Suspension ideas for road racing

[Bebobug]

I want a suspension setup for road racing a Super Beetle w/ high gearing & high horsepower (high for road racing). Any ideas welcome. Any thing from mild to wild. It doesn't matter if it is full coilover or springs & struts. I would like to be able to do a 4 wheel drift at 120mph, for those uhoh moments. :idea: :help:

[Bebobug]

Doesn't anyone her autocross or club race? I would like to hear your setups that you may have used. I admit that the whole 120mph thing is a bit excessive but, I would like to have good control near 100mph!

[DORIGTT]

Where are you that you have access to facilities that allow you to practice controlling 4-wheel drifts at anything over 30mph?

Judging from the 56 (at the time of my reply) views of this inquiry, this post may be ignored due to your performance demands of vehicles which were never designed for such antics. Heck most cars aren't either.

Our cars are great platforms for modification and various forms of motorsport fun. There comes a time when if you want a flying squirrel, get one. Cutting the wings off a pigeon and putting them on a ground squirrel isn't going to 'fly'.

The only place I would attempt (and I like life on the edge of stupidity sometimes) such antics in one of our cars would be on GT4 in the safety of my livingroom!

Not meant to discourage, only to be what I consider realistic.

[volkdent]

Ditto, if that kind of driving is what you seek, you could build a bug to do it, but it would be essentially a dedicated race car, tube chassis frame for strength and SAFETY issues, and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of $ and/or time.

Jason

[Bebobug]

So you can't road race a bug?

[airwerksvw]

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but have you ever 4wheel drifted over 30 mph? 120mph drift isn't an uh-oh, it's darwinism at work unless you are a race car driver

Lotsa' good stuff on this site, but be realistic about what you want to acheive.

[Bebobug]

Originally Posted by airwerksvw

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but have you ever 4wheel drifted over 30 mph?

I have done a 4 wheel drift a 70mph on snow in a Neon and at 60mph in the rain in a Mustang.Don't get hung up on the 120mph it was just an example for racing speeds. You don't race @ 25mph do you.

[volkdent]

Uh, BeboBug, maybe you might want to start over with your intro to this site. Usually it starts with "hi, my name is ______. I'm thinking about doing blah blah blah, what sort of info can you guys give me about this?" We don't know where you're coming from.

If your planning on using your bug as a drifter, then MAYBE your questions have a little validity, but up till now I for one am not taking you seriously.

If you'd like to glean info from the people who frequent this site, you might start by taking a bit of time to think about what you are wanting to do, how much time and $ you have to put into it, and then start asking more specific questions that have a little bit of background info attached to them. So far they've been a little like "are fires good?" but we don't know if your a fireman, an arsonist, or into barbeque.

There are some REALLY knowledgeable people on this site. I'm probably not one of them. But they've given a lot of support to a lot of people. If you ask the right questions and your serious about what you want to do, you'll probably get responses here. If not, you'll see a lot of views, no responses and many will be rolling their eyes.

Everyone is welcomed here, we are all crazy enthusiasts, just give us some more info so we can help. I've responded to your posts because I'd like you to know that there are people here to ask questions to, and I like to make newbies feel welcome.

Jason

BTW, using the "!" icon on every post gets old. Those are usually reserved for people who need help quickly, for example they are going to an event and _______ happens to their motor, not just because.

[Bebobug]

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend anyone. I guess my wording could've been different. I just want to know what suspension setups you would run for racing on a road course w/ a balljoint/torsen front suspension & IRS.

[rip]

hmmm...

do you got a bug yet?

hate to turn someone away but a bug may not be your best choice here. There is much discusion about the abilities of a bug, and high speeds is not one of them.

due to the aerodynamic features of the bug its not much good past 85ish mph. this is becuase of the large amount of lift that the body it self creates. This is not to say that wings and air dams won't help, but this car probably wont handle like one you may hope.

if it a project your looking after, a bug is a good place to start. But please don't expect "lotus handling" in one of these things. Have you thought about a Lotus 7 or perhaps a corvette?

although there is nothing like pulling away from somone in a bug

rip

[volkdent]

Now we're getting somewhere!

BTW, I don't think you offended anyone, don't worry.

You still havn't made it clear as to what sort of track this will be used on. Will it be race only, or road and race? What group will you be tracking it with, NASA, SCCA, car club, etc.

Still no clue what your budget is, if you plan on being competitive, etc.

Please think about what you are trying to achieve, we are still getting nowhere. What RIP said is exactly right, and to add to that, the weight distribution of a bug sucks as well. I am aware of all these flaws, but I'm still plunging ahead, my budget and timeframe allows it.

Use the search function for suspension, handling, handle...etc. This topic has been covered before.

This was just posted for setting up hillclimb bugs:

Bug Handling

[Bebobug]

Thanks. This was the type of answer I was looking for all along.

[volkdent]

Awesome, hope that helps. Keep in mind if you have more questions to include pertinant information when you ask it, that's all. Still have no idea what your trying for, but good luck!

Jason

[Bebobug]

Sorry to confuse you. I just wanted a basic idea. Do you have a link to Sway-a-way?

[CPRcubed]

http://www.swayaway.com/main.htm

Cheers!