| Author |
Message |
mandraks
Samba Member
Joined: November 28, 2004
Posts: 7050
Location: Lawrenceville, Ga
|
 Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 5:50 pm Post subject: |
 |
|
on my beetle i ran 165/15s up front and 195/65/15s in the back. handled pretty awesome that way, never really felt i needed bigger tires. also made sure the rear tires never locked up before the front tires did. steering was super easy, even when parallel parking
_________________
regards
Uli
----------------------------------------
'53 3-Fold Oval, L35 Metallic Blue, looking for a narrow hatch panel |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bloku
Expert Noob
Joined: April 09, 2013
Posts: 559
Location: Tulsa/Jenks Oklahoma
|
| Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 7:07 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| kurt912 wrote: |
Are you happy with the balance as is? Or do you want more understeer? Or more oversteer? But with an IRS rear there isn't too much oversteer to mitigate anyway. I believe the Shop Talk forum thread is your best source of information. That guy knows what he's talking about.
Personally I find some oversteer more fun than understeer or "perfect 50/50 weight distribution". |
Right now, I quite like the balance. I have the nose facing down so that has made the weight pretty close to 50/50. When I take a really hard corner, the car just kind of slides to the side without drama. I would like to have some more oversteer, but not to the point where I hit a tree backwards  . For now I only want to mess with front end camber and make it about 4* negative camber so it handles better. Swaybars and everthing else will come later (about a week from now is when summer starts for us yuning')
_________________
1971 Karmann Ghia
1975 Porsche 914
-----
1975 BMW 2002
1976 BMW 2002 (Bored and Stroked w/ 5-Speed)
1981 BMW E21
1986 Toyota 4Runner (Dead engine and trans)
1989 Toyota 4x4 PU
1994 BMW E36 (Daily) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bruce
Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17290
Location: Left coast, Canada
|
| Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 7:39 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bloku wrote: |
| Would the front's grip and the back's grip be too different? What about some 195s? |
A 195 is a lot better, but you also have to consider gearing when you pick your rear tire.
| Bloku wrote: |
| What about 4 lug sprintstars? How are those in the handling world? they would be 5.5" rims. Thanks for the help! |
I don't know the offset of those wheels. You're looking for a wheel with at least 40mm offset.
As for handling, the biggest factor when you're looking at all the same dimension wheels (5½x15) is the wheel weight. Lighter wheels are better able to follow rough road surfaces.
_________________
| overheard at the portland Swap Meet... wrote: |
| ..... a steering wheel made from a mastadon tusk..... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bruce
Samba Member
Joined: May 16, 2003
Posts: 17290
Location: Left coast, Canada
|
| Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 7:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bloku wrote: |
| . I have the nose facing down so that has made the weight pretty close to 50/50. |
This is a fantasy. There's nothing you can do to the suspension to alter the F/R weight bias. You have to move heavy things to do that. Like move the battery to the front by the gas tank.
_________________
| overheard at the portland Swap Meet... wrote: |
| ..... a steering wheel made from a mastadon tusk..... |
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kurt912
Samba Member
Joined: October 20, 2014
Posts: 158
Location: The Woodlands Tx
|
| Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 12:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Bloku wrote: |
| kurt912 wrote: |
Are you happy with the balance as is? Or do you want more understeer? Or more oversteer? But with an IRS rear there isn't too much oversteer to mitigate anyway. I believe the Shop Talk forum thread is your best source of information. That guy knows what he's talking about.
Personally I find some oversteer more fun than understeer or "perfect 50/50 weight distribution". |
Right now, I quite like the balance. I have the nose facing down so that has made the weight pretty close to 50/50. When I take a really hard corner, the car just kind of slides to the side without drama. I would like to have some more oversteer, but not to the point where I hit a tree backwards . |
You should be having fun already then  . VW factory tire pressure recommendations induce a bit of plowing too. Pumping up the fronts a little will get the tail to come out more. (Just a few PSI, and do so at your own risk- my disclaimer).
