Board Logo

How do i get Maximum Travel/Lift on my Baja Bug??
kosa - November 19th, 2010 at 11:17 PM

hey guys

im looking to gain more lift fom my 69 baja bug. what are the best ways to lift it and allow more travel but also allow for a soft ride.

i currently have EMPI Coil-overs on the front(iv adjusted them to max setting but still not a fan), iv heard there pretty useless performance wise??

and i have "Gabriel" shock absorbers on the back(no idea on sizes).


so yer really any help would be awesome.

Cheers
Kosa


matberry - November 20th, 2010 at 07:54 AM

What model, and have you any budget? I presume you have ball joint front and swingaxle rear???
If that's the case your limited by the overall height as if you jack up the rear ride height, the rear wheels go into positive camber and the car becomes quite unsafe to drive. Go with IRS rear, and it's much easier, but still mods required to get the most out of it. I have done many before, but recently set up my car, it went from low to high with modified stock spring plates, 930 Porsche CV's (they handle more power and angle), and heavier torsions, the front was just bolting on stock VW Thing stub axles and arms. The biggest mod overall is shocks. These limit the actual travel on a b/j front, and longer ones with modified mounts will give good gains.


kosa - November 21st, 2010 at 07:20 PM

its a 1968. it has IRS rear and ball joint front end. its currently just below a foot of clearence.

i have no given budget just want a cost effective way of gaining the most.

what do u suggest?


Smiley - November 22nd, 2010 at 10:23 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by kosa
its a 1968. it has IRS rear and ball joint front end. its currently just below a foot of clearence.

i have no given budget just want a cost effective way of gaining the most.

what do u suggest?


If you don't have Jeff Hibbards book 'Baja Bugs and Buggies' it is a must buy immediately. Lots of pictures and good info/ideas.
http://www.amazon.com/Baja-Bugs-Buggies-VW-based-off-road/dp/0895861860/ref=s...


12" isn't bad. Most 4WDs have less than 9" with 31" tyres due to the diffs hanging down.

The best thing for you to do would probably weld adjusters into your front beam. That way you can screw it up another inch or so. On the back it's simply a matter of adjusting your rear torsion bar inner and outer splines to get a little bit more lift. As long as you don't go cutting the limit stops or notching your spring plates you won't stat busting CVs.

You can also go the spindle route that Matt has mentioned above. Best to PM him for more info as I'm more familiar with LP front ends. These spindles net you another few inches at the front.

Another way to get an extra inch or two is to look at the tyres you're running and see if you can go to taller ones without any rubbing.

Remember you don't want to go too high, it'll look awesome but won't perform aswell offroad. Suspension travel is alot more important than height. If your suspension is too high and you have minimal downward travel when a wheel drops into a hole the whole car drops into the hole. Instead of the suspension deflecting to absorb the hole. You end up lifting wheels of the ground all the time, even on simple tracks.

I was reading on the Samba a few days ago and someone was saying with you car sitting at ride height on level ground you still want 30-40% of you suspension travel in the downward direction.

Hope this helps. If anything is unclear just ask more questions, that's what forums are here for :D


Smiley :cool:


matberry - November 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 PM

Brilliant advice above Smiley, definately the go with requiring down travell to make your offroader perform.

Don't rush the adjusters in the front, b/j beams they are next to useless, unless the car is super heavy, as they will sit high if light, if you crank up adjusters, the suspension/balljoints top out and you gain bugger all height.


Smiley - November 22nd, 2010 at 12:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by matberry
Brilliant advice above Smiley, definately the go with requiring down travell to make your offroader perform.

Don't rush the adjusters in the front, b/j beams they are next to useless, unless the car is super heavy, as they will sit high if light, if you crank up adjusters, the suspension/balljoints top out and you gain bugger all height.


There you go. Learn something new everyday. I don't know much about offroad B/J setups :blush:



Smiley :cool:


kosa - November 23rd, 2010 at 12:13 AM

thanks for all the help guys! a wealth of information.

i just went out and checked the spring plate and there's about 1cm till they hit the bottom of the spring plate... so i guess i wont be gaining anymore there lol.

i also notice with the help of my bro jumping on the front bars, my rear shocks are squeaking and have a metal on metal sound... is this bad?? cause it sounds it...

i think im running 225/60/R15 on the rear and 195/55/R15 on the front. (Rear may be 65 not 60)

i may have missed it but what would be the easiest way to maximize down travel and height on the front legally?

it would be awesome if i could see other baja bugs and compare.

