Thread: The questions thread

Is anyone running Race Trim seats in their car?
If so are they comfortable?
Are they holding up well?

Originally Posted by FrontierFighter

SEAT BELT MOUNTING BOLTS?
Do I want grade 8 or something like grade 5?
Is bend not break the idea?

Thanx in advance.

I would always use at least grade 8, if your seat is moving enough to bend or break a bolt something is not right. That should be solid and stout. definitely grade 8

what caster is most common to be run in a beam? I'm going to be running a regular old saco rack. I know i read somewhere about pahl having more caster to make it easier in the straights. anybody have a few suggestions?

2nd question, how much and where can you find a charlyn set up?

Originally Posted by rmz45099

Is anyone running Race Trim seats in their car?
If so are they comfortable?
Are they holding up well?

They are not bad. They are a little cheaper quality, but alot cheaper price. They look and feel just like my beard supers i had. For a cheap seat i would definitely get them.

I picked up 2 new lo backs for 185 shipped from this place....... http://www.jeepswag.com/empi/buy2/

Only thing is the tabs are flat on the bottom so its a little different.

Stronger is better as far as I can figure. If your body puts enough force to sheer two 1/2" grade 8 bolt through your belts, I don't think you will be alive anymore. Just make sure the bolt is always tight and grade 8 or even f911 will work.

Originally Posted by johnalagna

2nd question, how much and where can you find a charlyn set up?

I priced it out at McKenzies with everything but lines and it was right about $1000 but thats not the retail price. Im guessing $1300 or $1400 unless you know some people that know some people.

Originally Posted by rmz45099

Is anyone running Race Trim seats in their car?
If so are they comfortable?
Are they holding up well?

DO NOT BUY RACE TRIM SEATS: This is after about 150 miles of sitting in them (yeah one race basically).

They do have new vinal covers that may last longer. They are comfortable but not as nice as my PRP's were. Just don't get cloth....I've owned 3 seats from them and they all fell apart WAY WAY WAY too fast.

Originally Posted by johnalagna

what caster is most common to be run in a beam? I'm going to be running a regular old saco rack. I know i read somewhere about pahl having more caster to make it easier in the straights. anybody have a few suggestions?

2nd question, how much and where can you find a charlyn set up?

Yeah I have 12* built into my beam. Its harder to keep in a turn unless you do upgrade to power steering, but worth it when racing in my opinion. When my car split in two at BAP and I lost steering, all I did was push the brakes and roll to a controlled stop because I had so much caster built in! I've seen as little as 6*....hoping other will chime in on what they run.

Originally Posted by johnalagna

what caster is most common to be run in a beam? I'm going to be running a regular old saco rack. I know i read somewhere about pahl having more caster to make it easier in the straights. anybody have a few suggestions?

2nd question, how much and where can you find a charlyn set up?

Originally Posted by WannaB-Class5

Yeah I have 12* built into my beam. Its harder to keep in a turn unless you do upgrade to power steering, but worth it when racing in my opinion. When my car split in two at BAP and I lost steering, all I did was push the brakes and roll to a controlled stop because I had so much caster built in! I've seen as little as 6*....hoping other will chime in on what they run.

My race car with power steering is 6 degrees.

Originally Posted by whitemike

They are not bad. They are a little cheaper quality, but alot cheaper price. They look and feel just like my beard supers i had. For a cheap seat i would definitely get them.

I picked up 2 new lo backs for 185 shipped from this place....... http://www.jeepswag.com/empi/buy2/

Only thing is the tabs are flat on the bottom so its a little different.

how long have they been in your car?
wannab-class5 has me scared

IF I ever considered Race Trim gain, the seat I would get is on this page, half way down, part number 01-62-2776-0 and I'd get it with vinal. For the price you can't beat the removable cushion, deeper sides and two slots for the belts. Again, mine are comfortable but the cloth just shreded on all three of my seats in less than a year, and its NOT a DD!


http://dansperformanceparts.com/bugg...buggyseat1.htm

I set my beam at 7* with power steering. when i got my spidles from fodrill he recomended to set the caster at 7*. also i believe there is a complete charlyn set up for sell on thesamba right now it seems like one comes up every once in a while.

Alright so i bent the stock shifter back towards the seat so my hand didn't hit the dash when i shifted. But now with the bend in it the shifter swivels around when i shift. Is there anything I can buy that can prevent this, or is it possible to weld stops to stop it.

12 degrees sounds like a lot. I might do something in the middle and just do 8 degrees or so. I"m not really planning on racing this full time but you never know haha so i'm sure being a dummy, i'll spend some money on a charlyn set up sooner or later

charlyn units are easy but not really worth it in the end, its still really pricey and the ram assist with a rack handles soooo much nicer, the charlyn units require constant input from the driver otherwise the car will wander back and forth which is a huge pain in the ass on paved and gravel roads

Charlyn vs Howe (ram assist) what is the main difference? Charlyn uses an inline "torque generator" and ram assist is just that, has a ram that moves the rack back and forth? Is there any other big difference?

With a Charlyn, are lines run to the steering shaft like a howe, or just to the charlyn unit and it "assists" ??? I need to see these things side by side!

And 12* isn't a lot. In fact I'd use more if I had power steering because I'd have help turning, and the car would still hold strait. Apparently the Charlyn needs constant inputs; not if you had a ton of caster! Long crazy whoop sections that want to rip the steering wheel out of your hand are no fun. Caster will solve that issue. Most people build 8-10* of caster into i-beams, Geoff from Giant said he built like 16* into some of his race trucks and it changes the world handling wise. This seems to be a monkey see monkey do area, so come out and drive my car if you can and see what I am talking about if you want.

But if you get a howe, it doesn't matter as much anyway!

Originally Posted by WannaB-Class5

Charlyn vs Howe (ram assist) what is the main difference? Charlyn uses an inline "torque generator" and ram assist is just that, has a ram that moves the rack back and forth? Is there any other big difference?

With a Charlyn, are lines run to the steering shaft like a howe, or just to the charlyn unit and it "assists" ??? I need to see these things side by side!

And 12* isn't a lot. In fact I'd use more if I had power steering because I'd have help turning, and the car would still hold strait. Apparently the Charlyn needs constant inputs; not if you had a ton of caster! Long crazy whoop sections that want to rip the steering wheel out of your hand are no fun. Caster will solve that issue. Most people build 8-10* of caster into i-beams, Geoff from Giant said he built like 16* into some of his race trucks and it changes the world handling wise. This seems to be a monkey see monkey do area, so come out and drive my car if you can and see what I am talking about if you want.

But if you get a howe, it doesn't matter as much anyway!

I'll clear most of this up. I have built, raced, driven cars with both. Both systems are virtually identical from the pump to the front of the car.

Charlynn - -6 Pressure line and -10 return line(low pressure) to the inline torque generator (Charlynn Unit). Those lines plumb directly to the torque generator. All it really does is help to turn the sterring shaft with all of the stuff at the end of it (tie rods, tires, etc). For this reason a much beefier rack is 100% required to run a Charlynn setup.

Ram Assist - Same plumbing from the back of the car to the front except you are now plumbing them to an inline servo or flow control valve. This is where the two systems differ. From the servo, which sometimes is mounted right to the back of the steering rack, (2) -6 pressure lines are plumbed to either end of the steering ram. When the wheel is turned the flow control valve pressurizes that side of the ram and actually pushes the rack along with the steer shaft. You can get away with alot less quality/tough rack with this setup.

The need for constant input on roads comes from the inherent camber and caster characteristics of an off road car. The charlynn setup only helps you turn and dampen but is not position sensitive so the car will wander without input. On ram assist both ends of the ram are under pressure and have equal pressure on both sode of the ram without sterring input. Therefore it does not require input to stay straight. One other small difference is that a Charlynn setup uses a 1000 psi pump and a Ram assist uses a 1300 psi pump.

Costs for both are as follows:

Charlynn Setup
Pump / Pulley - $200
Reservoir - $150
Charlynn Unit $400
Hoses / Fittings - $250
Total $1000

Ram Assist
Pump / Pulley - $200
Reservoir - $150
Servo / Flow Control Valve - $400
Ram $250
Hoses / Fittings - $350
Total $1350

For those of you not running a power set up, are you running a steering dampener? If so, what are you running?

I have a 6 over with stock arms if that helps

well i know a truck is different but on my truck i was running 3.5 degrees caster at ride height, the way the arm cycled, it progressively increased to 12 degrees at full bump so maybe you are right about 12 not being too much.

On a prerunner/daily driver how much caster should I have in a truck

Originally Posted by Jr.fab

On a prerunner/daily driver how much caster should I have in a truck

depends on the truck, like i said, my tacoma has anti-dive built into the truck the way the upper a-arm mounts are so caster increases as the travel compresses. i liked having around 4 degrees at ride height.

Tacomas and t100 are pretty much the same right??

Originally Posted by Jr.fab

Tacomas and t100 are pretty much the same right??

This is the buggy section. Keep your live axle nonsense outta here.

But no, theyre not.

Originally Posted by johnalagna

depends on the truck, like i said, my tacoma has anti-dive built into the truck the way the upper a-arm mounts are so caster increases as the travel compresses. i liked having around 4 degrees at ride height.

so how do you build anti dive into your a arms? is the upper just not parallel to the lower? and how do you like it that way>?

Originally Posted by bajabugmobbin

so how do you build anti dive into your a arms? is the upper just not parallel to the lower? and how do you like it that way>?

pm sent to keep this buggy only!!!! haha

assmoles!

12 degrees is way to much caster for a beam car! call any of the old VW beam car builders and they`ll tell you that 6 to 8 is max! I have 8 built into mine with the a saco magnum rac and a charlynn! I called around back when i started working on beam cars and called up all the old school beam god`s like Larry at the old SU shop(Now Laser Innovations), Jerry Penhall, Lothringer and even Dave Bonner at BonnerHawk when he had his shop in Orange now just ask him at Kartek, less then 6 and your gonna feel like your driving a rollerskate and 9 and more and you`ll have a slow steering front end! Dave Bonner actually had alot of input in my present front end I`d try stuff and he`d set me straight on how to do it! you can`t really try and reinvent the wheel with beam cars! there proven as hell! another guy to ask if anyone ever has ?`s is Steve at Mckenzie`s, or Rick Roseaver Larry`s brother if you can find him!

And 12* isn't a lot. In fact I'd use more if I had power steering because I'd have help turning, and the car would still hold strait. Apparently the Charlyn needs constant inputs; not if you had a ton of caster! Long crazy whoop sections that want to rip the steering wheel out of your hand are no fun. Caster will solve that issue. Most people build 8-10* of caster into i-beams, Geoff from Giant said he built like 16* into some of his race trucks and it changes the world handling wise. This seems to be a monkey see monkey do area, so come out and drive my car if you can and see what I am talking about if you want.

But if you get a howe, it doesn't matter as much anyway![/QUOTE]

I can dirve my car one handed for the most part on long whooped out roads! Post a pic of your front end! I wanna see what you have goin on on the front of your car!

Originally Posted by rby5cp

For those of you not running a power set up, are you running a steering dampener? If so, what are you running?

I have a 6 over with stock arms if that helps

i mounted the stock steering dampener of the stock beam onto my 6" wider beam. Stock arms also. And 235/75's at/s. Steering is a breeze for me.

