Improve Your Handling

Have any of you installed these front beam braces?

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10110/s-10101/p-100000278050/mediaCode-ZX/appId-10269202/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:10000027805010269202

I installed them before the trip to Morro Bay. They extend the support further out on your front beam and increase the rigidity and stability.
I was very happy with the results.
It's a cheap and relatively easy install.

I'm all over it Terry...
I checked them out on your car at Morro but I thought you said they came from Empi.
Anyway, JCW is even better price-wise.
Thanks for the link!

Ernie,
They are made by Empi.
Decent price, too.

How and where do they attach?

Any pictures you might share?

Thanks, gn

Here you go, Gordon.
They attach where the front steel reinforcement frame connects to the pan at the front bulkhead. It requires peeling the carpet back at the outside corners of the footwells to get to the bolts. From there it clamps to the lower torsion beam between the pan and the wheel assembly.
It's a little tougher on the left side as you have to work around the steering bracket. The braces come with instructions. Mine didn't as I purchased them through John Steele. He assumed I knew what I was doing.
Don't forget to order a set of caster shims. You will need them for proper fit.
Sorry about the quality of the photo.

terry,

i have a set of these on their way from john. can you notice/ describe the difference?

george

Wow....pretty simple. I remember John talking about something he had done along those lines at Carlisle last but he was coy about exactly what he had done (as usual). I remember it had to do with extending the attach moints farther out on the torsion tubes, and this perfectly explains it.

Looks like 20 minutes with a cut-off saw and a welder and you're good to go. Something to do on Chris' Speedie!!

Thanks...gn

George,
The front end feels more solid and secure. I like to drive fast and aggressive through turns. Before the braces the front wheels would bounce and jerk a bit. Very little of that now. You really notice how solid it feels when going over railroad tracks.
The braces put the support out to where the real 356s have it and close to where a tube frame is.
Gordon,
Unless you're planning to make your own these are plug and play, baby!
No cutting or welding required.

caster shims?
Please explain!

Ernie,
Look at my photo. You'll see the shim between the brace and the torsion beam. The shim molds to the beam for a better fit.
You'll see the need for it when you fit the brace up to the torsion beam.

Terry:

Looks great. Yeah, I would probably make my own - there's nothing to them, plus I already have just about everything I need for material from the looks of your photo. The caster shim is a good idea, too. That way if the brace or the car is a little off in length you can make up the difference, too. Cool idea, and all it is is a small length of a piece of pipe, cut in two lengthwise. Still looks like less than an hour to fab two up...

What's John getting for them?? Maybe he could bring a few to Carlisle (unless he's flying.....)

Those braces are a neat idea, gonna have to make up a pair or two for SURE! I think that for my "poor man's" version, I may use up some old steering box clamps. May end up kinda vintage "factory" lookin' as well.

Last year, my inspection expired and I had to use a tow bar to get the Ghia down for a new sticker. Ended up bending the beam pretty badly, but at least uniformly. Adjusting the tie rods solved the newly excessive tow-in more or less, but a pair of those bars would have prevented the damage altogether.

Thanks for the post and pics ! ! !

TC

Actually these support tubes are available for both the upper and the lower beams - about $75 for both. Four suport tubes all together. In the latest JC Whitney VW catalog as well as CIP 1 and others.

It's not obvious to me what the upper ones attach to.

Cheaper at Cip1:

http://www2.cip1.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=C26%2D413%2D151

It might be good to compare the cost as shipped.

Terry, thanks for the info. When I get my IM back on the road I'm looking for MAXIMUM handling (spoiled by driving a Mazda Miata and MINI Cooper S?).

I believe the upper support tubes drop at a 45 degreee angle and bolt onto the frame. Triangulated, so to speak.

I think so too, but I couldn't imagine what the end plate would attach to.

i just installed this setup in my car yesterday. the fit wasn't exact...needed a little massaging...i'll rate it at one bloody knuckle. but the difference is noticable. alot more rigidity in the front end over bumps and such. the car feels more planted.

Loosk like you would loose some serious ground clearance with those things. I'm sure there is a *much* more efficent way to do this without the massive (looks like 2.5") loss in clearance.

Paul,
There is no loss in ground clearance. The front of the brace attaches to the bottom bar just like the pan and the "L" brace under the pan isn't much lower than the seat bolts.
Of course, if you're using air bags it might be a different story while low riding....;)

George,

Did you install the top braces too?

Hey Terry,

Didn't you say that your braces came with the SC upgrade from JPS when I saw you at Morro?

Eddy

i didn't install top braces. are top braces available???

Eddie, John sells them in a kit, along with new shocks and a rear sway bar, which he claims as an alternative to his tube frame option. How's your car doing?
George, Top braces are available but they're for a baja buggy application as they attach to the front bulkhead of a VW body. Their purpose is ideally for off-road use. I guess if someone (like Gordon) had the ability to manufacture some braces that would attach to the upper section of the steel frame then they could be used.
But, really, that would be overkill in my opinion.

