Beck suspension

Carey has indicated that they are doing some research in that area, but I am not sure of their target for availability.

Phil,

 

Most of our Spyders and Speedsters are swingaxle.  We built the DeDion Spyder chassis, but no longer advertise the DeDion rear suspension as it is officially "discontinued"... however we still have the jigs and can make that chassis upon request.  

We have fit several aftermarket a-arm front suspension VW conversions to our Speedster chassis, but I have not been happy with any of them yet.  For starters, they aren't meant for a tube chassis (obviously) so using them as a "retro-fit" is less than desirable.  In addition to that, the geometry has been mediocre at best.  Bump steer being the biggest issue I have with the ones we've used.  Thus we are in the final stages of making our own Speedster a-arm front suspension.  The IRS rear stuff is done and I am very happy with it. Unfortunately these type of projects seem to get pushed back due to how busy the shop is.  

The Spyder is a different animal, and due to space constraints it is far beyond a simple modification for a more modern suspension that actually works.   We are looking at the possibility of a slight design change to the GTS suspension with the goal of fitting that under the stock Spyder body (no flares, no extending the body, etc...)  But, again, it is a "spare time" project, and we don't have much of that.

 

I posted a fairly long reply to one of the FB groups regarding suspension and will try to find it and send you a link.  In short, with the current options, it all depends on what you want to do with the car.  Each set-up has its pros and cons.  This is also some of the reason behind looking into a true, modern, a-arm suspension under a stock spyder, as it would be the "best of both worlds" in terms of performance and ride quality.

Stay tuned... 

 

Carey
Thanks so much for the detailed reply. Just trying to keep up with current replica technology. So many advances have been made with the power plants. Suspension is the next most important factor in car performance. The great thing about the Spyder is that it's so light the torsion bar set up is probably adequate for the car. IRS it seems would however be a benefit. Since the de dion is a quasi IRS it got my attention. I saw it on the Audi/VW cars and one of the subys you built. I know it adds more unsprung weight to the wheels so maybe the benefit is minimal. Think I'm going to add a spyder in 4 years when my kids are educated. You'll hear from me again.

Cary- Have you looked at the Mendeola front suspension? I'm curious to hear what you think of it. Al

Al,

 

Mendeola is one that we did not try and retro fit, but I was told that they are familiar with the bump steer issues of some of the others and improved/corrected that.  Regardless, it just isn't a good fit for our car since we don't have anything that remotely resembles a VW bulkhead...  

I've used Kevin at Mendeola's front a-arm coilover suspension. Pulled over 1G on the skid pad. No complaints and zero issues when setup and dialed in properly.

 

Our rear adjustable coilovers also offer adjustable dampening control and a 1,000,001 mile warranty. Tubular trailing arms with our RideTech Race/Street coilovers is standard.

 

We are building another Mendeola front suspension front setup with an IRS rear end and 915 side mount trans. I told the client this and I'll repeat it... waste of money on the IRS rear end and 915 trans. It was a MUST have and he refused to listen but whatever they want they get. Its a huge price increase and our cable shift setup with built Type 1 transaxle is more than enough and works excellent even with our 230hp watercooled engines/Type 4 air cooled/and Type 1 aircooled engine combos. The tubular trailing arms and adjustable RideTech suspension is more than enough for these Spyders to handle like go karts on steroids. IRS adds more weight and you still don't have much travel up and down difference as you would using our standard trailing arm suspension.

 

We also offer electronic dampening... you can control it by your cell phone or a hidden switch, doesn't look any different than regular coilovers except a couple wires coming off the top of the CNC billet aluminum shock bodies... which we sleeve in fireproof mil-spec sleeving and secure to the chassis so its out of the way.

 

I'll post pictures here soon of our new RideTech ShockWave suspension which is air coil technology... won many awards and competitions in the past few years at SEMA, Goodguys, Barrett Jackson, and in the Optima Street Challenge. We're building a Spyder for a good friend of mine using this option... adjustability, control and handling of a high performance coilover/bag setup on a high end supercar.

Thanks for the info.

Only thing about the Mendeola I wish was a little different was the room after installed... doesn't leave much room to install the master cylinders/horns/lines up there, they all fit, but its tight.

Daniel,

Are you referring to a 915 side shift?  Must be a WEVO conversion to a standard 915 box?

 

       
       


Yup! Patrick Motorsports setup.