Obviously most of us ride with T-1 front suspension. IM does front 914 and 911. Carey is building a new chassis with wishbone front suspension. Mendeola makes a very nice but very expensive front suspension. But short of buying a mendeola are there any modifications or upgrades to make the front T-1 suspension more robust for high performance application? Or does the T-1 front suspension not lend itself to performance modifications?
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With some Ghia discs, an anti-sway bar, a little (1/2 or 1 degree) negative camber, and (for higher speeds) some more caster, it does pretty well. I think anchoring the outer ends of the beam to the pan would help as well, but you don't see it done very often; it seems obvious (to me, anyway) that it would do some good, yet why it's not more popular I don't know. I have seen some pretty quick Beetles at parking lot slalom (autocross) events over the years.
I've also seen pictures of boxed trailing arms on 356's for competition, but whether it needs to be done on a car as light as a Beetle (or Speedster, for that matter) has always been a great source of debate.
Hope this helps, Phil. Al
Interesting that you're only asking about front suspension mods. The rear is just as important.
T-1 front suspensions were only changed twice before the intro of the Super Beetle. The first was to go from link pins on the spindles to ball joints, and the second time was to add a 3/8" diameter anti-sway bar (OK, so they added a steering damper in there, but those were the major changes).
With the Super beetle, around 1971 or so, you could order it with a McPherson Strut front end - essentially the same as a 914, but they had the vertical clearance to fit those tall, McPherson Strut shock absorbers in there - Speedsters don't have that room up front.
The best performance mods for the T-1 front end are to install a bigger diameter (1/2" - 3/4" is nice) anti-sway bar and some performance shocks, like Bilsteins or Konis, bigger tires running harder.
On the rear, VW changed from swing-arm suspension to Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) in 1969 with vast overkill: They ran two spring plates per side in the 1969 beetles (only that year, then they went to single spring plates per side, thereafter), exactly like the Porsche 914, 924 and 944 (same VW parts, in fact...take THAT you Porsche purists!) The best mods back there sound a lot like on the front: add or Beef up the anti-sway bar and run performance shocks.
Beyond that, run wider rims (7" front and 8" rear from a 911) and bigger tires (205/16 front, 225/16 rear) and if you have a 2,110 or larger engine, you'll have a car that track-handles with the best of them.
Would an unequal A-arm front suspension improve on that? Yes, but IMO you would have to be a much better driver than I am to be able to take advantage of it on the track. My thought is that the A-arm front would handle steering geometry changes better, providing a more "planted" feel on the road.
Thanks Al. I am concerned about performance but I'm also concerned about durability. My first spyder was used for track and for the most part was just driven very hard. Performance wise the front rack was fine up to about 3000 miles when it needed a rebuild. I guess what I'm really asking are there modifications that will make the suspension more robust and durable for long term high performance application? Or does any aftermarket company build a complete front rack with higher performance rating than stock vw? I've seen a few completed racks for lowering purposes but not for heavy duty or racing application.
Wheel bearings and ball joint/tie rod ends need to be monitored on front. Cheaply made wheel bearings take a beating with wide tires with offset rims or spacers. I noticed play on the H beam bushings where the control arms fit in on mine that I need to check out (I think I just have the poly "bearings"?). Porsche 944 rear trailing arms with hubs and disks brakes is popular German-look rear modification (for IRS). Some were produced with forged aluminum trailing arms - stronger and less weight BUT they add width to rear which is probably un-acceptable to Speedsters. There are different twist rated torsion bars for rear too.
Attached is photo of the front beam support made for dune buggies - the bottom fits but the available top one doesn't really have a place to anchor it. CIP carries them - EMPI.
Phil, here's a link to a guy that races a Ghia. Lots of good suspension setup information here.
Phil - one of our West Coast SOCers, Terry Nuckels, installed front torsion braces on his Speedster (Penny). They attach between the outer section of torsion bar housing and the chassis. He does a lot of spirited driving through the twisty back roads and mountains around Lake Tahoe. I couldn't find the thread or pics he had posted.
Get in touch with him for more info. 
Here is a link to one a picture of the brace type that Terry used.
Phil- what was wearing after only 3,000 miles? And by "rack" do you mean the beam itself or a rack&pinion steering rack?
Greg- I love the idea of using the top bar too and then bracing it all, but there isn't enough room, is there?
Thanks everyone. Al, with my car it was the beam that failed.
Does anyone have experience with this setup. Looks like its well made. I know Danny uses their brakes.
Phil- what do you mean it "failed"?
