I'm assuming I need the car to squat in the rear...........so instead of the Type 3 torsion bars I currently have fitted, should I go back to standard beetle ones ?

Cheers
Craig T

Squat is NOT what you want.

You DO want the weight to transfer to the rear, but squat is a result
of when this happens and it is too great for the tortions to handle.

The heavier the car,
or the faster it transfers the weight,
or the more torque you have,
the more spring you need.

Lower weight or power cars can get by finewith some form of stock tortion,
but constent launches require more spring in most cases.

Also lack of spring will cause the bump stop to hit too hard, and unload the tyre.

Hi

Dave should know, also even with IRS there is built in negative camber on squat so with too much negative camber you will get less tyre contact area.

Steve

are the corners getting too hard craig?

Hi

He's getting old, so running a hillclimb might leave him a bit short getting to the dunny in time, drags are over much quicker.

Steve

He needs a dry sump set up for his bowels perhaps. Storage tank behind the seat LOL

Squatting is what you do whilst taking a dump in the bush!

Weight Transfer...What Dave said.


CP

Quote:

Originally posted by 1303Steve Hi He's getting old, so running a hillclimb might leave him a bit short getting to the dunny in time, drags are over much quicker. Steve

we still love you craig please come back with a witty retort!!!!!

After thinking about this for a couple of days,
I have perhaps over simplified my response.

In response to craigs question, yes, keep the heavier tortions.
Or even get heavier ones if you plan to race more in a straight line.

You actually WANT weight transfer,
and infact, it WILL occur.
And also, any IRS (swingaxle too) will squat
when the transaxles reaction to torque tries to lift the front of the car.

But, sometimes a heavier tortion bar will prevent this weight transfer,
and limit traction.

But in most cases,
you need the added spring rate
to prevent the suspension from hitting the bump stop.

What about getting adjustable rate rear dampners to control the rate the spring compresses at? I used to have adjustable rate koni's on my previous setup, and the new coil-overs im using have adjustable variable valving.

My understanding is that you always wanted the spring rate to match the dampener force, or you can get a way to hard a ride, or the other way is that it bounces all over the road because the dampner can not control the spring. Of course drag being a lot diferent to going around corners...

The principals are the same as I understand.
The damper is there to contol the spring.

So what ever spring medium, or rate, you choose,
the damper must be able to keep it under control.

I originally tried a damper with a gas charge to help,
but in the end, what I needed was a much higher spring rate.

Adjustability is nice to have so long as you dont get lost from your base line settings,
and the adjusting method(say with regard to your spring) does not have less strength than non adjustable.

My own car is not adjustable in any way other than ride height at front(stays the same),
And bump stops at the back(stay the same, but should never hit because they are just a saftey stop)