Learn me some 1999^ New Beetle suspension mods...: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Sept. 18, 2008 10:44 a.m. John Brown UltimaDork

Well I may have just score the gheyest and ugliest vehicle in the world and I am pretty stoked.

A commercial customer dropped off one of their 1999 New Beetles yesterday and it needs a new head gasket but that is not the worst of the deal. It was a hospice nurse car and the interior is just torn to shreds. The dash is broken where the glove box door was, the vinyl on the doors is all peeled back, the carpet has a mix of coffee, Coke and french fries that leaves you reeling for a gas mask and it has all kinds of vinyl graphics all over the car that state "We treat Yours like they are Ours!" and "The Bug of Love!"

I have a very low offer on the car and I am certain that it will be accepted because it is the oldest car in their fleet and well, it is E36 M3.

So what should I look for in springs and shruts/shocks as I am getting this back together?

Anyone actually autocross one?
Sept. 18, 2008 11:41 a.m. fastEddie Dork

I have no tech to add, only pixor goodness (and a non-grassrootsy link).

and

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/tuners/112_0106_2001_hpa_volkswagen_beetle/ind...

MotorTrend said:In fact, so many VW/Audi parts are interchangeable among variants of VW's "A-platform" that, according to HPA, an all-wheel-drive twin-turbo V-6 conversion can be performed on any current-model Beetle, Jetta, Golf/GTI, or Audi TT. Doesn't that send your mind reeling? The Beetle requires the most work, because its engine bay is the smallest, and the floorpan needs to be swapped out to accommodate the driveshaft and rearend.
Sept. 18, 2008 11:44 a.m. rob_lewis Dork

Aren't they, basically, the exact same year Golf? So all the Golf performance bits should apply.

I'd leave it ugly as the ultimate sleeper.

-Rob
Sept. 18, 2008 12:13 p.m. ValuePack HalfDork

Needs rally.
Sept. 18, 2008 12:25 p.m. Evan_R New Reader

Yep, all Golf mods apply.

The design of the NB is so awkward that changing struts requires removing the windshield wipers. Have fun.
Sept. 18, 2008 12:32 p.m. petegossett Dork

I had a friend who I installed a Bilstein PSS9 setup on his Jetta, then when he traded it in, I took it off & installed it on another friend's Bug. I wasn't very fond of that particular setup, there was way too much compression damping & not enough rebound. Swapping the front struts was a real PITA on the Bug, too.

Unlike other VWs, there's no way to adjust camber at the strut/upright joint. So camber plates are the only way to dial any in. The rear is still torsion-beam, so that's pretty much the same as any other VW.
Sept. 18, 2008 6:31 p.m. EricM Reader

LOL, yes I have autocrossed one. They are heavy. Real heavy

I have ahd both the 2 Liter and the 1.8T obviously the 1.8t was faster, but still heavy.

Check the oil often if it is the 2 leter model, where the oil goes I don't know, but many time I went to change the oil and it was all but empty.
Sept. 18, 2008 6:32 p.m. EricM Reader

Oh, and you have to take the hood off to change teh front struts. There is no other way.
Sept. 18, 2008 8:51 p.m. Stargazer HalfDork

Designed for women, by women I kid, I kid.
Sept. 19, 2008 6:08 a.m. John Brown UltimaDork

Well I DO have a complete VW serice garage behind me when it needs any work..
Sept. 19, 2008 8:35 a.m. mpsii New Reader

I would love to see one of these in a twin turbo v6 quattro get up and go...
Sept. 19, 2008 8:53 a.m. John Brown UltimaDork

If I were more ambitious, had another driver, a garage and a bit more liquor I would consider a 3.1L TGP drivetrain ;)
Sept. 19, 2008 4:56 p.m. EricM Reader

mpsii wrote:

I would love to see one of these in a twin turbo v6 quattro get up and go...

HPA Motorsports does the swaps http://www.hpamotorsports.com/

though I have heard of people doing the swaps them selves in their garages. Lots of work to weld in the back part of a Golf to get teh AWD bits back there, and the engine bay is a bit cramped. I think it would be all kinds of cool though.......