Originally Posted by rmz45099

how long have they been in your car?
wannab-class5 has me scared

theyve been in for a year. and ive got about 150-200 miles on them. But like i said they are good for cheap seats. But if you can afford a more quality seat. Why not?

I am planning on upgrading to beards and putting the race trims in back.!

For a daily driver/duner and acasional racing should I use the extreme fabrications drive axles or should I use cv's

Originally Posted by Jr.fab

For a daily driver/duner and acasional racing should I use the extreme fabrications drive axles or should I use cv's

do not use these axles! I REPEAT DO NOT USE THESE AXLES! THERE IS TO MUCH ROTATING MASS IN THE CENTER! that means that you`ll have premature bearing wear on the trans side and have stub axle trouble! like i said before stick to the basics and what works 930`s will work for even ls1`s if set up right!

Ok cool thanks I was just making sure because my dad has them on his car and they work fine but my friend doesn't realy maintain his stuf and his binded and ripped off his trailing arm tabs in the middle of the dunes but when he ran cv's he'd brake a lot of them

Originally Posted by Jr.fab

Ok cool thanks I was just making sure because my dad has them on his car and they work fine but my friend doesn't realy maintain his stuf and his binded and ripped off his trailing arm tabs in the middle of the dunes but when he ran cv's he'd brake a lot of them

too much grease in them will make the hydaliac and bind ripping the arm off! what size motor you running!

I just picked up a fuel cell from jazz new. I was wondering what you guys are using for the fuel-pick up portion in your cells? I plan on using an in-line electric pump and the stock vw sender with guage (if it won't work I'll get an aftermarket one), but i need to stick something in the tank to pick up fuel, recommendations? BTW, i am NOT going to run the foam.

Originally Posted by crazyracer

I just picked up a fuel cell from jazz new. I was wondering what you guys are using for the fuel-pick up portion in your cells? I plan on using an in-line electric pump and the stock vw sender with guage (if it won't work I'll get an aftermarket one), but i need to stick something in the tank to pick up fuel, recommendations? BTW, i am NOT going to run the foam.

whiffle balls work great for anti sloshing, and they dont break down...

but the tank should have come with a pickup unit that has a breather, sending unit, and pickup, and some come with a return line too. you need to get the pump that matches the fuel pressure needed by your motor, or go over kill and use a regulator. you cant just shove anything in there i would contact jazz to get the right thing.

Originally Posted by drtbuggy

too much grease in them will make the hydaliac and bind ripping the arm off! what size motor you running!

I have a little v-tech v6 but I forgot what size I think it's like a 3.2 but I'm not sure I'll have to look

Originally Posted by crazyracer

I just picked up a fuel cell from jazz new. I was wondering what you guys are using for the fuel-pick up portion in your cells? I plan on using an in-line electric pump and the stock vw sender with guage (if it won't work I'll get an aftermarket one), but i need to stick something in the tank to pick up fuel, recommendations? BTW, i am NOT going to run the foam.

Originally Posted by bajabugmobbin

whiffle balls work great for anti sloshing, and they dont break down...

but the tank should have come with a pickup unit that has a breather, sending unit, and pickup, and some come with a return line too. you need to get the pump that matches the fuel pressure needed by your motor, or go over kill and use a regulator. you cant just shove anything in there i would contact jazz to get the right thing.

On the Jaz cells there is a rubber pickup line but no actual line on the vent. Just a rollover valve and an AN fiiting out the top. Some of them have ports to add a sending unit but are not usually included and will not work with a stock VW sending unit. Cells with a return (for fuel injection) will have another AN fitting on the top of the cell.

^^^^^^ That is what i must have. I have 2 #8AN fittings in the top, one on either side of the fill cap. I have to make a 45 degree filler neck for it to go in place of the fill cap. I was going to cut a new hole in the top for the sending unit. I'll reach my hand down there and verify there is a tube hanging off the bottom of one of those fittings. Thanks guys.

What's the differance between an ls1 and an ls7