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Sat Nov 05, 2016 7:44 pm

(If i posted this in the wrong section let me know)

Hi everyone. This week i was able to attend SEMA for the first time. Looking thru the vendor list i found Whiteline had a booth. On the second day i made it a point to stop by and chat with them regarding the production of their bug adjustable swaybars. Had a really good/informative conversation. Turns out they still have all the dies/tooling to make the bars!

Whiteline is considering doing a limited production run. The rep said they are thinking of doing a seasonal run of say 50 bars to test the market again. He did not indicate a timeframe thou. At the end of our conversation he said if we are able to put together a group buy of say 25 bars they might be willing to produce the swaybars :-)

Now, there are currently no guarantees or commitments from Whiteline to do anything. With that being said if we can show them that there is still a market for a VW adjustable swaybar there is a VERY good chance they will resume limited production.

Fyi, i have never organized a group buy so someone with more experience in the matter should take over when things get more serious. My intent is to start the conversant and see if there is any interest a group buy

So, who would be interested in purchasing an adjustable swaybar? I am in for both a front and rear. Anyone else?
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Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:02 pm

Who cares when we have Sway-A-Way? They are Proven and always there.

Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:06 pm

Adjustable sway bar?

Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:11 pm

I would like to know the diameter and how the adjustment effects stiffness. Also if they are stock width, b/j or l/p, and are designed for a lowered beam.

yamaducci wrote: Who cares when we have Sway-A-Way? They are Proven and always there.

3/4" SAW bars are too stiff, they do not allow enough suspension movement and make the car ride like shit.

Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:21 pm

We did not talk specifics like diameter or width. The biggest benefit of an adjustable bar is to dial it in for your track. Does Sway-Away make a swaybar for type 1 now? Last time i looked we were basically limited to 12mm or empi 3/4" bars. I autocross and hillclimb and would LOVE to have a thicker adjustable bar to mess with. The link below is essentiaally what we are looking to get.

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Whiteline-Front-Swaybar-22mm-Adjustable-T3-p/bwf10z.htm

Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:27 pm

When I purchased my adjustable front bar, white line stopped making them. Jacob previously with Brothers and I did a dual buy with fulcrum in Australia. It looks similar but the adjustment bolt holes are parallel to the road. My beam is a 3 inch narrowed and I have it lowered using adjusters and dropped spindles. I am using the center setting ( of 3 total) and I'm able to hang tight 90 turns doing in excess of 60. My bar is a 22mm bar and the rear empire sway bar is a 3/4".

Before the fulcrum bar I was using a modified welded empi front bar. The difference is noticeable.

Hope this helps some questions and having another manufacturer options are always awesome.

Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:38 pm

we bought the last stock they had (over 100 units), and FWIW we are still selling some of that purchase over a decade later. They are very slow movers, but the quality is great. Primitive in appearance, but very functional. Most VW guys won't spend the money when they can get EMPI for 1/4-1/3 the price.

We investigated buying more about 5 years ago and they said they weren't interested.

The shipping costs are significant.

Sat Nov 05, 2016 10:31 pm

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Whiteline-Front-Swaybar-22mm-RACE-Adjustable-OTT-p/bwf8xz.htm

I do like the design, it's great for ground clearance.

Some things to know:
Stock standard Beetle sway bar is 10mm in diameter
Stock Thing (181) sway bar is 15mm and 5.06 times stiffer
Original EMPI sway bar is 5/8" (15.875mm) and 6.35 times stiffer
3/4" (19.05mm) sway bar is 13.17 times stiffer

This is all assuming the shape, length, metallurgy, etc is all equal. Since the Whiteline bars are a completely different design, I would like to know how they compare, such as is the "softest" setting similar to that of a conventional 3/4" bar?

I absolutely hated the 3/4" bar on my old '72 Beetle. It made the front end rigid and miserable to drive. I swapped to an original EMPI 5/8" bar (front and rear) and the ride was massively improved, as was the handling. Bigger isn't always better, too stiff of a front bar will induce understeer.

