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Adjustable Coil over Shocks
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theduck
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 12:42 pm    Post subject: Adjustable Coil over Shocks Reply with quote

Shocked Hello all.I wpuld like to know how do you adjust the coilover shocks.They have a adjusting key that looks like a sickle.My question is ,do you do the adjustment with the tires on?Tires off? On jack stands ? On the floor with the tires? On jack stands with the tires on?One tire on at a time? All help is cool.thx,theduck Shocked
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jhoefer
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

To get access, you may have to take the wheel off. But if not, jack up the car so the wheel's off the ground. Undo the jam nut (the smaller one that isn't against the spring). Adjust the other nut for the change you want up or down. Tighten the jam nut. Put the wheel back on and drive a short distance to settle the suspension. Repeat until you get it right. Measuring the distance of the nut to the fixed end of the shock will make it easier to match the other ones.
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theduck
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:53 pm    Post subject: Shock Adjustment Reply with quote

Shocked I have the coilovers that do not have the 2 rings (1 too lock,1 too adjust).I have the ones that have a step adjustment.They look like stairs that go up or down.I have tried off the car but way to much pressure to move the step up or down.
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glutamodo Premium Member
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 1:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's been years since I last adjusted the ones on the rear of my Baja Bug, so no handy photos, but what I used to do was to grab the end of adjuster tool in the mouth of a vice-grip pliers, to allow more leverage. And I'd adjust with the rear end jacked up some.

-Andy
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shortride
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 3:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do coil-over shocks give you a better ride?
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Last edited by shortride on Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:36 am; edited 1 time in total
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esde
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 4:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

24" length of black pipe over the adjuster tool will save your knuckles. Grind the tool down till it's a tight fit in a chunk of 3/4-1" pipe.
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theduck
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:17 am    Post subject: shocks Reply with quote

Shocked I not sure of a better ride.I put them on cuz I have a 67 Bug.And the rear sags,67's are known to sag in the rear.Instead of rotating the rear bars.I put on the coilovers to pick it up some and now I can use a 185/15 with no rubbing.
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shortride
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:29 am    Post subject: Re: shocks Reply with quote

theduck wrote:
Shocked I'm not sure of a better ride. I put them on cuz I have a 67 Bug and the rear are known to sag in the rear. Instead of rotating the rear bars. I put on the coil-overs to pick it up some and now I can use a 185/15 with no rubbing.


That's what my Bug Shop told me. My '66 sags a bit in the rear and he said a set of coil-overs would lift it slightly. I may just have to try that.
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drscope
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 1967 beetle was set up from the factory to sit lower and be softer sprung then previous models. This is not because of SAG, but it is actually a SAFETY feature of the 67 beetle.

Your 67 should also be equipped with a rear Z-Bar. Again the Z-Bar was a safety feature marketed as a “helper spring” so VW wouldn’t have to admit to the fact that the car had dangerous oversteer characteristics.

By raising the rear of your 67, either by rotating torsion bars, or by installing coilovers, you are undoing all the science and technology that went into the 67 design!

You are trying to correct a problem that isn’t a problem! And you are changing the set up that was deemed to be the safest for the swing axle beetle.
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theduck
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:06 pm    Post subject: Shocks Reply with quote

Shocked Wow didn't know this.I changed cuz I have a set of 185/15's,with 4 lug wheels(Marathon wheels) and they reguired a set of adapters.When I put on the set up ,the wheels rubbed the rear fenders when I hit bumps.Now with the coilovers it does'nt do this at all.And it sits just a litte higher.The front also when up,their lies why I want to adjust the shocks.I would like to lower the front using the sickle tool supplied.I don't drive 70 miles a hr,around turns or 70 mph at all so I don't think I am going to roll the car.
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drscope
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cars roll over at low speeds too! And it's not just a matter of how you fast you drive.

It's a matter of the car being safe enough to do what you need it to do in a panic situation, or when you discover you may have gone into that bend in the road just a little too fast.

It can make the difference between simply driving through it or ending up on your head in the ditch.