I just got some of these from CIP1. I got no instructions from them and no bolts. It turns out that there is a right hand and a left hand brace. I don't know which is which. I haven't tried fitting them up to the car.

The brace is not perpendicular to the beam. I don't know if they angle out or in. Maybe it will be obvious when I hold them up in position.

Terry, did you put castor shims only on the back side of the beam or both sides?

Michael, I bought the CIP1 bottom braces and there is a left and a distinct right ( they're EMPI brand ). You're right: no bolts though. I bought longer bolts for the body-to-pan attachment ( 2 on each side ), but the stock bolts might work but looked to short once the brace was added. Maybe start with the drivers side : I had to notch the brace to fit around the steering box plate. The 4 body bolts are a little ackward to get at and remove if you're working alone, but a 6 inch 3/8" extension and a ratchet work well and you can do it without help if you think about it. You can also see the differences between L & R by laying them beside eachother. Or "loose fit" the passenger side and you'll quickly see which one is correct. Took me about two hours from start to finish and drive. I did notice the tighter feel, especially on angled railroad tracks, and highway surface irregularities, etc...seemed tighter more rigid, so a good add in my opinion.
And CIP had free shipping on them!
Doug

"Terry, did you put castor shims only on the back side of the beam or both sides?"

Bottom tube only, between the tube and the frame head mounting surface. Use the longer bolts that come in the kit as well.

Team Evil,

I think you are describing the usual application of castor shims.

Terry used them between the brace and the beam.

I would still like to hear from him if he only used them on the back side of the beam or the front as well.

They would serve no purpose on the front side of the beam. On the back, between the beam and the clamp/mount, they can be used to take up any slack between the stiffener and the brace, so you won't be pulling the beam back if the brace is a skosh too short (and messing with your alignment in the process).

gn

Michael,
Sorry, I was out of town for the weekend.
I put the caster shims between the brace and the beam. the back side of the beam.
Sorry I didn't mention the no bolt deal. I thought it was because I got mine from JPS. The side-specific braces are self-explanatory once you hold them up.
All I can say is it's a beautiful thing when something so simple and inexpensive can do so much.
Almost as cool as dialing in air pressure.
Next project is the proper distributor....

Can someone say what the added ride and handling is compared to just a front stabilizer bar? My VS seems to ride like it was on rails now-- so with the empi S.B. is there further improvement?

(I guess it won't stop my windshield leaks , will it?)


---Jack

I have both Jack.
It depends on your driving.
If you're saying that you're car feels like it's riding on rails with a stock front sway bar then I'd say you're happy putting through those 30mph turns at 35mph........;)

Gordon & others.

The castor shims may be needed to take up slack. There are also slotted holes where the angle on the end of the brace connects to the pan.

Mike:

I agree....I've looked at a few pictures of them and, if you're building them from scratch and making them fit just right, then the caster shims probably aren't necessary (although I wouldn't necessarily rely on slotted holes in the angle mounting bracket to hold everything in place the way you want it if I were home-fab'ing them).

Jack:

These gizmo's have been around forever, but few people ever thought of installing them. They look goofy on an open Dune Buggy, so some people opted for a more elegant brace which was always visible (kind of like the "Hairpin" braces on early Ford Street Rods).

The purpose of this brace it to keep the wheel ends of the front beam from jiggling front to back, thus, stiffening the front end. What your installed sway bar does is try to keep the body left-to-right-horizontal more in line with an imaginary line drawn along the length of the front beam, across the front of the car. Two different things.

These brackets should reduce or eliminate the "Shudder" that happens if you go over some train tracks at, say, 35mph (Wham! - shudder, shudder). They will also improve some handling, but you have to push them quite a bit before you notice the difference.

gn

It's been my understanding that if you have a lowered front end you should have the caster shims in place anyway to correct the negative (?) camber caused by the different angle of the axle when lowered.

Thanks for the suggestion on the stiffening struts, I'll have to give them a try.

For a typical Speedster ride height, I have been wondering if the beam adjusters are mostly used to compensate for light weight rather than actually lowering the car.

At a typical Speedster ride height, are suspension parts at similar angles to a Beetle?

I plan to fiberglass in the panels that attach to the bumper braces. After I do that it might be hard to add the castor shims to the beam. Adding the shims would also affect the angle of the bumper braces.

For those of you who installed these: what size bolts did you use where the angle on the end of the brace attaches to the pan?

Right now I have 7/16" bolts there, which are too big.

Does anyone know what the stock VW size is in this location?

How long are the bolts where the braces attach to the beam (the ones that should have been included with the braces)?


Thanks.

Mike