Cheers
Kory


Smiley - November 23rd, 2010 at 01:09 AM

Here's another B/J Baja that has some fantastic clearance under the front for you to look at.

http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=83436 


Smiley :cool:


Dero - December 2nd, 2010 at 01:17 PM

181 Things Spindles will get it up there :yes:


kosa - December 2nd, 2010 at 08:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dero
181 Things Spindles will get it up there :yes:


iv seen/heard/read about those... they hard to get??


Smiley - December 2nd, 2010 at 09:35 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by kosa
Quote:
Originally posted by Dero
181 Things Spindles will get it up there :yes:


iv seen/heard/read about those... they hard to get??



Probably best to contact Mattberrry ^^


Smiley :cool:


kosa - December 2nd, 2010 at 10:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Smiley
Quote:
Originally posted by kosa
Quote:
Originally posted by Dero
181 Things Spindles will get it up there :yes:


iv seen/heard/read about those... they hard to get??



Probably best to contact Mattberrry ^^


Smiley :cool:


Why so?

does he stock them?

or just know alot more about em?


matberry - December 2nd, 2010 at 11:43 PM

I recently fitted some to my own car. Very good way to go, all stock VW components so 100% legal and they are definately a much stronger set up than std with both ball joints facing down, taking the loads better and being an effective wider spacing so also increasing strength. The arms are also thicker inside the beam where they bend, so I recommend getting them with arms. All you need get is a disc caliper mount from Sharpbuilt or Custom Vee dub to mount beetle calipers and the discs slide right on same as stock.

Look on Samba, they come up regularly.


kosa - December 3rd, 2010 at 08:17 AM

Ok had a look on there and found theses??

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1054922 

what about these?

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1028651 


matberry - December 3rd, 2010 at 08:57 AM

Well, drum to drum beam assy will KILL you with freight, the second ad is stubs only. As i said above, the trailing arms are an important component to have, so I'd offer the first advertiser if you could deal and purchase the arms and stubs only .... or wait until arms and stubs do become available.


nils - December 9th, 2010 at 06:08 PM

probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:


Dero - December 10th, 2010 at 11:18 AM

I have a set sitting doing nothing, was going to use them in my Baja build... All complete, Arms, Spindles need new Ball Joints...

Joel


Smiley - December 10th, 2010 at 12:43 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by nils
probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:


If you want to know what Nils is talking about have a read through this.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126314 

In my opinion the best Baja build in Australia I have ever read.



Smiley :cool:


kosa - December 13th, 2010 at 02:27 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Smiley
Quote:
Originally posted by nils
probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:


If you want to know what Nils is talking about have a read through this.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126314 

In my opinion the best Baja build in Australia I have ever read.



Smiley :cool:


Wow full on, thats epic!

well done on your creation nil.



Ps. Dero PM sent


vwsteve - December 13th, 2010 at 10:35 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by nils
probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:




nills i think you are the only 1 mad enough to do all that work!


nils - December 26th, 2010 at 11:51 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Smiley
Quote:
Originally posted by nils
probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:


If you want to know what Nils is talking about have a read through this.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126314 

In my opinion the best Baja build in Australia I have ever read.



Smiley :cool:


aww, schucks smiley.......:blush:


Smiley - December 26th, 2010 at 11:54 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by nils
Quote:
Originally posted by Smiley
Quote:
Originally posted by nils
probably shouldn't put my 2c in :punk: how much do you like welding (matt knows where i'm going):lol:


If you want to know what Nils is talking about have a read through this.

http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=126314 

In my opinion the best Baja build in Australia I have ever read.



Smiley :cool:


aww, schucks smiley.......:blush:


The honest truth dude. You pushed the boundaries and came out victorious. Bloody fantastic work. I only hope to be able to see it in action someday.

Expect plenty of PM's when I start beefing mine up a bit. Especially about the R&P :D


Smiley :cool: