Aircooled VW South Africa

Nic help the guy with the details on that cool camber compensator
Armand

Can someone explain what the Z-bar on a stock VW Beetle is supposed to do?
To me it looks like the opposite of an anti-sway bar.

If you're cornering hard to the right, the left wheel will be pushed upwards and the Z-bar will push the right wheel down making the car lean over in the corner even worse!

ricardo wrote:yes, it is the Z-bar (kafer-cup bar) This COOL product eliminates wheel hop and bent frame horns. Simple BOLT-ON installation fits all Beetle/Ghia rear suspension

however, i do not know if i need this on the car... most of the guys in beetle-cup racing remove it and weld something or other to the spring plate to restrict rear droop! whatever that means... someone please help here is a picture of the Z-bar[img][img]http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/5267/zbar1xs1.th.jpg[/img][/img]

"Z bars", like your '71 has fitted only came fitted from '66 onwards.

Earlier bodies do not have the necessary construction to fit them, and the pros of fitting one FAR outweigh the huge amount of work and money you would need to fit one.

"Z bars" were designed, despite what the majority says, to aid the car's handling when LOADED with goodies in the 'dogbox'.

It provides more counter resistance side-to-side.

They do absolutely nothing when your car is rolling along free of load.

They can be preloaded with shims in order to make them work full-time, which some people do to help with handling. That said, it's not going to make a bug handle like Hamilton's F1 car. It's a small resistance.

A Camber Compensator can be fitted to your project bug...this is a big 'blade' that bolts to the frame horns, and then gets strapped over the axles. It works by countering the bug's tendancy to roll. The idea is to try and keep both rear wheels on the ground...when one pushes up, the CC pushes the other side down.

EMPI sold 100 000 of it's original CCs which were plagued by breaking straps. There are many manufacturers supplying them now, including EMPI, whose CC is not recommended. It is a weak blade, and has a bad reputation for it's straps - still.

The CB Performance CC, or Rowley CC come highly recommended.

I have a Rowley fitted to the '66 here...and yes, it makes a big difference.

If you fit a larger front sway bar, you must fit a rear swaybar of similiar size to the rear. You will almost certainly see your gat around a bend without one. Racers generally use a slightly smaller rear to provide a little oversteer.

Non-OE sway bars are available for L/p or B/j front-ends, but you can only fit a sway bar to an IRS rear-end.

The most common aftermarket sway bar size is 3/4 In.

N.