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Sat Jun 28, 2008 3:08 pm

Well I don't own a type4 but Im starting to like them and I love lowered. I was just wondering how you go about lowering the front and rear of these things? What kind of strut do they use is it an elephant foot or like the later super beetles with the later style that mounts to the spindle?

Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:38 pm

personally, i just cut my springs equally top and bottom. car handles better, rides smoother than any bug or type 3 and it was easy...

disclaimer... this is how i did it, your results may vary and others will tell you NOT to do it this way.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:18 pm

Well I was thinking more of slammed.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:48 pm

you could bag it... my car's nose is down 6" from stock already. they flew high stock! if you get down too low you will kill NLA parts.

Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:56 pm

They should sell a bag system for the Vanagon. You would sell billions!

vwfye wrote: you could bag it... my car's nose is down 6" from stock already. they flew high stock! if you get down too low you will kill NLA parts.

Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:33 pm

The common way to lower a type 4 in germany is to use BMW E30 front springs...

Mon Jun 30, 2008 1:48 pm

What are NLA parts and I was thinking of the sleeve kind of airbags would be a smart way. Does anyone have a picture of the front suspension and does anyone have info on this type 4?

Mon Jun 30, 2008 7:20 pm

Try this from my 411/412 website....

http://www.tunacan.net/t4corner/history/rt_nov68_pg70.shtml

The problem with extreme lowering the 411/412 is the ball joint. The stock ball joint only has so much range, so any slamming will prematurely destroy the ball joint. The problem is that ball joints are a rare find now-a-days. AFAIK, no one makes them and the NOS ones are drying up.

What we need to have is someone re-engineer the front suspension that allows the lowering (maybe with air-bags) that doesn't destroy the parts. Someday.....

Tuna

Tue Jul 01, 2008 12:03 am

So from what I can see in these pictures is that doing the rear of these things would be so easy but the pictures of the fronts are still a little hard to tell. Is the spindle mounted to a A arm or is it a crazy single arm like in a super beetle?

Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:00 am

NLA= No longer available. The brown 411 is on bags. There is also a custom green/wood panelled 412 on bags. The Type 4 has sort of an A-arm- it has a radius arm/brace for the main suspension arm- IIRC where there isn't one on the Super.

Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:18 am

The NLA ball joint is on facing down on the bottom of the spindle right?

Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:31 pm

Dirty66 wrote: The NLA ball joint is on facing down on the bottom of the spindle right?

Thats the one, I found some NOS ones on ebay a while ago and they are sat nice and safe in my shed waiting till I can get all the bits together to rebuild my "wobbly" front end.

Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:38 pm

I believe Ray Greenwood theorized that a domestic pickup truck ball joint could be adapted to work with a machined bracket for it to press into and interface with the bottom of the spindle/strut. When you get a Type 4, you'll see the scale and beefed up nature of the front end parts resembles something like a domestic full-size car or pickup. When I replaced the lower balll joints on my 4WD Dakota, I could see something like the lower ball joint could work.

Tue Jul 01, 2008 7:24 pm

Well couldn't someone make a new arm for the front that uses the super mobile bushing things that they use for mini trucks and just make a new mount for the bottom of the spindle to replace the stupid ball joint and why is it that when ever vw made a station wagon they had to make it a friggin two door? The sedan has four doors but the station wagon has two it makes no sense.

Wed Jul 02, 2008 12:56 am

If you want to see a 4 door conversion project that I think works really well try this link

http://www.rastall.com/412/index.html

Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:20 am

Dirty66 wrote: Well couldn't someone make a new arm for the front that uses the super mobile bushing things that they use for mini trucks and just make a new mount for the bottom of the spindle to replace the stupid ball joint

Sure, go for it.

Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:17 pm

Dirty66 wrote: Well couldn't someone make a new arm for the front that uses the super mobile bushing things that they use for mini trucks and just make a new mount for the bottom of the spindle to replace the stupid ball joint ....

Someday, when I have:

1). money
2). a large workshop in the backyard
3). necessary fabrication skills & tools
4). a 411/412 of my own

.... I will do exactly what you ask.

I have a friend who works for a company that manufactures suspension parts for off road trucks and race cars, so I'll be picking his brain on how to do it. Another friend is in the mini-truckin' scene and he's got a lot knowledge when it comes to custom suspension and air bags. With what I know about the 411/412, along with these two guys, I hope that the day will come I can design a setup that allows the 411/412 suspension to be tuned, adjusted, and slammed (if that's what you want).

However at this moment, as far as we know, no one has done this. Until someone does, we are stuck with the stock ball joints. Anyone want to do this now and save me the work? :D

Tuna

Wed Jul 02, 2008 11:43 pm

tuna wrote:
Someday, when I have:

1). money
2). a large workshop in the backyard
3). necessary fabrication skills & tools
4). a 411/412 of my own

Tuna

I'd love to give it a go but unfortunatly I share a lack of all the above, except number 4 that is as I have a 412 :lol:

Sun Jul 06, 2008 10:25 am

Well you are one step closer than myself. ;) -- Tuna

Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:25 pm

Beetspeed wrote: The common way to lower a type 4 in germany is to use BMW E30 front springs...
I thought there was a way using Rabbit (Golf I) / Audi Fox springs of some sort. BMW E30 is better?