Notching spring plates for clearance?

[4agedub]

Swing axle drag car with raised transmission. We have found that the spring plates bottom on the chassis thus inducing wheelspin.
Would notching the spring plates be an option or should we look at something else?

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[Ol'fogasaurus]

Swing axle drag car with raised transmission. We have found that the spring plates bottom on the chassis thus inducing wheelspin.
Would notching the spring plates be an option or should we look at something else?

For off-roading we notch the spring plates so that the axle can arc lower for more suspension travel. Works well, (up to a point due to the CV joints amount of travel and axle length/splines) for IRS off-road suspensions but while it works (up to a point) for a single joint/pivot swing axle setup off-roading; I would suspect (an opinion) not so much for swing axles as the tire's contact patch would/should be somewhat reduced because of the arc of the axle which effects the way the tire contacts the pavement (I'm not at home right now so the pix I wanted I can't find on-line).

I never built or raced a VW so this is an opinion: as I see the trans in the pix the axle looks to be flat (is the body raised up?), is the angle of the tires when the compression load causes the rear of the car to "squat" changing the angle of the tires hence allowing the foot print of the tire to be not flat reducing the contact patch (more towards the inside of the tire). Notching the spring plates shouldn't affect "squat" as the spring plates would be rotating away from the stops on the torsion housing.

Again... an opinion.

Lee

[Mattatat]

I just did trans raise myself. Going to test tonight if weather is finally good. I have 28mm bars. Not sure about the notching. So looking for opinions as well.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Off-road I run a 6-rib bus trans which is a bigger size than a stock bug trans (are you running truss/kaffer bar to help support the trans mounts especially for the shock loads ?). It looks like 4agedub is running tubular spacers in the rear... is the body being "lifted" also for weight transfer ? If so it kind of reminds me of back in the old days (late 50/early 60s) when "jacking up" the body and frame became popular.

When you "drop the hammer" ("pop the clutch") on a vehicle the loads transfer to the rear of the vehicle. Front engine or rear engine, the weight loads transfer towards the rear causing the front of the vehicle to lift (get lighter e.g., wheelies) and the rear of the car to compress/squat. On a VW the "squat" causes the spring plates to rotate up and away from the torsion's housing stops.

Re-looking at the bottom photo it reminds me of the body lift and shifter remount like I made on my blue and black buggys but this one is much lighter weight than mine.

Lee

[4agedub]

We have an old style chassis with newish body, thus the spacers to mate up the body to the chassis. It has not been lifted.

We do not have a truss bar yet, as its setup right now there is no wheel hop and it runs pretty stable. Biggest issue is the clearance between the spring plate and chassis.

[4agedub]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLwoddCaWZM

[Ol'fogasaurus]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=VW ... BasicHover

Any potential options here?

I am used to raising the pan and the body so this question is kind of new to me.

Lee

[Steve Arndt]

Yes notch them a bit so you get the UP travel you need.
For offroad we not them for extra down travel. Same idea just opposite

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yes notch them a bit so you get the UP travel you need.
For offroad we not them for extra down travel. Same idea just opposite

Steve, its been a long time now since I've been down the track (mid-90 and was a V8 pinto) so I must be missing something. 'Squat" in drag racingI understand but I don't understand the "UP travel" part.

Sorry, Lee

[Steve Arndt]

Yes notch them a bit so you get the UP travel you need.
For offroad we not them for extra down travel. Same idea just opposite

Steve, its been a long time now since I've been down the track (mid-90 and was a V8 pinto) so I must be missing something. 'Squat" in drag racingI understand but I don't understand the "UP travel" part.

Sorry, Lee

When the car launches and squats the spring plates angle up. Since his transaxle is raised in the car to lower the center of gravity the spring plates are hitting the shock tower casting. So notching the top of the plates lets them go UP more. This is very common in air bagged cars that want to slam them real low. It is the exact same thing we do offroad for down travel except backwards

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Yes notch them a bit so you get the UP travel you need.
For offroad we not them for extra down travel. Same idea just opposite

Steve, its been a long time now since I've been down the track (mid-90 and was a V8 pinto) so I must be missing something. 'Squat" in drag racingI understand but I don't understand the "UP travel" part.

Sorry, Lee

When the car launches and squats the spring plates angle up. Since his transaxle is raised in the car to lower the center of gravity the spring plates are hitting the shock tower casting. So notching the top of the plates lets them go UP more. This is very common in air bagged cars that want to slam them real low. It is the exact same thing we do offroad for down travel except backwards

Thanks Steve. It's funny, I just came over to the computer to get clarification on why.

I never thought or heard about having to notch the "top" of the spring plate. Since I run a home made 3" body lift and still run the bump stops along with the notching the lower side of the spring plates I hadn't considered "dragging" the concrete problems that could exist.

Something new to think about .

Lee

[Piledriver]

Might also try foam bump stops for a much smoother transition.
Switching from rubber/urethane to modern foam stops from a late Ford was enlightening for me.
(I used the firmer yellow ones from Ford Racing for a Mustang)

[H2OSB]

Pile, I recall you discussing the Mustang bump stops. Can you like the thread were you talked about it. I was a great idea that has come for me now that I'm finally finishing up my suspension/brakes

H2OSB

[Piledriver]

Pile, I recall you discussing the Mustang bump stops. Can you like the thread were you talked about it. I was a great idea that has come for me now that I'm finally finishing up my suspension/brakes

H2OSB

It was part of fjcampers ghia road course thread...
https://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopi ... p#p1250890