I have owned my 1972 Superbug since it was 6
months old, and it has had numerous modifications over the years. I have a strong belief
that the McPherson strut suspension used in the Superbug and L Bug is the ultimate for
handling and comfort, they also allow a much tighter turning circle, which also allows
more lock to be applied in a tailout slide. This statement will bring howls of
protest from owners of beam suspension Beetle owners. But the runs are already on the
board for the use of McPherson struts, in all forms of competition, in VW, Audi and other
makes. As far as durability goes my Beetle has travelled in excess of 450,000 ks, I have
only replaced the steering box once, and up until the rack and pinion was fitted I had
never replaced the tie rod ends. The lower ball joints did give some trouble in the past
and I replaced them twice, I believe the early ones were faulty judging by the superseded
part numbers on these items. That brings me to very comforting fact about VW, they keep
upgrading the quality of the replacement parts long after the model has ceased production.
I have tried many combinations of front suspension set up.
- Compressed standard coil springs, 19-mm adjustable caster sway bar and Koni Sports shock
absorbers.
- Relocated lower spring seats with standard, standard length coil springs, also with the
19 mm adjustable caster sway bar and Koni special D shock absorbers.
- Struts that had been shortened 4 inches and also had the lower spring seats relocated
and used standard coil springs, adjustable caster sway bar and Koni Sports shock absorbers
from an early Mazda RX7.
- The above set up with a 75-L bug rack and pinion and a new adjustable caster sway bar
from Vintage VeeDub Supplies.
- I now feel I have the ultimate set up, I had Vintage
VeeDub supplies install my Mazda Koni Sports shock absorbers into a set of
struts that have an adjustable lower spring seat and use a smaller diameter spring. The
beauty of these units is the adjustablity and also the ability to easily change the spring
rate. I believe the standard VW spring is rated about 90 pounds and the Vintage VeeDub Supplies
ones that I have chosen
are rated at 150 pounds. Various rates are available on request. Vintage usually supply
KYB shock absorbers for these units.
Versions 1&2 were an improvement over standard, but suffered from bottoming out on
potholes and were not as low as I wanted.
Version 3 low enough, actually too low, suffered from the dreaded tie rod crash on the
chassis rail, this was fixed by fitting the tie rods upside down on the sub axle.
Version 4 the L Bug rack was a pain to fit but the results are spectacular, the
steering is so light and direct I felt i had to learn to drive the car again . The new
sway bar replaced a tied old one and really tightened things up, combined with the new
sway bar Vintage VeeDub Supplies also supplied
Teflon lower control arm bushes. I was still trying to get rid of some bump steer that
occurred with version 3. The new sway bar helped in area as it had more caster adjustment
and the rack could be moved around to change its relationship to the suspension and help
alleviate bump steer. Some of the bump steer was also caused by the way the struts in
version 3 had been machined crooked. I also found another problem with 4; the steering
scrub radius had been altered causing the tyres to screech going around corners at high
speed. The fitting of the new sway bar with extra provision for caster allowed this
undesirable consequence to be eliminated.
Version
5 what can I say, I’m delighted and so is my long-suffering wheel alignment man,
Grant from Solomons Steering in
Mortdale. The car is an absolute delight to drive, the braking is greatly improved as the
car does not nosedive under hard braking as for going around corners I’m overjoyed,
the car has never handled so well. I was at first fearful that the heavy springs
would upset the balance of the lightweight Beetle, my fears were allayed after my first
test drive. I’m also able to fit my 8 x 17 inch Porsche alloys without having to use
spacers to clear the springs.
Steve Carter
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Version
5 what can I say, I’m delighted and so is my long-suffering wheel alignment man,
Grant from Solomons Steering in
Mortdale. The car is an absolute delight to drive, the braking is greatly improved as the
car does not nosedive under hard braking as for going around corners I’m overjoyed,
the car has never handled so well. I was at first fearful that the heavy springs
would upset the balance of the lightweight Beetle, my fears were allayed after my first
test drive. I’m also able to fit my 8 x 17 inch Porsche alloys without having to use
spacers to clear the springs.