TheSamba.com :: View topic - Is it worth lowering a classic VW Beetle?

Fri Oct 09, 2009 1:23 pm

Well I bought the car like this...it has an adjustable beam in the front...

Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:19 pm

[quote="flatfour"] vespaboy200 wrote: The wear and tear on the parts was so severe things were bent and crooked and I am so glad this front end didnt fall apart while I was on the highway the other day...

If your going to be daily driving or driving for a distance I seriously recommend you not do it if its lowered the way mine was....not safe not sporty not wise.....but it looks good!

Sorry but its not worth it to me....

what did you do? maybe (take no offence) you did somthing wrong? i know alot of folks that drive lowerd bugs daily and have no problems highway and street. Do what ya gotta do bro, im sure it will still look smooth.

I was going up the stairs. I saw a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today. I wish, I wish he'd go away.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:27 pm

[quote="Glenn"]
Exactly... mine handles great. 3" in the front and 1" in the rear but some other upgrades.

mine has never handeled better! you can really feel a big differance and improvement .
5 (five) inches in front
two clicks in rear.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:14 pm

if you lower a bug the right way its going to be a stiffer ride than stock (unless you have airride) but you are not going to break and bend stuff just cause its lowered. if you had a adjustable beam and it rocked you really hard, chances are that they didnt do it properly. you have to preload the springs in a adjustable beam. i rode around for the summer with out them preloaded. only suspension i had was the tires. but then i preladed them and now its better. and drop spindles help to. but it is all personal pref. and you have to do it right or things will get broken and it will not be safe to drive. mine is lowered about 3 inches up front and 2 3/4 in the rear. rides a little rough but i drive the crap out of it without any problems.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 4:46 pm

Because I am going to be daily driving I have decided to go original...

Safer.
Comfortable.
Less wear and tear.

I will be the first to say that Beetles look awesome dropped ,good for a show car...but not for performance....

in no way shape or form...

Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:51 pm

Mine's lowered about 4 inches in the front and 2 inches in the back. I don't realize how rough it rides until I spend a week driving my 1 ton van, then get in the bug for a trip. Within a few miles I'm used to the stiffer ride.

If you're beating the hell out of the car, it's either lowered wrong, or you have too much air in the tires, or both.

My car just had adjusters on it when I bought it. About 3" drop in the front. I could not get the car to stop bouncing. I tried shorter shocks, adjusting the beams, and changing the amount of air in the tires. One day the lower adjuster broke from the beating it was taking, and I pulled the beam and did it right.

Narrowed 3 inches, drop spindles, disc brakes and adjusters on the beam so I can raise it up high enough to get a tow bar under it. I think it's just a bit stiffer than the stock was, but much of that is from the shocks.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 7:38 pm

Hopefully tomorrow I will have the new beam to install,also would like to replace the shocks and steering dampener... plus what ever else is bent...and loose due to the massive abuse the lowered beam cause to this cars suspension...

Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:16 pm

Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:38 pm

vespaboy200 wrote: Because I am going to be daily driving I have decided to go original...

Safer.
Comfortable.
Less wear and tear.

I will be the first to say that Beetles look awesome dropped ,good for a show car...but not for performance....

in no way shape or form...

if lowering one does nothing for the performance, try explaining why autocross cars are lowered. why are all performance cars lowered? it has to do mostly with center of gravity. the lower it is (center of gravity) usually the better the handling and less chance of rollover. just because your car was lowered wrong, don't go making blanket statements about ALL lowered cars.

having owned and driven vw's daily for 23 years, i've had everything from raised, stock, lowered, and slammed vw's. ride quality in general goes down the lower you get. the suspension tends to stiffen up. if lowered correctly, a vw will handle better, ride as good as stock, less jittery at higher speeds, and actually stop better.

Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:49 pm

I my self have lowered many cars...But for some reason I beleive the beetle is better off being left stock...

When daily driving...
plus its fun being able to drive through any street or road...

Sat Oct 10, 2009 5:56 am

I do not want people thinking that I didnt want my beetle lowered,because I d0...but it needs to perform im not going to lower it ,just for" the look..."

Regardless I love VW Beetles,Ive been hooked since I was a child....

Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:02 am

:shock:

Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:35 am

C'mon dude, tell us how you really feel about lowered VW's. What does preload mean. I just put adjusters in a ghia & took off down the road, rides & handles great. Ain't even got the shocks on it yet......dayum, some people are never satisfied I guess.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:21 am

Ok for looks its fine but you can not sit there and tell me your ghia handles better because you installed an adjustable beam...

Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:58 am

Is the point of this thread to show that one person thinks everyone else is stupid for lowering our VW's !!! OK, I get it ,you like it stock OK !!!! Why do we continue to beat a dead horse ! :roll:

Sat Oct 10, 2009 10:40 am

Didn't say it handled better, said it handles great. Done right, any car will....... :roll:

Sat Oct 10, 2009 1:20 pm

spotfreerynse wrote: Is the point of this thread to show that one person thinks everyone else is stupid for lowering our VW's !!! OK, I get it ,you like it stock OK !!!! Why do we continue to beat a dead horse ! :roll:

I never said people are stupid for lowering their beetles , I have mentioned many times on this thread that Lowering a beetle for show cars and cars that are not daily drivers is fine!Not in anyway is any good for dai;ly driving and its dangerous,I just want people to be very clear on the dangers of some of the techniques used to lower a beetle...

Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:49 pm

because you think so?

my '68 is lowered 2" in the front + 145's stock in the rear... and it'll out handle your new beetle...

i stop more quickly, much more agile in the corners, and i fail to see how any of this makes me more dangerous...

please explain...

Sat Oct 10, 2009 2:58 pm

I've lowered a few cars and I honestly found them to be noticably better handling once the center of gravity was lower. I wasn't scraping the pavement or anything, but the bugs I've lowered simply felt more stable when they were below stock height.
I have seen crappy lowering jobs that left cars bouncy or ill handling, but those problems centered around poorly executed modifications.
Do it properly and you can drive it safely everyday.

Sat Oct 10, 2009 4:19 pm