VW Rabbit suspension ideas?

So you think standard inserts are fine instead of inverted? Are you recommending coil over tubes though or should I just play with springs?

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com

Greasecar Wrote:
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> So you think standard inserts are fine instead of
> inverted? Are you recommending coil over tubes
> though or should I just play with springs?

No no I am assuming you have the inverted 40s but short ones like everybody gets initially.

That's why I'm saying let's whip a strut apart to nail down per-zactly what you have re: lengths, and valving and just what you have.

Measure, photo, measure spring etc think about top mounts too..


Clarkalainenen is right. It IS a narrow car and we can't make it too tippy but we know the car will beat itself apart if kept too short and too stiff.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

Mine are basic Bilstein HDs with the narrow piston shafts. I plan on dropping them out when I get home then I can pull them apart and see what I'm working with and what needs to be put together.

Look how low the car was dropping into a relatively wide turn.

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2009 08:02PM by Greasecar.

I believe those struts I sold you are inverted... unless you went for something else. I was told that they where "rally" valved by bilstien. We can take a look this weekend when I'm up there.

Dave

I thought the inverted units have the large piston shaft out the top, I don't believe these do. Either way, the suspension on a whole is not right for the car and too low but I think it has much more to do with springs than struts. Either way the struts will find a use, maybe on the other Rabbit for Rally X and Recce.

You can hear how brutal it was in this video, we're the 3rd or 4th car through.

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com

Greasecah, Nice photo! The bottom of the front skid pan looks pretty low. Does it have to be that low?

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Ted Mendham
www.rensport.net

That skid pan was clattering around quite a bit over the weekend, seems the rear mounts had failed.

I overheard somebody saying "Don't back up!!" near the car at one point.

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Andrew Steere
Lyndeborough, NH
KB1PJY

I think the car is still too low! (Seen it in person)

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rally gods would turn in their graves if they ever knew Lada's were now part of EU rallying!!!

img of our car sitting:


front framehorn brace/skidplate mount:


front skidplate support mount:


frame horn supports:


Oil pan stiffening from flattening out the skidplate (happened ALOT):



I would look into a stiffer front spring and valving along with a bit more travel....you may want to raise the front towers a bit to get extra travel. unfortunately the way they designed the rabbit, it is a bitch to not damage the skid plate up front....trust me we went through about 4-5 evolutions of front skid plates...here is our last attempt.. never really got to prove it though, looked mean?!?



we bent the piss out of that car in the front end....lots of heat and hammering kept it straight after what seemed like every event.

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-Tom
DemonRallyTeam | Fine Tuning | CTS Turbo & RP Turbos | RalleyTuned | JRM | Meister Autowerks
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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2009 05:23PM by Tom B.

The car definitely sits too low and the skid plate can only be about an inch higher if I change the rear tranny mount (which I plan to do). I need a subframe under the skidplate and reinforcement on the control arm mounts like Tom showed. I'm thinking of maybe trying to incorporate some rubber cushions between the skidplate mount and body to maybe dampen the blows a bit.

In the videos of the Fish Pond stage you can hear all the rocks pownding the skid plate until it was bent and hanging off a bit (hence the "don't back up" comment at the end of stage 10 before we fixed the oil pan and ripped the skidplate off.

Any photos of successful Rabbit skidplates and front reinforcement welcome (thanks again, Tom!)

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com

Oh, and here are some more photos, you can really see how soft and bad the suspension is. http://www.onalimbracing.com/photos/2009_New_England_Forest_Rally/501.htm

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com

tom,
do you care to share why your car was upside down.

Greasecar Wrote:
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> Oh, and here are some more photos, you can really
> see how soft and bad the suspension is.

OK OK! We can make it work and can make you stuff pretty quick, but at some point we need to see what you currently have.

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John Vanlandingham
Sleezattle, WA, USA

Vive le Prole-le-ralliat

www.rallyrace.net/jvab
CALL +1 206 431-9696
Remember! Pacific Standard Time
is 3 hours behind Eastern Standard Time.

john vanlandingham Wrote:
> OK OK! We can make it work and can make you stuff
> pretty quick, but at some point we need to see
> what you currently have.

Sorry, couldn't help it, Pete just posted the photos today.

I'll be back in town tomorrow night and hopefully will have suspension details early next week.

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com

Doivi Clarkinen Wrote:
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> That's actually the first rally car Pete Van
> Bogart (Cascade Autosport) built and campaigned.
> Originally running a turbo motor. The thing with
> Rabbits is if you jack them up too tall they
> handle like crap and get too much body roll and
> tip over too easy. Probably you just need stiffer
> suspension than you have now, I wouldn't really
> raise it. Tom Buress' car was lower than that and
> I don't think there was ever anyone faster in a
> Rabbit.

I tried emailing Pete about the car a few months ago but never heard from him, he's probably sick of hearing from people about this car as it has floated around a bit in the last few years. I agree that stiffening is the priority and I think I can gain at least an inch underneath by raising the skidplate so that I don't have to lift the suspension too much. From looking at the photos of several of the other VWs making the same turns as I did last week it is clear that my suspension is much softer while static clearance is just a bit lower.

I'm definately trying to take as much from Tom's experience as possible.

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www.DMackTyresUSA.com