TheSamba.com :: View topic - Narrowed beam 2" vs 4" and sway bars....HELP

Mon May 13, 2013 6:14 pm

Hey everyone! Can someone please tell me if I would have a lot more work to do if I go with a 4" beam over a 3" beam? I am thinking if I go with the 4" it will leave me open for future changes and I will be able to get the front nice and low without issues. If I do the 4" beam is there anything that will not work anymore or need to be replaced? What is all involved in this? I am also running into confusion with the sway bars for this along with what to do for the sway bar in the rear. Does anyone sell a front sway bar for a 4" narrowed beam that is lowered? What do you do for the rear sway bar once you lower it? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks!!!

Mon May 13, 2013 8:35 pm

mudchicken, I had a 4" beam and now I have a 3" beam. Unless you plan on running a really high offset wheel I would not get the 4" beam. Besides with a 4" beam you either have to notch your body where the beam will hit or you have to have modified uprights on your beam. I'm probably going to get flamed for admitting this but I don't run a sway bar at all and I have not noticed any decrease in handling. The car sits so low now that I don't think it can lean!
Here is a picture of my '69 with 3" narrowed beam, CB performance drop spindles and empi 8 spokes. I love the way it looks and it rides pretty smooth too.

Tue May 14, 2013 8:59 am

This is a 6" narrowed beam on stock steels and 135s with NO body cutting or trimming of any kind....but Im guessing when you guys talk about cutting the body you mean for your shock towers. I dont have any and I also dont run a sway bar. ...Im sure you can tell my car is no concours d'elegance...haha

Tue May 14, 2013 9:30 am

Bugpack makes a 3/4" sway bar for 2" narrowed beams. Most folks running anything narrower than that either have a custom made sway bar or go without one. Once you decide to go with a narrowed beam, thereby reducing your front track width, you are already more concerned with aesthetics than handling. You will also need narrowed torsion leaves, shorter tie rods, and will likely need to move your steering dampener bracket.

As far as rear sways are concerned, your car didn't come with one originally. An aftermarket 3/4" rear sway bar is available for IRS ('69 and up) ghias and beetles. However, I would only run one if you are running at least an equal sized front one, such as the Bugpack one mentioned above. Otherwise, you will have tons of oversteer with no front sway bar and a big back sway bar. :lol:

Tue May 14, 2013 12:51 pm

You will not need a sway bar with your car runnin a narrowed beam and lowered there will be no body roll, one thing you will need not mention yet is shorter shocks, I had the original size on and the car was like a skateboard no damping over the bumps.

Tue May 14, 2013 4:16 pm

toddb_67 wrote: mudchicken, I had a 4" beam and now I have a 3" beam. Unless you plan on running a really high offset wheel I would not get the 4" beam. Besides with a 4" beam you either have to notch your body where the beam will hit or you have to have modified uprights on your beam. I'm probably going to get flamed for admitting this but I don't run a sway bar at all and I have not noticed any decrease in handling. The car sits so low now that I don't think it can lean!
Here is a picture of my '69 with 3" narrowed beam, CB performance drop spindles and empi 8 spokes. I love the way it looks and it rides pretty smooth too.

Great info!! Thank you!! Love the way tour Ghia looks too.

Tue May 14, 2013 4:24 pm

jhuebner wrote: You will not need a sway bar with your car runnin a narrowed beam and lowered there will be no body roll, one thing you will need not mention yet is shorter shocks, I had the original size on and the car was like a skateboard no damping over the bumps.
Thanks, I am looking to go with the airkewld lowering kit that includes short shocks. Just trying to figure out what beam I need. I'm goons run stock wheels and tires for a while. Not really sure what wheels I would wanna run yet. I really like the stock rims with chrome hubs and rings.

Wed May 15, 2013 2:21 pm

jhuebner wrote: You will not need a sway bar with your car runnin a narrowed beam and lowered there will be no body roll, one thing you will need not mention yet is shorter shocks, I had the original size on and the car was like a skateboard no damping over the bumps.

You dont run shorter shocks with the drop spindles.

Wed May 15, 2013 3:45 pm

sullydog93 wrote: jhuebner wrote: You will not need a sway bar with your car runnin a narrowed beam and lowered there will be no body roll, one thing you will need not mention yet is shorter shocks, I had the original size on and the car was like a skateboard no damping over the bumps.

You dont run shorter shocks with the drop spindles.
True, if the drop spindles are used in conjunction with a non-adjustable stock height beam or an adjustable beam set at stock height, because the eye-to-eye length of the shock with the vehicle at rest would not change. However, if drop spindles are used in conjunction with a lowered adjustable beam, then shorter shocks may be required because of the shorter eye-to-eye length of the shock at rest.