Front end is waaaayyyy too stiff

[Momboy007]

Hello All,
My buggy is finally all sorted and runs awesome!!!
isn't there a way to make my front end softer by using the torsion bars? if so, how do I do this? My rear end is perfect, however, the front end is very very stiff.
I do not drive it hard at all and do not need this kind of stiffness.

Thanks all in advance

Rick

[jsturtlebuggy]

A couple of things to look at first if you feel front end is to stiff.
Tire pressure could be to high. Since there is very little weight up front, tire pressure can be lower then what is on the sidewall. I use 12psi on the street and lower it some when off roading. Other use more or less.

Front shocks can be to stiff. Cheap oil filled shocks give the best ride for the price. Gas charged shock are usually to stiff unless you spend the money and something like a FOX shock that is tune-able with being able to change the valving for compression and rebound.

You could also remove the front shocks and bounce up and down on front bumper to see how the suspension moves. There could be something binding. If trailing arms are not lubricated they will freeze up.

[Momboy007]

So, I took off the KYB gas shocks and put stock VW shocks on, they are not nitrogen filled and oil dampening only, still is way too stiff!, I checked and all the arms move very freely, isn't there a way to adjust the tortion tension?

Thanks all in advance,

Rick

[jsturtlebuggy]

Are you saying without the shocks on the front end moves freely? Or is it with the shocks in place?
What brand of stock oil filled shocks are they?

You can buy front beam adjusters and weld them into your beam. Or you can buy a new beam with adjusters already in the beam.
There has been many articles written on all the VW sites including here that can explain what to do about removing torsion leafs to soften the ride. One thing to remember is you just cannot remove leafs without having full sections leafs at the trailing arms and in the center collar.

What front tire pressure are you using?

[5150bossman]

Be sure your front beam is sufficiently lubed. When we first bought our buggy, the front end was extremely stiff. After I lubed it, it took a while for the grease to work it's way into the leaf packs, but the front end eventually loosened up nicely. If you don't have zerk fittings on the front beam, then you could R&R the leaf packs to hand lube them. Beyond that, you could put adjusters in, and have the top beam set at a different angle than the bottom beam. This way, the leafs will engage at a progressive rate (one tightens up before the other).