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Baja to Auto X conversion
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ONEBADBUG
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 9:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It looks like you need more camber in the front. You will probably need those extra offset eccentrics. Do you have a pyrometer for tire temps?
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good idea on the laser thermometer. Don't have one yet but it's on the short list now. Did get the higher angle adjusters for the top balljoint. Set it on the ground after the race and the camber looks decent. Still need to actually measure it rather than just eyeball it. Pretty burnt after a long hot day on the asphalt racing so not sure if I'll get any work done on it tonight. Really really should but the a/c feels soo good right now...[/youtube]
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69 street baja/autocross machine!!! Weekend play thing żEJ20t/EJ25 eventually?

74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Laying in bed trying to sleep and Bad Bug got me thinking about camber. Had to go take some pics. Any way to adjust the rear camber? Need to do some research...

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69 street baja/autocross machine!!! Weekend play thing żEJ20t/EJ25 eventually?

74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey everyone!!! So after a long couple months the car is back together and actually raced it yesterday!!! Did pretty good considering it was my first time out in that car and didn't have the sway bars on it. Pics and a video to come but first a little backstory about the last week...

Had the car together and on the ground running. Drove it a couple days and it was doing fine. Lifted the rear end up about an inch and got the rear camber from -4 degrees to -2 degrees. On Friday I took it to my friends mechanic shop that has an alignment rack to get it all sorted out before the race Sunday. *didn't charge me* Long story short it got all messed up in the front so at lunch, made some adjustments that greatly improved the handling. Basically his sensors couldn't fit the dished wheels so we did our best to shim the sensor... On the rack it read fine but in reality she was bad. Front end was super twitchy and hard to drive. The front tires weren't even using the inside 3/4". Maxed out the camber at lunch and the rest of the race went great!!

There is a fair amount of body roll. Have the front bar but still need to order the rear one.

Interesting side note-
Running a stinger on it right now and took the baffle out for the event. Thought it would be fun and give me a bit more power. During lunch, I was talking with a guy and he suggested I put the baffle back in. Thought the backpressure would help it out thru the mid range. Gave it a try on my first run back from lunch and was AMAZED at the difference! Not a huge difference but definitely pulled harder across the middle/top rpms where I was running it mostly. So, moral of the story - bigger is not always better!!

Now a video and some pics of the car! Borrowed a truck/trailer from work (I run a car lot) and towed it the hour to the out of town race. Only one there this year so figured why not.


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it BARELY fit...


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Link


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Final results haven't been posted yet but from the sheet I saw yesterday, I came 25th out of 36. Not bad considering it was the first run and no swaybars. Tough to place good when going against a couple tuned Focus Sts, Corvettes, turbo civics etc. If I remember correctly, was 1.5-2 seconds slower than my buddies tuned Focus ST putting bout 300hp down. He was on stock tires but has upgraded springs and beat a built Mazdaspeed 3. So, Im happy and had fun!

There was a fully built racing vette with 315s in the front... dude was borderline out of control on the short track but man was he fast!! Sounded soo good. There was also a Lingenfelter twin turbo vette... fair amount of HP rolling thru there...
Still have to order the rear swaybar. got some wheel hop off the line so fabing up a torque bar, align properly and we are good to go!! Thanks for watching Smile
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69 street baja/autocross machine!!! Weekend play thing żEJ20t/EJ25 eventually?

74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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Chochobeef
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 6:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not a bad bit o drivin. Since you are fabricating stuff for the carm might I recommend you having a couple of different size front sway bars for tuning. A smaller bar will help in some situations, but you may also need a little bit bigger bar for other's. Or somehow make it so you have one bar with different end positions, the more options for tuning you have the better.

With how light this car is, you should blow through corners once you have the body roll reduced.

Best of luck and keep dubbin
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the support Chocho! Results finally came out and on raw time, I placed 23rd out of 36. Finished ahead of a modded 2010ish VW GTI, 10' 135i, 10' Mustang V6, newer plum crazy purple Challenger with the smaller V8, 06ish V6 Mustang, 15' Fiat 500 Abarth and an 05 Evo 8! Plus some noobs. There was a built older 280z with a 350 that had 3 different drivers. I was faster that 1 of them and .2 behind the 2nd.

Cant wait to get the sway bars on there and see how it goes! The next race is this weekend but being fathers day, the wife insists that I stay home Rolling Eyes There is a hill climb next weekend about 30 mins away so gonna look into the rules to see what changes are needed to run. I was told basically just need a mounted 2.5lb all metal extinguisher within reach of the driver.
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69 street baja/autocross machine!!! Weekend play thing żEJ20t/EJ25 eventually?

74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

After a long long wait, finally got the sway bars on. 3/4" front and rear. Took a couple tight slower speed corners and the car pushed a little more that I thought it would so was a little worried. Decided to take it for a run up the mountain to see how she really handled.

