TheSamba.com :: View topic - notching the springplate. do you need to to go 1 spline?

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:47 am

Let me throw this consideration in

My bugs rear has notched plates and type 2 cv's

My ride is really stiff and i hear the plates hit the stop often when i'm driving solo un loaded. But when i load up with gear and a second person the ride becomes perfect and thats what i like. So when setting your suspension you should consider typical load in vehicle.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:52 am

clemsonteg wrote: That sounds like a price I could handle haha. Im not looking for a lot of lift really, the swap of bars for me is so I can get more clearance for tires.

You don't need to change the bars out to get more lift (tire clearance). The heavier bars give you a higher spring rate. The Swayaway site has alot of good info on it. It's tucked away on their site...

http://swayaway.com/TechRoom_VWguides.php

Mon Aug 10, 2009 9:05 am

dirtkeeper wrote: Let me throw this consideration in

My bugs rear has notched plates and type 2 cv's

My ride is really stiff and i hear the plates hit the stop often when i'm driving solo un loaded. But when i load up with gear and a second person the ride becomes perfect and thats what i like. So when setting your suspension you should consider typical load in vehicle.

Keep in mind what you might be experiencing is a shock issue and not your t-bars. Having the suspension set correctly is a combination of both.

Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:09 pm

so im kinda confused..

i want to preload my torsion like hibbard says and notch my spring plate.

i have just a stock irs tansaxle
and unfortunately it gonna be about 90% road car (for now)

mostly just me maybe 1 or 2 other people not a whole ton of stuff.

also i have kyb gas adjusts if i notch the plate will the travel be to long for those?

(i dont have the shocks to measure eye-eye but its just a stock length)

thanks

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:07 pm

vindeta wrote: so im kinda confused..

i want to preload my torsion like hibbard says and notch my spring plate.

i have just a stock irs tansaxle
and unfortunately it gonna be about 90% road car (for now)

mostly just me maybe 1 or 2 other people not a whole ton of stuff.

also i have kyb gas adjusts if i notch the plate will the travel be to long for those?

(i dont have the shocks to measure eye-eye but its just a stock length)

thanks

Notching is not a great idea with stock T1 CV's and stock length shocks. It's very simple to see how much of a notch you can get. Like I said above, lift the rear off the ground so that your spring plates are on the stops. Take the top shock mount bolt off and allow the shock to extend. That's all you have to spare. Next, put an angle finder on your axle and see how close to 12* you are. There isn't alot of room to play with here either. If you don't check and just blindly cut a notch, you WILL blow CVs and shocks. The guys with the big notches have T4 or 930 CVs and longer shocks tied into a cage.

This notch was enough to pop my shocks:

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:11 pm

vindeta wrote: so im kinda confused..

i want to preload my torsion like hibbard says and notch my spring plate.

i have just a stock irs tansaxle
and unfortunately it gonna be about 90% road car (for now)

mostly just me maybe 1 or 2 other people not a whole ton of stuff.

also i have kyb gas adjusts if i notch the plate will the travel be to long for those?

(i dont have the shocks to measure eye-eye but its just a stock length)

i also have kyb gas adjusts. when i did the preload job last weekend i did notice that when the spring plates were resting on the stop the shock was right at full extension. i think any more travel would require a longer shock. it is kinda perfect that all the stock stuff is still usable when i went the 1 spline and did not notch the plates. :D
thanks :D read all the above quote. i edited it wrong and added my answer to the quote :roll: :wink:

Mon Aug 10, 2009 8:27 pm

also my type 1 outer cv joint was starting to bind up when the plate was resting on the stop.the inner type2 cv still had quite a bit to go before it binded up.it seemed that not notching the plate kept everything(type 1 cv and shocks) still usable. next will be longer arms,axles,shocks etc etc ... :P

Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:03 pm

alright cool i think ill just stick with preload for now thanks alot for al the good info guys.

how much do you think it would cost me to convert over to t 4 or 930(?) cv's ??
if i felt like doing that in the future.

Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:30 am

Sorry to dig up an old post but i have some questions and this seems to be the best place for it. Im getting ready to pull my spring plates off tonight. But im concerned about how much to notch and index. I put Thing spindles on the front so all i realy want to do is match that 3" in the rear. I know a few folks have done this and if you could steer me in the right direction i would appreciate it.

Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:36 am

What CV's do you have?
Are you using stock length shocks?

Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:43 am

I have thing axels and cvs.

Non stock shocks will be put on after the pan and suspension is finished.

Tue Oct 13, 2009 9:01 am

Boramar wrote: I have thing axels and cvs.

Non stock shocks will be put on after the pan and suspension is finished.

Stock T1 CVs are only good to 12*
The thing CVs will let you lift the rear to a axle angle of 22*.
That's the first limit.

The second limit is the extended shock length (minus 1/4" or so).

You now have to figure out how to get to those limits and how to prevent your suspension from exceeding those limits. You can't exceed either, so you'll need to figure out which one you'll hit first. You'll need to be able to cycle the suspension from full compression to full droop.

Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:24 am

Ok so does this meen i have to have the shock and the body on before i can figure this? or can i do it with out?

Tue Oct 13, 2009 4:40 pm

Boramar wrote: Sorry to dig up an old post but i have some questions and this seems to be the best place for it. Im getting ready to pull my spring plates off tonight. But im concerned about how much to notch and index. I put Thing spindles on the front so all i realy want to do is match that 3" in the rear. I know a few folks have done this and if you could steer me in the right direction i would appreciate it.
I put Thing components in the front of my 72. Wanted to do exactly as you describe. Turning the rear torsion bar one inner spline matched the front lift pretty close. One inch larger diameter tires on the rear over the fronts help.
I did not notch. With stock CV's and shocks I am willing to hit the stop once in a while on rebound.