I realize this may not be the advice you're looking for but if I may: I think you should try to enhance the experience and not transform it. "Cornering on rails" is for newer cars (vintage racers excepted). Currently I have 185s in front and 205s in back on 914 2 litre alloys. Can't wait to get rid of them. The steering isn't as light as it should be, the ride not as nice and it dilutes the whole "old car" experience. One can buy a used Boxster for the price of a nice Ghia but it really IS more fun to drive a slow car fast then a fast car slow. I also had way more fun trying to go fast in a speedster replica on 165s then actually going fast in a 944 on 225s.
 Looked like I wasn't going to step off my soap box for a second. Just my two cents and I realize these cars are many things to many people. Cheers
_________________
1964 MG Midget MK1 Monte Carlo Replica
1969 Karmann Ghia Coupe
1972 Mercedes 250 Coupe |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bloku
Expert Noob
Joined: April 09, 2013
Posts: 559
Location: Tulsa/Jenks Oklahoma
|
| Posted: Tue Jun 09, 2015 8:03 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Ok. I had been thinking about this thread for awhile. Today I stumbled upon this post on some random forum about a ghia that I had seen a few times only to figure out that he is running coil overs in the front. I would like to know more about this for it is lowering and handling. Here is the link to it - http://www.edition38.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=283957&page=4 . It is about half way down the page. He does not say much about where he got it or how he did it. All I can see is that he got coil overs and a bar (or 2?) to run through the old torsion bar housings. I really would like to do this, but I have no idea where to find these springs or bars  . Can someone help me out? I have done searches on the samaba and internet and I did not find much  . I found the guy on the samba but he has been inactive for over 2 years.... Thanks!
_________________
1971 Karmann Ghia
1975 Porsche 914
-----
1975 BMW 2002
1976 BMW 2002 (Bored and Stroked w/ 5-Speed)
1981 BMW E21
1986 Toyota 4Runner (Dead engine and trans)
1989 Toyota 4x4 PU
1994 BMW E36 (Daily) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
didget69
Samba Member
Joined: July 22, 2004
Posts: 4927
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Bloku wrote: |
| Ok. I had been thinking about this thread for awhile. Today I stumbled upon this post on some random forum about a ghia that I had seen a few times only to figure out that he is running coil overs in the front. I would like to know more about this for it is lowering and handling. Here is the link to it - http://www.edition38.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=283957&page=4 . It is about half way down the page. He does not say much about where he got it or how he did it. All I can see is that he got coil overs and a bar (or 2?) to run through the old torsion bar housings. I really would like to do this, but I have no idea where to find these springs or bars . Can someone help me out? I have done searches on the samaba and internet and I did not find much . I found the guy on the samba but he has been inactive for over 2 years.... Thanks! |
Using true coil-over shocks on a stock Beetle beam is not advised. The beam shock mounts are not designed to carry the weight of the car's front end, and can bend from the loads incurred during driving. This is why the aftermarket solutions that convert the VW from a torsion beam to a double A-arm configuration ditch the stock beam & develop a more substantial suspension solution.
In all reality, I don't see how moving beyond the stock beam on your car will yield greater handling than the rest of the car is able to accommodate. You already have access to information on creating great Ghia handling via mods to the factory torsion beam.
bnc
_________________
I never found the need to impress people with any mechanic certifications, trophies or track wins... unless it was for Mom to post on the refrigerator door.
Last edited by didget69 on Wed Jun 10, 2015 9:03 am; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bleyseng
Samba Member
Joined: July 03, 2005
Posts: 4752
Location: Seattle
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 8:38 am Post subject: |
|
|
Install a true coil over suspension from http://www.red9design.com/type1.htm if you want handling as the 1930's Bug front T bar setup limits you a lot.
If you want "cornering like on rails" buy a 914 as it's a way more advanced design
_________________
70 Ghia Black convert-9/69 build date-stock w/133k 1600 SP-barn find now with a rebuilt tranny and engine
77 Westy 2.0L w/Ljet, Camper Special engine-95hp and with LSD!(sold)
76 Porsche 914 2.1L L20c, 120hp Djet (sold)
87 Syncro Westy Titan Red 2.1L 2 knob 100k miles |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