All I can say is I LOVE this car!!!! Still need more front camber but omg it corners soooo hard!!! Car handled very neutral. No discernable oversteer/understeer just mountains of sticky grip. I imagine the sticky wide tires helped with the grip immensely but the car turned better than expected. In AC.nets handling writeup, they recommend the 3/4" front and rear for street/light track and bigger for track. There was a decent amount of body roll still but very manageable. The key thou is the handling was balanced. The car gave me lots of confidence. Wasn't worried about sliding of the road backwards Shocked

Went with 2 other people and was able to keep up pretty easy. There was definitely a power difference but I held my own in the corners. Can't wait to autocross it again.

Oh, the brakes worked great btw. Definitely got warm but didn't fade. Was able to carry speed thru the corners so I didn't have to work the brakes too hard. Front ghia (I think)rotors and stock rear drums.

To anyone out there wondering if a beetle can handle like a modern car, ABSOLUTELY!
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69 street baja/autocross machine!!! Weekend play thing żEJ20t/EJ25 eventually?

74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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LeftSatisfied
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also have a silver toy with the N54! Mine is more of a sleeper being the 535. 20" staggered wheels , DCI, H&R sport springs, Cobb Tuner, aluminum charge pipe w/ BOV. Lots of fun to go get the groceries. My bug is just about done. I really like the baja/street hybrid look. It's got me thinking.
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

if I had to do it again, would defiantly get a 535. Have driven a couple 535/550s with that 20way power seat and OMG it's soo comfy! Put a second car seat in the back of mine today and its a bit tight... Sad new baby is due any day now Laughing

For your bug, throw on the widest wheels/tires you can get to fit, sway bars front n rear and you will be amazed. I put on kyb gas-a-just shocks all the way around and ride quality is decent. Sick toesion bars. Fairly stiff but not as stiff as my 335 with sport suspension.

I had to remove the front tube bumper to fit the sway bar and like the look better. It's growing on me for sure. The baja style fenders allow for wide wide tires without rubbing which is nice. Wish the fenders came down a little lower so there wasn't such a big gap. C
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74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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Chochobeef
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 8:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice, figured the sway bars would make a huge difference. Bet you can shave almost a second off your times (assuming you did the same course).

Can't wait to see another driving video. Popcorn
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Was gonna let this topic rest till next race but just got this pic from my friend that went with us and had to share. Enjoy


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my69baja
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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blienemann
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

While I am not much of a baja fan, I actually really like the look of yours.

Awesome that you are auto crossing it too![/b]
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ps2375
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 18, 2015 5:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sent you a PM, not sure if it was delivered(weird system). Hope to see you at the next race.
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enjoyther1de
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That is pretty freakin gangster!
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Smile now that it's not getting muddy on the weekends, time to put a sound system back in and some carpet... had the new baby last night so planning to race this weekend. Will do my best to get sone good videos Smile
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74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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blienemann
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Congrats on the new addition!
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SBD
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

my69baja wrote:
... had the new baby last night so planning to race this weekend.
Eh? Uhhh... My wife MIGHT have let me get away with that one. Think
She DOES know how I am with my cars! Very Happy

EDIT: Guess I shouldn't make assumptions, and I didn't go back and reread the whole thing to see if you ever said one way or the other. You're not the one who actually HAD THE BABY, PHYSICALLY, right? I mean, I guess I just assumed you were a guy... Embarassed
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 21, 2015 6:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SBD, all good homie. Never really specified. I'm the proud daddy Wink My wife loves riding in the car but doesn't care to work on it. When I met her, she had a 74 Super Beetle! Still have the car but it's a parts car right now. Before the baby came, shewas joking with me that I should have left it a baja so we could drive down bumpy dirt roads to help break her water lol. One day, gonna have to get her the vert she has always wanted Cool

2 weekends ago was a race but I couldn't go because we didn't have the baby yet... So just excited too go play
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74 super beetle that's more of a parts car than anything...
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my69baja
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PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whats up all my Dubbers!! Had a GREAT time racing Sunday. I placed 31st out of 59 racers, 4th in my class of 12. My best time of the day was a 53.4xx. My last run I pulled out a 53.1xx which would have put me in 2nd, only 1 second behind the Nissan GTR!!! Another member here raced with me but ill let him post about it if he chooses to.

Handling - The car understeers... The front inside tire lifts under power and there is an issue with one of the drop spindles so have to get a new one. It will only allow 1 degree camber vs 2.5 on the other side... Once it is figured out, should turn a bit better. Im going to lower the front of the car a bit more and see how it handles.

I currently have 3/4" swaybars front and rear. Any thoughts on how to get the front to level out? If I remember correctly, read somewhere that the rear bar can be tuned based on where the mounts are located on the torsion housing ie closer together or further apart. Any ideas?

and now, a couple videos Laughing Laughing

*** Before watching the video, make sure to change to higher quality. defaults to 360p which is garbage... ***

Twisted Evil Twisted Evil Slow motion laying rubber Twisted Evil Twisted Evil


Link




Link



Will post a few more videos when I can get the GoPro footage from my friend. More to come!!
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