Can you track and street a Bug?

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Sparks, had a sleepless night last night so I got thinking about your (in my opinion a wanton) seat. It does look to be worn and well used but dang, I think it might be worth having reupholstered and at the same time fitted to you.

As I understand it there are three basic parts to a seat other than the frame and mount and that is the seat back (which might need to be shaped or reshaped a bit), the base or bottom where you put your bottom and the bolsters which, in this case, when fitted to you personally hold you into the seat. If you enjoy auto crossing enough you might get addicted and want to go faster and do more and there is your basic start.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=ra ... &FORM=IGRE

Your seat may or may not be in this photo collection but the basics of them are there. Not going to be cheap but your safety and/or getting to do the best you can when the type of playing around you are talking about is worth it. Enjoy rather than do nothing and complain (doesn't sound nice of me but meant in a nice way).

Lee

Edit:

083.JPG

This is what I did with my old buggy seats (2 are '89 Camero and 1 are GEO Storm all of which originally came out of a junk yard). The ladies in the group did not like them brought down at first but now they politely fight over them.

[SparksLP]

I like your "office chairs", haha! The seat I have is actually in great shape, it just had some stuff sitting on it so the foam looked deformed when I took the picture. I don't have a good space to do the whole reshaping thing, I'm working out of a single car apartment garage that doesn't have electricity, lol. I was hoping to find a vintage looking seat that would also work with a four point harness in case I really go crazy. Something like a bucket seat with a headrest. But I'm not so crazy that I don't want some padding!

[Ol'fogasaurus]

One of the last things people seem to do is fix their "riding equipment". I think it is good to do it early myself.

Lee

[SparksLP]

True story!

[ps2375]

Trackish and street, auto-x is a bit of both.

[SparksLP]

Sweet picture! As a small update, I finally got the proper carb for my engine (shout-out to Tim st VolkzBitz for the excellent rebuild on my 34 pict 3)! It goes way better when you put enough fuel into it, haha! But now my brake lights aren't working, so not driving it until I fix that.

[H2OSB]

Reviving an aging thread, but it's within the topic, so I ask...

Anyone autocrossing or tracking a street-ish Beetle have a suggestion for good lowered shocks for an IRS rear end?

I did finally autocross my '73 and found the grip to be amazing. However, on hard left/right or right/left transitions, I would sometimes hear a "bonk" from the rear suspension. Now, when I talked to my Super Beetle autocrossing buddy about this, he asked "how much did you cut off the bump stops?" to which I answered "oh, I never even thought to trim those...". He was a bit aghast at that response. Trimming the bump stops is an upcoming plan, but all this got me thinking I should address the rear suspension. When I installed the 944 torsion bars and lowered the car, I never considered the rear shocks. I've decided it's time I did. I don't want anything expensive since I may end up selling the car, but I'd like something that's happy to live on a lowered suspension.

H2OSB

P.S. I did use my chest strap that was discussed briefly in a previous post of this thread. My adult son, who ran the event with me, thought I was lame and refused to use it.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

On a bug being lowered for auto crossing trimming the bump stops seems to be a normal thing to do.

Bugpack Truss Bar.jpg

I also recommend that you look into a "traction bar" setup (aka a truss bar or a Kaffer bar) to keep the transmission mount (aka pickle forks) from doing the "dance of death" which means up and down movement as well as side to side or circular plus variations of the theme.

I'm not sure if solid mounts are needed but they are used in some situations. Check your rules also.

Lee

[H2OSB]

On a bug being lowered for auto crossing trimming the bump stops seems to be a normal thing to do.

Bugpack Truss Bar.jpg

I also recommend that you look into a "traction bar" setup (aka a truss bar or a Kaffer bar) to keep the transmission mount (aka pickle forks) from doing the "dance of death" which means up and down movement as well as side to side or circular plus variations of the theme.

I'm not sure if solid mounts are needed but they are used in some situations. Check your rules also.

Lee

I have a Mendeola Stiffy for my '74 Super, which is being built to be a notch or two above the performance of my '73 Super, however, I cannot bag on the suspension of the '73. It had absolutely impressive traction and handling with 944 torsion bars and the sway bar from Topline. The only thing holding the car back was power...it has a very slightly warmed up 1600dp. Like I stated above, I'm trying to avoid spending too much on the '73 because it's likely to be sold (long story there), so I don't THINK I'll invest is another kafer cup bar, but one never knows.

Not gonna lie, I'm a little embarrassed I didn't think to trim the bump stops.

H2OSB

[Ol'fogasaurus]

The "Stiffy" is probably the best commercially built one for an IRS bug because it has the extra legs to the trailing arm pivots.

Not a big fan of "bagging" the suspension but some people praise it.

Bugs may come and bugs may go and bugs may peter out you know... (a play on an old filthy joke poem). Enjoy your bug while you can.

Lee

[H2OSB]

Not a big fan of "bagging" the suspension but some people praise it.

Lee

Heh, I should clarify here. By "bag" I meant run down or otherwise be negative. Personally, I would never run air bags as a suspension component for ANY car I own.

H2OSB

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Thanks for the clarification. I have never heard the word "bag" used in that way. Vocabulary words and meanings change so fast now days. I'm and Ol' Fart but that doesn't necessarily mean I stink (or maybe I do but that is another problem).

Lee

[SparksLP]

Trimming the bump stops is only a thing to worry about if your car is lowered, yes? I'm still working on making mine reliable (got all (most) of the lights working minus the flashers), I started another post in the transaxle forum because of a shifting issue. Hopefully I'll get to one or two more events this year!

[H2OSB]

Trimming the bump stops is only a thing to worry about if your car is lowered, yes? I'm still working on making mine reliable (got all (most) of the lights working minus the flashers), I started another post in the transaxle forum because of a shifting issue. Hopefully I'll get to one or two more events this year!

I suppose that depends upon how low you go. If you get too low your exhaust can hit, however, if your exhaust is hitting, you are probably sitting on the bump stops already.

H2OSB

[SparksLP]

So with trimming the stops the goal is to allow for more suspension travel when the car is lowered?