Stock × 1in rear trailing arm alignment issues.

[WaterBuggy_24]

I know there have been threads about aftermarket boxed style trailing arms having alignment problems. The same tow in or camber issues. Has anyone come to any conclusions to the issue?
_________________
One day, I may learn.
Probably not today though.

[Wulfthang]

I bought a brand new set of stock plus one inch length arms and installed them. It had so much positive camber, I could feel it wiggling on the road. I tried everything to lessen it. Six foot long pry bars, shims, elongating the holes, etc. Nothing worked well enough to make me happy.

I am now getting ready to swap them over upside down from what they are now. They had no markings on them to indicate up or down so I took some opinions from here and made a best guess. Hopefully, this fixes it.

[WaterBuggy_24]

[Wulfthang]

Would it be possible to shim the trailing arm pivots to cause the trailing arms to po0pint more outwards?

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Maybe ten years ago I bought a set from Avery's Air Cooled. At the time they were the best you could get, american made as opposed to the chinesium ones just about everybody was buying. I slurged on those big time. I put them on Orange which had previously been a swing axle rail. The IRS I got for Orange had been welded to a half inch plate and used in a trike conversion. (My luck finding janky parts is second to none). Between welding in a whole new torsion, using a completely new suspension I had never worked with before, attempting to use airbags, and swapping in a 094 trans mated to a GM Quad4 water pumper there was a lot to keep track of. Years later I would finally realise that despite spending the money to avoid the camber issue I had it anyway.

I don't know if all that heat that had been put into that torsion to weld that plate onto it had thown everything off or I possibly clocked the torsion somehow, or it has been the A-arms all along.

Long story short, despite having welded brackets for shocks to the "tops" the only thing I can think to do is swap sides which will put the mounts on the bottom OR weld in new inner pivot pockets. Both more work than I want right now. So I deal.
_________________
Brian H.

OrangeCrushERBerrien Warrior-2.4L Quad4-2x3 arms-1.5Fox coilovers-094-930CVs
LAZY MARY1970 Baja 2110cc-82mm CB forged crank-AA pistons/cylinders-Grant rings-1.1 vw rockers-CB serpkit-CB chromoly PRs-CB maxiflow filter pump-wix51515 filter-Dual 44IDF-cut/turned front beam-AEM wideband-Auber CHT-Donaldson Dual PowerCore filters-custom AL air boxes

[ORANGECRUSHer]

Mine were 2x2's but same problem I guess.
You kinda see it in this pic. And both sides are not the same which makes it that much more fun!

_________________
Brian H.

OrangeCrushERBerrien Warrior-2.4L Quad4-2x3 arms-1.5Fox coilovers-094-930CVs
LAZY MARY1970 Baja 2110cc-82mm CB forged crank-AA pistons/cylinders-Grant rings-1.1 vw rockers-CB serpkit-CB chromoly PRs-CB maxiflow filter pump-wix51515 filter-Dual 44IDF-cut/turned front beam-AEM wideband-Auber CHT-Donaldson Dual PowerCore filters-custom AL air boxes

[WaterBuggy_24]

[Bad Frog]

So...this thread is timely in that I am looking to buy a set of rear stock x 1in trailing arms. It seems that there is only Latest Rage brand out there which I believe are made in Asia somewhere. Does anybody make these domestically and without quality control issues? I am willing to pay more to get something quality that doesn't require the drama you guys are going through. My life has too much drama as it is. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

BF

[Schepp]

As far as coatings go I’m over powder coating anything that will possibly be modified later. If you use Steel-it you can weld through the coating then re-spray.

[DesertSasquatchXploration]

Stock arms have gotten me many thousands of miles off road and tire wear is perfect. I bought my baja with 1980's dead even straight across bald tires @ that moment I knew it was a good straight car. I will never buy that aftermarket junk. It wont make your VW a SXS killer.

When I buy used cars I only buy ones with old tires two reasons you can talk the price way down and you know if it has suspension/ frame issues in the first 20secs
_________________
Key is to have downward travel Preload keep both wheels on the ground at all times once you lift a tire your DONE. Guys worry about clearance instead think of the opposite you want the suspension to drop that tire in the hole and keep you going. A spider for example they keep their body low but their legs can reach pretty far so they don't (bottom out)

[Wulfthang]

[Schepp]

I really only see a benefit to increasing wheel travel and track width/length beyond stock components is if you're running the car at high speeds off road. Keeping a stock wheelbase allows you to run tighter trails and keeps the car more nimble.
you don't need as big of a space to work on it either.

I see no reason for big tires, expensive transaxles and suspension if you're not racing or running in an open desert environment at speed.

Smaller tires will save your tranny and wont make your engine work harder than it needs to.
I'm very happy with my choice of 225/75's and keeping it stock.

[Wulfthang]

[Schepp]

Wulfthang,

One must ask after all you've been through with the V6 swap, was it worth it vs building a bigger air-cooled engine?

After years of reading your posts, it sounds like many of the problems you've faced are self-induced. Stemming from the V6 swap.

I'm not saying that I wont stay air-cooled forever but once you head down that path of swapping engines when do the problems down-stream ever end?

This a major reason I chose to stick air-cooled instead of a modern swap.

It works.

For those who are sticking with air-cooled, is all the added hassle worth the extra inch?
If you're racing, sure because it gives you an edge.
For the average human, probably not.

[ORANGECRUSHer]

[Wulfthang]