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Swing Axle VS. IRS !! Beat this to death..
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63 vwnotch
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:58 pm    Post subject: Swing Axle VS. IRS !! Beat this to death.. Reply with quote

just curious as to preferances , pro and cons.. as i havent owned a IRS for years and forget the difference..

rob
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ice baller61
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

IRS suspension is a softer ride than swing axel..IRS has a long 4th gear like a freeway flyer,,saves gas, less stress on engine.,,But for racing, IRS sucks! Swing axel is 10 times better and stronger...o yeah IRS is easier to replace than swing axel.
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ScrapJunkie
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 17, 2004 11:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

swing axle cars look badass when slammed
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Fowvay
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

germanpride wrote:
swing axle cars look badass when slammed


I'm not picking on you or anything but are you saying you actually like the acute angles created by slamming a swinger?

I personally much prefer the straight up and down of an IRS rear end for slamming as it gives a much better contact patch and doesnt make it look like the rear wheels are broken.

Tom aka Fowvay
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vdubrida70
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 1:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

irs has better handling because the wheels can spin at different speeds
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CPRcubed
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 6:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ice baller61 wrote:
But for racing, IRS sucks! Swing axel is 10 times better and stronger...


Depends on the type of racing! Drag racing: Yes, Road Courses: No way!

Cheers!
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Bruce
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 12:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ice baller61 wrote:
IRS has a long 4th gear like a freeway flyer,,

.,,But for racing, IRS sucks! Swing axel is 10 times better and stronger.


The final drive in 4th in a 3.88 R&P IRS gearbox is the same as that of a 4.12 swing axle, so there's no difference in mileage or anything else.

For all forms of racing, IRS is superior. Swing axle isn't "10 times better" and it isn't stronger. The only advantage swing axle has in drag racing is that its cheaper to make strong enough to survive. An IRS can be made to survive by using 930 Turbo CV joints, type 2 output stubs, SAW axles.
IRS is superior to swing in drag use because the rear tires do not camber in when the weight transfers like swing axle does. The tires remain firmly planted regardless of the weight transfer effects.
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79SuperVert
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 1:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

vdubrida70 wrote:
irs has better handling because the wheels can spin at different speeds


I don't get that. The swing axle tranny has a differential too. So those wheels can also rotate at different speeds. Right?
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turboblue
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 1:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
For all forms of racing, IRS is superior


Take a poll and see if the faster asphalt drag cars are IRS. The results might suprise you.
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NorCalLowLife209
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 2:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I gotta agree with GP swing is way better looking then irs slammed.
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SWING Very Happy
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IRS Confused
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1979westie
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love the swingaxles (had me a 67 once) but for safe handling, IRS is the way to go. Cornering too hard in a swinger can cause the outer rear half axle to tuck under and cause the car to roll...(unless you have a good camber compensator). Remember...it was a swingaxle that killed the Chevy Corvair. That and Ralph Nader, of course.
Eric
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Randy in Maine
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 3:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have had both. Many of both actually.

IRS is better, no question.
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60sunroof
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 4:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I.R.S for off road and all around driving.

Swing for drag racing.
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ktwizza
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the look of a swing when it's drop as well. I have one so maybe I am kind of biased. Anyway about the saftey its not really an issue unless you are doing some serious manuvering. If you read Ralph Nader's book Unsafe at any Speed it even indirectly references VW's use of a swing axel. It says something like another automakers use of the swing axle suspension not a serious problem like the Corvair because the suspension is not overloaded in the rear like the Corvair. The weight distribution and amount of weight over the rear wheels of a Corvair was the main problem. Not a quote but that's the general idea, I read it a while ago.
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1979westie
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 18, 2004 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ktwizza wrote:
Quote:
It says something like another automakers use of the swing axle suspension not a serious problem like the Corvair because the suspension is not overloaded in the rear like the Corvair. The weight distribution and amount of weight over the rear wheels of a Corvair was the main problem.


Thanks for that. I never read "unsafe at any Speed", and I always found it funny that Nader picked on the Corvair and not the Volkswagens of the day (which were far more numerous). The extra weight makes sense. I know my father spun out more than once in his 62 Corvair. I guess they too went to an IRS setup after Nader's book, but apparently the court of public opinion had already cast a ruling. Very Happy Smile Sad Shocked
Eric
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down and dirty
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 19, 2004 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like swing, but I am biased too. out of 15 vws all but one was a swing. I even had a 70 bug with a swing. The only IRS was a bus irs in a baja bug. It cost a lot and didnt impress me. If I ever get into racing and I got a little money I would go IRS

but nothing looks better than a slammed bug with a swing axle!!!!!
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 20, 2004 6:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In 1972, Ralph Nader wrote "Small-On Safety: The Designed-in Dangers of the Volkswagen," attacking the Beetle, and in 1974 he sucessfully lobbied the federal government to reclassify The Thing from utility to passenger vehicle, causing imports to stop. Nader is no friend to the "Aircooled community."
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like driving my swing axle bug. iv driven a lot of IRS bugs and busses, and they handle good, but they are just not the same to me. Now if only i can only find a way to raise the gearing a bit on my swing. The short tires really ruined cruising speed.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 3:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

NorCalLowLife209 wrote:
I gotta agree with GP swing is way better looking then irs slammed.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

SWING Very Happy
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

IRS Confused


That's a matter of opinion. In my opinion, they both look like something's broken in the ass end.
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turboblue
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

5 years to the day this post gets resurrected......... Laughing
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