I sold my first spyder to a guy in Atlanta with about 3000 miles on it. I had a conversation with him through spyderclub.com a few years later. He told me that he was forced to replace the entire front torsion bar assembly, assuming that means the beam, shortly after buying the car from me. He indicated that the failure was sudden. I don't know more than that. If I ever buy another spyder I certainly want to make sure that I use the best front suspension components available. If I get another spyder it will be tracked and driven hard. Maybe not as hard as Danny's car but it won't be an errand car. Sorry for the lack of technical detail. Henry uses the vw front suspension only on his low hp car. Carey, with Chuck Beck, is currently developing a chassis with front wishbone suspension. Obviously these companies feel the need for a different suspension set up in their performance cars. I'm pretty sure that all spyders will have vw torsion beam front suspension and rear swing axle for the foreseeable future. Just trying to research the best front suspension option for what will be for the most part a track car.
I'm not trying to give you a hard time, Phil; I'm just trying to understand what the heck's going on. I've been playing with VW's of one sort or another (stockers, high powered street cars, off road race cars and mountain driven dune buggies) on and off for over 40 years and we've always found the front beam to not be a particular trouble spot, as long as it's not rusty, straight to start with (a lot of beams come out of their donor cars or the wrecking yard already bent from accidents) and is maintained properly (wheel bearings serviced and beam greased at proper intervals, ball joints and tie rod ends replaced when needed....) it's never been an issue. The appropriate Bentley manual for the suspension type is invaluable here.
That said, it still has to be maintained. In these cars, anyone putting up to 5,000- 7500 miles on theirs yearly should be thoroughly looking over the front and rear suspensions at least every 2nd winter/spring before embarking on the summer driving season, and cars with significantly more should be checked over EVERY SPRING. If you drive it harder a lot of the time, go over it more often. Now, if you notice something between maintenance checks, certainly it's in your best interest to be taken care of right away, as your safety may depend on it.
The point I'm making here (for everybody's benefit) is one that is said again and again (and again and again and...); these cars are not anything near current automotive technology and need regular maintenance to keep them driveable and safe. Remember guys (especially those new to the fold), these are not brand new rebodied Miata's or S2000's that you can drive for thousands of miles without investing some maintenance time. That's a recipe for disaster....Yoda out (for now; I'm sure something to say later I will have).
I'll have to take and post a picture of the beam from a dune buggy I bought years ago in FL. My guess is it was run on the beach in salt water or at least in sand (not hard for FL as all is sand and clay). I tapped bottom of beam with hammer and on either side nearly a quart of rust and sand dropped out leaving a good 1" rust hole at the bottom on each side.
Thank you Al. The failure of my front suspension happened with very few miles. Obviously there must have been some type of manufacturer defect. Either not rebuilt properly or built with inferior parts. Sounds like my concerns about the front VW T-1 suspension are unfounded. This car was built 1998-1999. Perhaps quality control was not as high as now. Finding out that there are not inherent problems with the T-1 suspension is as valuable as hearing about modern upgrades. If I do build another spyder I will certainly be more involved with the build including where and what components are sourced for the car. First spyder was $21k. This one will be north of $50k. It better be right.
If I were building a heavy-duty race beam I would read that Ghia racer's advice twice. Then I would get a nice, straight, clean German beam and trailing arms. I'd have the arms magnafluxed to be sure. I'd buy the Delrin bushings. The Avis adjusters. Weld 'em in right. Clean and polish the welds.
I'd use the whole spring pack and cut a couple leaves (not remove them as I did with my beam) as needed to create the correct spring rate. Adjustable sway bar, urethane bushings, heavy-duty ball joints, Bilsteins.
You all know about brakes.
If I did all this I would of course put a bigger bar on the rear as well, and replace all the rear suspension bushings with urethane stuff. Double spring plates. Kafer bar, Full roll cage, welded. Most of the suspension in the chassis.
Great suggestions, Ed, except I will add- things have happened with Bilsteins for VW's over the years (I believe they're now valved for off road) and the fronts are reportedly not right at all. Someone on the Samba was trying to get a set valved properly for a street car (Bilstein will custom valve for your car if you know what you want) but I never heard back from his as to how they turned out. The single spring plates are more than enough, with the double ones just adding unneeded weight.
Good points. I sit corrected.
Very interesting
One of the best things I did to improve the front (and rear) suspension of my IM was to install Koni shocks.
I set the fronts on full soft and the rears on 3/4 hard. This combo, along with a kafer bar and thicker sway bars dramatically improved the car's handling.
A while back I was able to take the car for 4 or 5 laps around my local racing track. I was surprised (in a happy way) how well the car handled through the corners. When pushed a bit I thought the car would plow, but it felt very neutral.
That's how mine feels now, with all of the same stuff under there. Makes you want to really get on it on cloverleafs just to watch the ricers dropping faaaaar back in your rear view mirror!
