!!! :-& I almost lost my dinner when I scrolled down and saw that disgusting thing!!! I had to laugh because that had to hurt like hell!! My grandfather always said `your finger is not a drift or a punch and it doesn't respond well to a hammer' lol Yes he was a carpenter!!lol

Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:49 pm

baja5 wrote: a few turns of the spanner and i'm set.
are you british?

Wed Feb 23, 2005 7:59 pm

No, I'm a red headed irishman. Is'nt that what its called ? A spanner wrench. Maybe I spelled it wrong

Wed Feb 23, 2005 8:02 pm

i guess it could be a specislty wrench for the coilovers, but i always figured spanner was british for "wrench"

Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:13 pm

I just thought it was a type of wrench,flat handle curved at the top with a pin to fit into the collar of a shock. Don't know.

Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:57 pm

yep, thats a spanner

Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:14 pm

OK-

I have decided that going with C-O is just too expensive for this car. atleast for now. There is just too many other things I want to do to fit it in the budget. I will be using the car almost 100% in the sand so torsions should work fine....

So, what parts would be recommended for torsions? If I go with a 6 over link beam with stock spindles and longer arms how much travel can I get? Any suggestions for leafs in the front?

Also, for the rear. If I go with 3X3 arms what torsions would work best? Also I have heard I may need to beef up the torsion housing if I use stiffer bars, is there a kit for this or?

Also, what about front brakes? If I go to a one piece front end and tube the chassis to the beam it should be light enough to go spindle mounts in the front right?

OK OK enough questions for now....

Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:26 pm

Hi BB, don't worry about the questions, they are valid, and you have the good fortune to be able to tap into alot of really great people here. (Besides, I ask alot too!) Having said that, have a look at the thread that HamburgerBrad did on front suspension. http://thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101670 It's really quite good, and should give you some of your answers. It's a bit of reading but the Bradmobile thread covers alot on both front and rear suspension. I particularly like the bit on hitting a bump, and riding in front of a cop on front wheels only. The rear suspension and torsion rates are handled there with some real life experience and examples.

Good luck with the new project, and of course, pics and updates are welcome!

Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:59 pm

BajaBuggin wrote: If I go with a 6 over link beam with stock spindles and longer arms how much travel can I get? Any suggestions for leafs in the front? i would guess no more than 11 inches. that's a rough quess because i'm limited by treavel of my tie-roda. When i had 2.25" longer arms, the stock leaves didnt seem have enough resistance. I recently got, but have not installed stiffer SAW torsion leaves that were pre-cut for the 6" wider beam; enough to do all four arms for just over $200 shipped to my front door.

BajaBuggin wrote: If I go with 3X3 arms what torsions would work best? Also I have heard I may need to beef up the torsion housing if I use stiffer bars, is there a kit for this or? Many people run 27 or 28mm torsion bars with 3x3 arms. in my rail, i have 28mm but fear they may be too stiff. I'll be able to profide a better idea of that in a few weeks. As far as beefing up the torsion housing, I have never heard of it being done or being needed?

BajaBuggin wrote: Also, what about front brakes? If I go to a one piece front end and tube the chassis to the beam it should be light enough to go spindle mounts in the front right? For a baja bug, i would always run front brakes.

Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:19 am

Hey, Baja5. Super looking Baja you have there. My son is planning on redoing our old Baja and was planning on going c-o. Did you do your own work or have it done? If you had it done was the shop anywhere in SoCal?