i have an adjustable front beam that i have lowered.
can you tell me what dropped spindles do and whether i need them on my beetle?
how much are they?
thanks for ur help:thumb

Hmmm, hard to explain....

Dropped spindles lower the kinpins or balljoints in relation to the axle line. They are more desirable than an adjustable front beam because they maintain the factory amount of wheel travel and geometry. There are potential problems when dropped spindles are of the cut-and-welded variety, because the welding changes the tensile strength of the metal (its ability to bend and spring back to shape under stress without cracking). Cast reproductions can also have problems depending on the quality of the material and cast-work. VW were very good at this.
The third alternative (the one I believe Rob King uses on his lowered Type 2 spindles) is to swap the spindles right-for-left and mount them upside down which requires the tie-rod end holes to be reamed and tapered the opposite way, and a larger tie-rod end fitted to suit the larger hole. These have the advantage of using the factory cast units which I think may negate the need for any engineering certificates, but I'm no expert on the law.

I have no idea what they're worth, try checking the advertisements in Hot VWs or some other american VW magazine.

Col n Sam

I hate dropped spindles.... most of them have been manufactured in 3rd world contries and how could you
trust the forgings, or most of them are probally cast.

I would and do prefer the lowered front end method by cutting and welding it yourself.

I put cb performance drop spindles on after using an adjustable beam for about a year and personally I think they are excellent. I have to drive my car everyday and the bumpy ride just became a pain in the ass. I dont brace myself when I see a bump any more. Two things to consider though are the clearance between the lower ball joint and the rim, I dont think a 14 inch rim would be possible and of course the width factor but with the cb's this wasnt really a factor. I can understand vw54's concern but I would like to know why ben durie thinks they are crap? as for swapping spindles side to side I would hate to imagine what this would do to steeing geometry namely SAI.
just my 2 cents.

ShiftyVW is right
www.cbperformance.com offers new forged drop spidles (not welded) and they are excellenct quality. They increase the track by 1/4 inch per side and geatly improve the ride of your car.

I have a dropped beam that is slammed to the ground. If you look at the trailing arm geometry when you are lowered, you will notice that when the spindle moves up it will move forward as well. This is what causes lowered VWs to ride like crap. The wheel when hitting a bump, wants to move up and back, not forward. Stock suspension geometry lets the wheel move up and back, thats what you want for a good ride.

Drop spindles lower the car without changing the suspension arm geometry. Therefor the ride is close to stock.

Another bonus, when lowering a car with the beam only, the tie rods get really angled, which leads to bump steer and irradic steering response, again fixed by going with dropped spindles.

One condition with the dropped spindles, you need at leat a 15inch rim to use them. If you have a ball joint car, you might need to even trim the inside of the wheel (if you are using an aluminum wheel)

Hope this helps.

Good Quality Dropped Spindles are Also Very Expensive..... I believe in the UK, they are available in different sizes of drop!!