Effects of Wind on Your Lowered Beetle Vs. Stock?

[Bret2094]

I've always had issues with my beetles, no matter how fresh the front end or tire spec, they all get tossed around by wind, and especially when I get passed by an 18 wheeler or a large suv going 60+.

With a beetle lower to the ground, is this as drastic? I've never driven a lowered or "slammed" bug so I have no frame of reference. Sometimes driving in the wind with my beetles leads to a bunch of "OH SHIT, HOLD ON TO YOUR BRITCHES!" moments.

I've never been a fan of the "low" crowd based upon practicality and my personal distaste of the so called "look" but lowering a bit for handling increases is a whole other matter.


What are your experiences? Please don't turn this into a battle of fanboy squabble. I am looking for honest assessments


Bret
_________________
1959 baja beetle ragtop( going back to Full body)
1959 beetle
1960 Beetle frame Custom buggy
1962 Karmann Ghia
1967 beetle( august 66, first car)
1967 beetle (parts car)

1977 Westfalia Camper

1972 Plymouth Duster

Just another 22 year old jackass who caught the bug, and lives by the motto " NO fatchicks allowed" , I've got too many cars as is (buses N/A)

[-Zodiac-]

My Ghia gets knocked around in the wind too - I've defiantly have had some "oh shit" moments, like trying too keep it in one lane. I would have thought for sure it would have been better than a beetle, the roof is a good bit lower - and mine isn't slammed, probably just under "stock".
_________________
1973 karmann ghia - current, not the last VW.
1947 Chevy stylemaster - gone, but not forgotten.
1995 Ford F-150 - gone, hatred for it lives.

[raygreenwood]

Have your castor checked.....and make note of if your car likes to get caugbt on or follow grooves in the pavement.

All ACVW have some sensitivity to crosswind simply because they are relatively light and have little weight in the front end in the case of bug, ghia, type 3 and type 4 cars....and....also in the case of types 1 and 3 they have flat bortoms and curves on the top. At various angles they produce lift. You see a lot of lifting in diagonal winds.

The type 4 has a bit less curves and lift in diagonal winds.....but in crosswinds it has a little more area than the bug, ghia and type 3. The bus is just a sail from any direction.

Slight lowering in the front end and not the rear end can actually make it worse in some diagonal winds because....again...like a wing it changes the angle of attack and you still have that flat bottom and curved top.
Dont know how well overall lowering works as far, as what limits.....

One of the biggest changes you Can make is positive castor. Slight overall lowering (again not just the front end alone) in strut suspension VWs makes a difference in steering control in crosswinds because it slightly increases static castor.

This helps because one of the biggest factors in direction change in windy conditions is the fact that these cars are already experiencing some lift at highway speeds so they have less ground pressure. Textures changss, bumps and grooves make the car change direction more readily. Its called bump steering or tram lining.

An extra 1-2° of castor makes a huge difference. The strut vehicles have about half the amount of castor the factory as the torsion bar front end cars. They can all benefit from a little more castor. Just dont add so much that you lose the self centering function of the gear box.

The problem of getting blown from lane to lane from trucks....nothing will help. That is nust because you are light and have a lot of side surface area. My 2012 golf is 3300 lbs and still gets some of this.
Ray

[Mike Fisher]

My square is better in the cross winds & handles/corners better lowered. It might ride a little harder 2 splines down in front & 1 spline down in the rear w/185X60 & 205X70 tires but it feels much more sure footed!

_________________
https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

Society is like stew. If you don't keep it stirred up you end up with a lot of scum on the top! - Russ_Wolfe/Edward Abbey

[Brian]

eh, my bug was up three inches and had the front swaybar taken off. Handled like stock.
_________________
Wash your hands

'69 Bug
'68 Baja Truck
'71 Bug
'68 Camper

Only losers litter

[Bret2094]

[Karly]

I've only had stock height cars so far (soon to change) but I found the type 3 better than the bug in windy conditions. You also notice a change with a full fuel tank .... I would think more weight in front would make more difference than lowering. As previous posters said I think the problem is how light a car they are.
_________________
1960 Beetle ''Heidi" daily driver
1964 Karmann Ghia project

[mark tucker]

my baja was horrible,so I put old style glass fenders on it and made a glass noze to go over the baja nose.much better,I still need to lower it more

[Brian]

[Randall]

Here are some links about lowered Beetles that should help

Sticky topic: Beetle FAQ and 1958-1967 Beetle Info available on TheSamba
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=101972

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/search.php?cx=partner-p...;sa=Search

Official "Link Pin" lowering topic
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1...;start=680

Pictures of tire, wheel, and suspension thread for FAQ's
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=247735&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Images from The Samba
https://www.google.com/search?q=changing+caster+on...CAkQ_AUoAw

Rob and Dave’s Aircooled Volkswagen Web Pages
http://www.vw-resource.com/front_suspension.html

[Emeraldlion]

I would suggest driving a stock height split window bus with ancient suspension. Then drive your bug, will feel like it's on rails

[raygreenwood]

[Bret2094]

[Bruce]

[Bret2094]

[KTPhil]

Another hidden contributor to skittishness in winds is the adjustment of toe for all FOUR wheels. The rear needs a little bit of toe-OUT. That way, as you corner, or are blown aside in the wind, the extra traction on the outer tires will slightly self-steer the car into the corner or wind, causing a correction without you having to move the steering wheel.

When you lower a swing axle car, the relationship of toe settings through the wheel travel arc changes also. You may need more toe-out to bring it back into stability.

Also make sure you have lower tire pressure in front, as the extra grip that gives resists the wind gusts better.

[Bilbobug]

I have lowered my 1200, about 2 inches, in the search of better stability in windy days at freeways...

Now, my experience is that doesn’t change too much. The car feels stiffer, but doesn’t feel more stable. It feels light and unstable as previously.

So, if you like to lower your car for the look, do it.
If you want to do it to improve stability, I don’t recommend it.

Greetings

[mark tucker]

if the right shocks are used lowering shouldent realy make it stiffer untill your on the ground. of corse this depends on how you lower it and your setup.

if your getting blown around when the trucks are passing you that's a eazy fix, build a bigger motor and speed up. I never realy noticed that issue that much with big trucks, but there are some newer cars&suv's that put out one hell of a wake. I guess it also depends on the train around and speeds & other vehicles too. my issue was mainly just wind resistance and gust. much better with full fendrs on it.

[my59]

[pwmcguire]