ok, I will probably make an ass out of myself.. aagaain.. but

what are the benefits of lowering a beetle?
I know with offroading the obvious reasons for raising: nasty things like rocks, trees, sand dunes etc but the price for doing such is the centre of gravity is higher and this can result in instability,, wind wobbles etc (the fun stuff)

Would lowering the beetle increase the stability at speed? and improve road holding and cornering? how much difference does it really make? or is it more a trend based on fashion? (no one punch me at the next show 4 asking that ok!). Or is it just a matter of personal taste? I have been getting a few differing opinions so i thought i would throw it into the mix....

With stock height, (and even width for that matter) it was obviously chosen for a reason. Was this specifically part of the overall design? or for a calculated purpose (i.e. tested 4 body height, design, wheel height, horsepower etc, if that makes sense). Or was the stock height due to a bulk buy of specific tyres and say shockkies etc by a purchasing officer at the factory?? lol :P

Just curious............

$2.63
Its quite simple - theres nothing more appealing than dropping a car on its guts so the suspension is so bakuken hard you have to plan your journey to avoid potholes and speed bumps and hook yourself up to a dialysis machine after a 5 min drive to the shops because the suspension has no travel! why wouldnt ya!!?? :duh

ooohh sounds so appealing...gonna pop down stairs and organise it now...

for partners car of course...:P

As I understand it , by lowering the car, it lowers the roll centre and also the centre of gravity, this will therefore allow the car to corner with less body roll and also this means the wheel angles should not change as much and there fore more grip should be available as the tire remains flatter on the road. I also found lowering my super 35mm means it doesn’t wander in the wind as much.

VW did boast about its ground clearence back in the day - and attributed it to it's ability to traverse rough terrain etc... The rear suspension is at the height it's at so the torsion bars are at a downward angle to give the bearings a constant supply of oil from the gearbox. How many cars do you see coming off the showroom floor with Rake 3 (a la BugSelecta) on their cars!

thats what i was wondering ovaltofu, the engineering behind the stock bug. If you lower say a swing axle, to the point that the rear wheels point inwards, how much wear would occur, overheating etc, how much would you shorten the bearing lifespan? also what sort of stress do you add to the body (car, not human internal organs! ) due to lack of shock absorbtion?

with the associated front beam narrowing for guard clearance, how much do you reduce the turning circle by?

Drew, you do a lot of hooning around corners , I guess its a case of finding a happy medium?

bear with me peeps, i am in an inquisative mood! lol

I'm sure a couple/few degrees of negative camber on the rear (bottom of wheels sticking furthur out than the top) wont be that detrimental to the bearings as the oil level is approximately in line with the axel (see gearbox oil filler plug to get what I mean). So only if the wheels have crazy amounts of negative camber (don't get me wrong, I think I looks nuts!) I would think, only then it would be bad for the bearings. As for overheating, only if it gets splashes of oil instead of a constant supply would it really overheat. (correct me if I'm wrong people!)

Shock absorbtion: once again, only if the car has been DUMPED will it have an effect on the body -ie: bottoms out on the bump stops when you go over speed humps/potholes/mini-minors. The ride will be firmer, so it will vibrate your car more. But that's the price for lookin good. But if you're not on corrugated country dirt roads all the time, the extra harshness ain't really gonna matter...

front beam narrowing: dunno, ask ya mum

Thanx oval, I know this may all seem like dumb q's to those reading this who have done it, or have a fair idea about it all. I have only ever made mine go higher, some stock bugs look to me like they have been lowered :duh :P .
I like the look too, just was wondering if there were any major sider effects so to speak........... you never learn unless you ask

No worries
I hope I didnt talk too much crap - I'm sure ppl will correct me if I'm wrong!

heather, sealed bearings...she will look awesome in the weeds

do they seal out the GB oil too? how much $?

[Edited on 12/4/2005 by oval TOFU]

i still cant believe it. i'm in shock! i've been on the forum a year and only now have i seen heather post something not regarding hillbillys. worms, gherkins etc... holy shit! this is groundbreaking news!

hmm weeds...

Just following forum guidelines airfooled.. this is the tech section, no pickles allowed. There is a time and a place