Sun Nov 06, 2016 9:56 am

I would be interested! An adjustable bar you can fine tune- please let us know more details. Al

Sun Nov 06, 2016 12:15 pm

I bought one of the whiteline 15mm narrowed bars for the front of my beetle from John, and I love it. However, it is only a fixed bar that clamps to the lower torsion arm, not the adjustable. The adjustable bars, that mount to the beam, and have three holes at the ends for the links are desirable and always sell fast at top dollar. If these were made available again, I would pony up for at least one.
The problem will be, that there are several combinations that people will want, not just one or two. Several thickness bars, ball joint or link pin, and stock-2"-4" narrow? If you did 5 of each, that's a lot of investment capital, and you would sit on some of it for years..

Oh how I miss the good old days, though I was so young that I didnt have enough cash to afford the stuff that was available.

Sun Nov 06, 2016 7:27 pm

GTV wrote: http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Whiteline-Front-Swaybar-22mm-RACE-Adjustable-OTT-p/bwf8xz.htm

I do like the design, it's great for ground clearance.

Some things to know:
Stock standard Beetle sway bar is 10mm in diameter
Stock Thing (181) sway bar is 15mm and 5.06 times stiffer
Original EMPI sway bar is 5/8" (15.875mm) and 6.35 times stiffer
3/4" (19.05mm) sway bar is 13.17 times stiffer

This is all assuming the shape, length, metallurgy, etc is all equal. Since the Whiteline bars are a completely different design, I would like to know how they compare, such as is the "softest" setting similar to that of a conventional 3/4" bar?

I absolutely hated the 3/4" bar on my old '72 Beetle. It made the front end rigid and miserable to drive. I swapped to an original EMPI 5/8" bar (front and rear) and the ride was massively improved, as was the handling. Bigger isn't always better, too stiff of a front bar will induce understeer.

Yes....assuming the metaurgy is the same. With modern sway bar designs....and I mainly know this from watercooled Vw applications.....the metalurgy is radically different. Cross section can have little bearing on actual spring rate.

Also bar design/shape has LOADS to do with it. This is a differnt bar than is being asked about here...but is a good example even still considering it's from the the old VW Era.

On the VW 411 and 412.....the early cars used a fairly straight "C" shaped rear sway bar of 17mm. The later cars used a 15mm bar with a cranked section offset to to the left for seemingly no reason.....why was it cranked or dipped?......regardless.....the 15mm bar appys some 20% more twisting force than the 17mm bar.

It may be in part due to the total bar length being extended by the cranked section....it may be due to a different legel or spring temper, different alloy or all combined.

Many of the newish watercooled car sway bars are hollow....."gun drilled"as they say.....but are half the weight and twice the stifness/ roll rate.

Lots of differences and I doubt they are linear with diameter change. Ray

Sun Nov 06, 2016 7:34 pm

ALB wrote: An adjustable bar you can fine tune

I fine tune mine by taking them off :wink:
cool concept though, you just move it a notch forward of back to add or remove stiffness

Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:02 pm

John,
Do you have them for a narrowed beam or just for standard width?

Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:06 pm

we had them made for many different narrowed versions (2, 3, 4, 6"), but all those are long gone.

Todd66 wrote: John,
Do you have them for a narrowed beam or just for standard width?

Mon Nov 07, 2016 12:10 pm

Bummer. I thought I had seen where they were unavailable, but this had given me hope. Oh well. I have been trying to figure out something that would work, but I guess I'll keep looking.

Wed May 15, 2019 3:04 pm

I have made contact with a swaybar company that does street rod and custom race bars in the US. They like at least a 30 run minimum depending on the design. I have the rear adjustable whiteline bar on my ghia but but just an 3/4 empi in the front. The front needs at least a bit thicker bar that might as well be adjustable. Any interested bug bros out there that could draw up an adjustable front bar for a possible group buy???

Wed May 15, 2019 3:24 pm

[email protected] wrote: we bought the last stock they had (over 100 units), and FWIW we are still selling some of that purchase over a decade later. They are very slow movers, but the quality is great. Primitive in appearance, but very functional. Most VW guys won't spend the money when they can get EMPI for 1/4-1/3 the price.

We investigated buying more about 5 years ago and they said they weren't interested.

The shipping costs are significant.

Yeah john i spoke to them also and there was no interest in making them. I am interested in front and rear for my 1200 beetle IRS backend and stock front axle beam it has to be the adjustable version.

Thu May 16, 2019 2:34 am

they have anything for rear swing axle?

Thu May 16, 2019 4:32 am

I would be very tempted!

Thu May 16, 2019 4:33 am

I would be very tempted!