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hey fjcamper
I was hoping I could bother you with a technical question?
it is regarding a 70 Karman Ghia I am setting up for the twistys....

as of yet I have ordered, bilstein sport shocks, swayaway sway bars, 26mm tortion bars w/adjustable spring plates, rear disc and droped spindals.

I am not welding select a drops into the beam and am wondering if it would be approprate to run caster shims with the dropped spindals. Would 20% stiffer front spring stacks be adviseable? should I run 24mm rear tortion bars? I already ordered 26's. Some day I might run a type 4 so some extra weight might be a issue in the future but for now its type 1 power.

I thought you would be the man to ask with your experence in road racing ghia's but if anyone else has any input that would be awesome.

The caster shims are not needed for drop spindles. They are to be used with the welded in front beam adjusters. FJ can give better advice than I can on the other questions.

Hi Flat4Fool,

Like Superstar says, you do not need caster shims for dropped spindels.

Nothing wrong with stiffer torsion bars if you only go up in stiffness a little. We run stock torsion bars front and rear, and add roll stiffness with swaybars and shocks.

Too much torsion bar stiffness for a road racer and you just tend to bounce. The heaver torsion bars are really for the offroad guys, and like you mentioned, if you bolt in a Type IV engine one day.

Keep in mind you should be stripping this car to make it lighter, and that in effect makes the torsion bars "stiffer."

FJC

FJCamper wrote:Hi Flat4Fool,

Like Superstar says, you do not need caster shims for dropped spindels.

Nothing wrong with stiffer torsion bars if you only go up in stiffness a little. We run stock torsion bars front and rear, and add roll stiffness with swaybars and shocks.

Too much torsion bar stiffness for a road racer and you just tend to bounce. The heaver torsion bars are really for the offroad guys, and like you mentioned, if you bolt in a Type IV engine one day.

Keep in mind you should be stripping this car to make it lighter, and that in effect makes the torsion bars "stiffer."

FJC

Keep an eye out for porsche 924/944 torsion bars.
stupid cheap, so you can try several diameters.
totally drop in, interchangeable.

rob

I installed the Sway-a-Way 26mm torsion bars on my Ghia from the recomondation from Sway-a-Way. They have an instalation chart to set the pre load angle to desired ride hight. My Ghia is a work in progress so It may a long time before I know if I have the correct springs in it.

FJCamper wrote:...
Keep in mind you should be stripping this car to make it lighter, and that in effect makes the torsion bars "stiffer."

FJC

FJC, where you have been able shed weight from your ghia and how much have you lost in those areas? I've been having a good look at my ghia trying to figure out where I can drop weight or redistribute it a bit while keeping it a street car

Hi Mrsmythe,

Remember now we do not have to use our racing Ghias on the street, so all this may not work for you if you are making a modified street car.

Remove roll-up window glass, crank mechanisms, and all interior trim panels to include the headliner.

Remove rear quarter windows and replace with Lexan if you need to mount scoops there.

Remove all carpeting, sound deadening insulation, horns, radio, spare tire, jack, passenger and rear jump seats.

Move the battery either to the VW Bug position behind the passenger seat, or remount it in the nose where the horns used to be.

Replace the heavy stock drivers seat with a lightweight plastic, fiberglass, or aluminum seat.

Fabricate everything out of aluminum or plastic, do not use iron or steel for any braces, mounts, etc.

... and all this is just for starters, yet you've culled out about 200 lbs before you get fancy with fiberglass hood, engine lid, or doors, and Lexan rear window replacement.

FJC

superstar wrote:The caster shims are not needed for drop spindles...

I disagree. Caster shims are needed no matter what method is used to lower the front, if the rear is not lowered by the same amount.
Even doing nothing but fitting smaller-diameter front tires will cause the beam to be tilted forward, which is what causes the loss of caster.

Marc wrote:

superstar wrote:The caster shims are not needed for drop spindles...

I disagree. Caster shims are needed no matter what method is used to lower the front, if the rear is not lowered by the same amount.
Even doing nothing but fitting smaller-diameter front tires will cause the beam to be tilted forward, which is what causes the loss of caster.

The added caster the shims can give you will help you fly straight and stable; probably not the direction to go when you want to handle. You will not miss the minimal caster lost by dropped spindles and what you do lose will actually help by less resistance to turning when you dance in the cones. Camber on the other hand, if you have a way to get more than what the "more eccentric adjusters" will provide, I'm all about it.