Front Sway Bar

Do you have castor shims installed on your front beam?

Is it a stock 3/8"(?) VW sway bar? Used to be VS didn't come with a front sway bar.  Yes, up grading to a 3/4" inch one would offer flatter performance.  I'd also recommend adding one to rear if IRS or camber compensator if typical VS rear.  Just so you don't see rear of car passing the front under aggressive driving.  You may have to modify (cut and reweld) the front bumper brackets for clearance.

VS generally uses a single front beam adjuster (2 are better) - it gives some height adjustment.  Google "VW bug rear height adjustment" or search here.  The rear torsion bars can be used to adjust rear height.  Beam with 2 shown below"

Caster shims can be used to get rid of the twitchiness. Also lowering tire pressure - what are you running in the front?  Order 2 pairs of the shims and a pair of the longer bolts (they are inexpensive and usually not available locally).

A little squirrelly over 40mph? 

Let some air out of the front tires. Should be 20-22 psi in the front. 24 or so in the back.

Learn how to wrench on your own car then place all the tools you'll need for repairs on the road. The weight of the tools helps a bit for a more stable ride.

Isn't there a ratio between front and back sizes of sway bars to make a more predictable handling car... say the word safer  

Most VS cars come with adjustable spring plates on the rear and it's a simple allen wrench adjustment. Take a close look, it's probably what you have. 

I use the EMPI Sway Bar up front and the CB Performance Camber Compensator in the back. While on the CB Performance website I see they now carry a stock width 3/4' sway bar. When I put the EMPI 3/4" ball joint, stock width bar on my car CB wasn't selling one. Otherwise I would have bought that one instead.

Regarding tire pressures I run 18-20 in the front and 22-24 in the back. Make sure there isn't too much play in the steering wheel as that can cause some handling issues. With the car parked and tire pressures set, turn the steering wheel in both directions. There should be as little play as possible in the steering wheel. In other words, you shouldn't be able to turn the steering wheel 2" in either direction before the wheels move. There is an adjustment on the top of the steering box.

I run 22 front 32 rear but I find with the camber of the rear suspension the inside edge is the usual area that goes or wear out first.  Like 2 rear tires to each front set.

IaM-Ray posted:

I run 22 front 32 rear but I find with the camber of the rear suspension the inside edge is the usual area that goes or wear out first.  Like 2 rear tires to each front set.

How does the car handle with 3-4 (or even 6) lbs less air in the rears? A short drive after rubbing chalk across the tread of your tires will give you an idea of where the pressure should be, and you may find that they last longer with a little less pressure (provided you're not running a lot of negative camber, of course).

ALB thanks for the suggestion.  The camber that IM sets is not excessive and they suggested the pressure actually. I never have done any test with less pressure I wonder how much of the chalk would be left and what area of the tire.  Suffice it to say I just put new rears on after fairly low KM so they are new and should provide a better test ground.   Too bad I can't go out to play with all this snow.  

Yes, my rear tires wear out a little also. 

Bob what air pressure are you running? 

Just what Henry recommended for my car.  I’ll have to look it up.

Tire rotation?

Yeah, if rears wear out before the fronts - simply rotate tires every so often - simple front the back would give you many more miles.  Wife has MB with staggered tire size - argh, plus directional with "outside" marked on them - no opportunity to rotate at all.

Same for my roadster

IaM-Ray posted:

... I never have done any test with less pressure I wonder how much of the chalk would be left and what area of the tire...

Only 1 way to find out, Ray...

Does anyone have pictures of the brackets on the front beam that need to be modified when a larger sway bar is fitted?

See attached.

WOLFGANG posted:

Is it a stock 3/8"(?) VW sway bar? Used to be VS didn't come with a front sway bar.  Yes, up grading to a 3/4" inch one would offer flatter performance.  I'd also recommend adding one to rear if IRS or camber compensator if typical VS rear.  Just so you don't see rear of car passing the front under aggressive driving.  You may have to modify (cut and reweld) the front bumper brackets for clearance.

VS generally uses a single front beam adjuster (2 are better) - it gives some height adjustment.  Google "VW bug rear height adjustment" or search here.  The rear torsion bars can be used to adjust rear height.  Beam with 2 shown below"

Caster shims can be used to get rid of the twitchiness. Also lowering tire pressure - what are you running in the front?  Order 2 pairs of the shims and a pair of the longer bolts (they are inexpensive and usually not available locally).

Great info, thank you.

Thanks Wolfgang!

On the modified bracket I was concerned about the bar that attaches to the beam bending so I put an angle there.