Remember you aren't the only one out there on the roads. And an awful lot of trouble comes as a result of "the other guy". Do you want to be able to drive home after you have an encounter with the other guy? Or after you swerve to avoid an animal? Or after you hit a patch of gravel in the middle of a turn?

You simply took the best handling swing axle VW ever produced and made it a lot worse. But at least when the car is upside down in the ditch you can say your tires don't rub.
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theduck
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:00 pm    Post subject: shocks Reply with quote

Shocked Yup,you are right about the laws of nature that have been overlooked when they build many cars.I know the safety of you and others is a responsiblity of everyone.But then again not everyone lives like this.I have been communting 160 miles a day for 20 plus years.In some of the worst tracffic in CA. My car needed shocks,so I when with what is on the market for VW's.So Iask you what do you say about all those VW Ratrods that are lowered to the ground and hit bumps,and maybe lose control and get in a wreck?The Rat look is very popular now,cutting front beams,changing the rear spring plates to get the low look.Does these changes also refute the VW's manufactures design. Shocked
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theduck
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:11 pm    Post subject: Shocks Reply with quote

Shocked Say not sure how I got into a verbal about the laws of nature, but it happens when you asked for help and you get all all kinds of help.So with that I steel need input on what is the best way to adjust these type of coilovers.Anyone have tese on their VW ? Question
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Northof49
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had coil overs on the rear of my car back when I had a heavier water cooled engine in it. They may have been the same style as yours, a little step that you rotate against a pin in the body of the shock to raise or lower it. Certainly take the body weight off the shock first before attempting to turn it with the (included) tool. To lower the shock, turn it in the direction that allows the stepped ring to ride on a lower notch. It shouldn't be too hard to turn with the wheels off the ground.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

duck, me too I have the same coil overs like you with the sickle looking tool and step adjustment notches. I usually remove the wheels, unbolt the lower end of the shock, and turn the ring using the tool. It's easy to make the adjustment but the tighter you make it the harder it is to bolt the shock back, I use the floor jack to lift the shock up and slide the bolt through. Love those shocks when running high performance motors, everything stays nice and firm.
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theduck
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:10 pm    Post subject: shocks Reply with quote

Very Happy To all who have been helpful!!!Thx,I welded a 5" bar to give me more leverage,took off the wheels(found out you can leave them on)jacked up the car and the tool worked like a charm! Very Happy
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drscope
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 3:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It’s a little late now since you got it, but here’s another idea used by some of the motorcycle guys who run this type of shock.

If you have a welder, you should be able to make yourself a spring compressor to compress the spring. A couple pieces of ¼ x 1-1/2 inch strap with a tube welded to each end and you sort of have something that looks like a bearing splitter and can be bolted together on the spring. A set of these top and bottom and a couple pieces of all thread and you should be able to compress the spring enough to almost turn the adjuster by hand.
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davidw99
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 4:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

drscope wrote:
The 1967 beetle was set up from the factory to sit lower and be softer sprung then previous models. This is not because of SAG, but it is actually a SAFETY feature of the 67 beetle.

Your 67 should also be equipped with a rear Z-Bar. Again the Z-Bar was a safety feature marketed as a “helper spring” so VW wouldn’t have to admit to the fact that the car had dangerous oversteer characteristics.

By raising the rear of your 67, either by rotating torsion bars, or by installing coilovers, you are undoing all the science and technology that went into the 67 design!

You are trying to correct a problem that isn’t a problem! And you are changing the set up that was deemed to be the safest for the swing axle beetle.


Of course, after 50 years, the car just might have sagged. Coil overs are a band-aid solution to getting the car the right height by adjusting the torsion bars. If you car's suspension bottoms out, it is riding low. VW did not design them to do that.
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:49 am    Post subject: Re: Adjustable Coil over Shocks Reply with quote

I had a set of those EMPI chrome coil over type shocks on the rear of my baja. They lasted one trip around the block before I pulled them off. They are so stiff that even on the softest setting, that the car would bounce around on even the smallest bump. It was so stiff it was like having no rear suspension at all.
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