RE: Prep (on a budget) Q's

["Neal Tovsen" <sixteen.volt@gte.net>]

> Based on several recommendations made by listers about a month
> back, a lower
> stress bar is even more important than the upper bar in preventing these
> cracks.  Is this true?

I know a lower bar is also very important. My apologies, as I forgot to
mention it. 16v's come with a good lower stress bar from the factory, so I
sometimes forget that other people don't have one. Everything I've heard
says that the factory 16v lower bar is as good as any aftermarket one, so
you should be able to find a used one cheap.

As far as which to get first, I couldn't say for sure. If you think about
it, it's obvious that the lower bar was determined to be more important by
VW since they put one on the 16v! Get them both ASAP if you drive hard at
all. Even with both bars (I have an Autotech upper), my car is getting tiny
flex-cracks in the paint at the fender/windshield/shock tower joint. I've
seen cars that have had huge cracks that go all the way through the metal!

If you have some welding skills (I don't...yet), I'm sure you could make
either of these parts quite easily. I'd bet Cheapass Ron has all the details
by now. ;)

The important point is that A1 VW's are not known for a stiff front chassis!

Neal
'88 16v



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Aaron Ness [mailto:aaron@makuta.com]
> Sent: Monday, January 15, 2001 1:34 PM
> To: 'Neal Tovsen'; 'Graffy/Carpenter'; scirocco-l@scirocco.org
> Subject: RE: Prep (on a budget) Q's
>
>
> > -Recommendations: Basic stuff like K&N air filter, Bosch/Mann
> > oil filter,
> > quality oil, bleed brakes with DOT-4 fluid, Ferodo or similar brake
> > pads/shoes. Get an upper strut tower bar (Scirocco's flex a
> > lot up there,
> > and it could lead to chassis cracks) and a 28mm rear torsion
> > bar to get rid
> > of that understeer. A lot of people don't realize it, but
> > tires are more
> > important than any suspension setup. Get R-Compounds if your
>
> Based on several recommendations made by listers about a month
> back, a lower
> stress bar is even more important than the upper bar in preventing these
> cracks.  Is this true?  I'm planning to eventually do both, but I want to
> start with the one that does the most to save my chassis.  I can say from
> experience that a cracked chassis makes for some pretty inconsistent
> handling - my '84 would really dig in turning right, but left turns felt
> sloppy by comparison.
>
> Aaron
> '82 Scirocco
> '70 Beetle
> '87 Jeep Cherokee 4.0
> '81 Honda CX500
>



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