really making a link pin beam hug the corners

[Jason37]

165R15 are metric radials, and you will see in the link below is equivalent to an 80 series tire

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/45_conversionchart.jsp

I am running Conti's on my notch

165/60R-15's on the front and 195/65R-15's on the rear.

I won't talk front suspension as the type 3 is different, but in the rear, I just swapped out to E-type motorsports adjustable drop plates https://type-emotorsports.com/ and the ride is noticeably improved.

[petrol punk]

Not mine, but I found this somewhere. This guy got rid of the carriers and installed heim joints so he could adjust camber on the LP beam. This is a big deal because LP has no camber adjustability, so with a lot of grip you'll just be driving on the outer edge of your tire.

My BJ beam handles nicely with a 3/4" swaybar and some 175/55r15 federal az01s. I'd rather have 185s or 195s but even the 175s are wide for my 4.5" steelies.
_________________
36hp '56 European DeLuxe oval, '70 bug 1835cc dual 36DRLA, and a '98 4x4 5spd single cab Tacoma

[Chickensoup]

Wow that's awesome. I'm gonna have to to that 99%.

My only concern tho is is it safe if you use strong enough hardware?

I also checked the caster angle and I definitely need to add another pair of shims.

Also, for this type of set up I want negative scrub radious where the spindle is towards the outer edge of the rim facing away from the car?

Thanks
_________________
-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Busstom]

That would be comical if it weren't so unbelievably pathetic. That's a major misapplication of heim joints, they were never meant for extreme side loading like that, they are purely designed for tension/compression (end) loading, with the ability to take up some residual side loads. Wouldn't be long before those balls popped right out of there, just like some people's eyeballs popped out when they saw those pics

[Chickensoup]

That was my concern too. It didnt look very strong lol

So is there an alternative? Like using super big tie rod ends or some other joint I dont know of?

Thanks
_________________
-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[modok]

Mostly a step backwards.
Replacing the bearings with ball joints reduces the rigidity

Converting the ball joint beam to king and link makes more sense, then it's stronger. If you want king and link.
I can make bushings all day as you know, so I like it. It's a neat littke piece of engineering. I never tried making a ball joint

If you want the camber to be adjustable IMO you should change the front suspension to a newer kind.
I don't see it as being a big enough deal to worry about. I'm less into having adjustable suspension than I am in having it right in the first place.
In competition everybody has to use the same tires or the best they can get.... so camber can give you the edge, so they are all about it.... but on the street? The rear end is your grip problem area, and braking is more a priority, In which case the ideal camber setting is zero anyway.

[Floating VW]

[BFB]

ive seen alot of ppl say you can't run them this way but only real world experience ive heard is when i talked to the ppl at QA1 and they told me that they have alot of dirt track guys run their heims this way. and if you've ever watched those boys race then you know they whip those cars pretty good. now im not saying its looks to me to be as structurally sound as running them the other way , but if the manufacturer themselves say its ok then and the naysayers have never actually done it im more inclined to believe the manufacturer.
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[BFB]

also forgot to say that you can absolutely adjust camber on kingpin front end, ive done at least 6. i learned it was easiest to set camber myself before i took it to my alignment guy than try to teach him how to disassemble everything and shim the link pins...
_________________
Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[Chickensoup]

if you shim link pins unevenly, wouldn't you cause them to bind and wear out the bushings?
_________________
-'85 c10 5.3 LS, 222 cam, long tubes, x pipe, 3 inch spin tech's
-'05 B5.5 TDI Wagon 17in sport rims ;EGR + BSM + ASV Delete, Stage-2 Tune, straight pipe
'65 Tourist Delivery Build
'66 RIP
'69 RIP
Hosea 4:6 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

[Busstom]

[modok]

A few years ago I decided to rebuild the link front beam on by buggy, with FULL effort.
Every part was straightened. All the sizes, press fits and clearances just as perfect as if it was a connecting rod (basiclly all the same skills anyway).
Some of the arms were slightly bent, one of the spindles was a little tweaked, ect.
Once everything was perfectly straight and tight, I was excited to see how it performed........

Made no difference at all.

Not saying it doesen't need to be maintained but... Blueprinted VS "Looks good at arms length", I could tell no difference.

All the parts are flexible is what I'm saying.
You'd be amazed how easy it was to straighten the arms and how much they flex....before permanently bending
So you could cheat the washer stack by several washers to get more negative camber....it will be slightly "in a bind" but still function fine IMO. I don't think you could get a whole degree, but you can cheat it the right direction. Selecting the washer stacks to get exactly the right alignment is not totally critical. It may already be bent one way or another. If you did need a lot of negative camber you could angle-bore the link pin bushings to make that possible, and you could also face the thrust faces also but I would not bother.... isn't a big enough deal to bother worrying about IMO

[modok]

Bus or type-3 wheels have about 1/2 deeper backspace.
(46mm offset I think)

it is a shame very few aftermarket wheels are available with that much offset.
You can space them out if they have TOO much backspace, but you can't go the other way.

[EVfun]

[petrol punk]

[Busstom]

[Ohio Tom]

You can't just remove the grub screws. The assembly will move side to side as you turn and throw the alignment way off and wear stuff out badly.

Add a bit of castor and a heavy sway bar.
Good rubber and don't slam it down too far.

As far as gun-drilling arms? It won't make them stronger. It will make them weaker.

[Chickensoup]

[Chickensoup]

[modok]

in most cases the rollerbearings are replaced with torlon bushings, and the side of the bushing functions as a thrust bearing.
It's a lot like those unsealed heim joints.... not ideal, but works good enough for some purposes.

Might as well keep telling stories.
15 years ago my buddy bought a 1970 bug and it had chevy wheels on wheel adapters and flared fenders. The wheels were spaced FAR out and the tires were really too big also.
I drove it a few times and the "steering feel" was SO bad, it inspired me to make wheels with an even DEEPER backspace than stock, to SEE how that would work.
Wandering around parking lots I found some 175/65-14 tires I thought would be most ideal.
So I MADE the wheels, 14x5 with a nearly 5 inch backspace. Took some toyota corolla wheel hoops, and welded VW centers in them.
the result was VERY good.
They worked nice with dropped spindles, and they would clear disk brakes too. Only cons were.... did reduce the turning circle a bit, and they looked kinda stoopid. One wheel was destroyed when I got in a accident and hit a curb with it. When I got a five lug bug, based on how well that had worked, I used bus wheels.

Is it REALLY a bid deal? no, but, one of the good things about the ancient VW is that it had very responsive, very light steering.
need to find LIGHT tires and keep the scrub radius low to maximize this.
You don't need it, but you might like it.


We found some nice front tires in 15", so what wheels?
I noticed the porsche pattern gas burner wheels have a deep backspace.
If you find any 5" wide wheels with a deep backspace, let ME know. Always looking for options.