What am i doing WRONG???

[Jim]

Hello guys..

I have a 1303 SB (1974 ,2 bolt strut)
I try to bolt my 16X6 (Design 90) ET 52.3 at the front and i noticed that both wheels came out from the (stock) fender about 1.5 cm each.What am i doing wrong??I know that i have the correct offset..do I??What i have to do to solve the problem?
My setup is:Sachs absorbers with stock springs(updated soon with Adjust A Struts & sport springs,urethane bushings,sway bar from TopLine)
Front & Rear brakes came from 944 Porsche ,single piston calipers all around with 282-289mm rotors.

PLEASE HELP

Thanks & Regards

[vujade]

this doesnt sound right Jim.

I running 17 x 7 et55 Porsche wheels on the front of my super with 10mm spacers and I am still right under the fender lip.

[NO_H2O]

Is your camber correct? If the camber is tipped out at the top they will rub. Are the tires touching the springs. I am running 16x6 55mm offset C-2's on mine and had to run a 195/50/16 up front to keep the tire off the fender. Use a framing square to see if they are 90 deg. to the floor when the car is settled (drop the car and roll it back and forth and put some wieght in it untill it is settled). Then set the camber and toe and see what you have. When you drop it with the adjust-a-struts you will have to re-do the alignment.

[Jim]

Well, i decided tomorrow go to my engineer and see what is going on.I'm trying to think what else except "camber" it would be??If the camber is wrong then with the correct alligment i will be able to fit the wheels under stock fenders. I HOPE...

Anyway we will see tomorrow..

[JIMP]

Hello Jim,
you didn't mention though what spindles and hubs you use on this setup. If you use the 944 one's and not the std that could cause the problem that you experience. Good luck

JIMP

[Jim]

Hello again..

My engineer said to me that camber is not possible to adjust it, in my car, because MacPherson struts does not adjust.Is that correct??As i remember the last time it was alligned properly it was when i made the conversion from drums to 944 brakes. I forget to see what spindles and hubs i have,i think they came from 944 but im not sure(were is locate the part number of spindle??Is it possible to see it??Finally, if i decide to change my spindles(if i dont have the corrects) and buy new(vw) or used how much does it cost me for both??I 'll post pics might be help you to the spindle matter..
I AM CONFUSED

Best regards..

[NO_H2O]

The camber is adjusted at the inboard ends of your control arms. There are eccentric bushing/bolts at the inner ends of them. The caster is not as adjustable, you have to use front sway-bar bushings that have offset holes(that the sway-bar sits in). Ifyou have a protractor set the camber at -1 deg. and check the toe in(should be about 1/4 inch in at the front). Or just find a shop that knows somthing about Super(ior) Beetles. The one you went to doesn't seem to know much about Supers.

[Jim]

Anyone else has an idea??Did you see something wrong in the pic's???
By the way, thanks all for your reply's!

Thanks & Regards

[yetibone]

When I converted the 1302 to 944 spindles, I used the 944 struts that came with them (ebay auction from a salvage yard ) . I had some serious positive camber, even with the control arms adjusted all the way in, AND the 944 struts' eccentric adjusters all the way in. 215/40ZR17's on 17x7.5 ET55 Cup 3 alloys were stickin' out about 1 inch on either side.

I had to grind some metal off the spindles to work with the 1302's geometry.
I took metal off where the spindle is closest to the strut tube, as this was the interferance that was limiting me from getting negative camber.

I'd never tried with late 1303 struts, so I don't know if you had the same camber problems I had. My tapered springs are really close to the tires, and at about -1.5 degree static camber on both sides. The tires are about 3/8" from the fender edges.

Look at your car from the front and see if the front tires do this: | xxx | or this: \ xxx / with the vertical lines representin' the wheels. See if you have too much positive camber.


Yetibone

[Jim]

Hello again..
I totally find that my spindles & hubs came from Porsche 944,so my question is what is the difference between vw stock spindle & 944 spindle??
JIMP said, that if i have the 944 spindle this is the cause that wheels came out from the fender.So,if i change the 944 spindle with the stock vw and keep 944 hub do i solve the problem of 1cm clearance???Did anyone from you have the measurement from both spindles & hubs??
Any answer would be helpfull!

Thanks in advance
Jim

[NO_H2O]

I think for that you will need a bearing spacer(vw spindle). Boygenius is getting a group buy together in the group buy forum on this site.

Porsche 944 spindles have about 1 1/2 to 2 degrees more positive camber
than the stock VW spindle, this is where the problem lies (in the design).

There are several things that you can do to over come this problem. The first thing to try is Topline's kit called Camber + that will give you and additional 6mm of camber adjustment. If that doesn't do it then you'll need to slot the upper hold of the strut to spindle mount (see a Golf or 944 strut for an example of how to do it). Also, if the spindle can be clearanced to allow the strut to seat farther into it (see pic attached).

See my website www.superbeetlesonly.com for more/other Super help.

[beet]

i´ve the camber problem but i am using 944 TURBO 1987 spindles. They have more positive camber like a 944 NA