good work that looks neat. what od tube did you use?oli
#1
I know these have been made before on here but i was very surprised at how much of a difference it made on my caddy. The front end really does feel alot more solid and it took away alot of the "numbness" in the steering i felt before....
i made it with electrical conduit from lowes, i was skeptical about how sturdy it would be but after seeing it in the store i had no doubt its pretty tough stuff, had to use the torches to bend it under the transmission.
also i was worried about ground clearance with one of these things, i dont know how the ones made by "professionals" hang down but this one is at the same height or just slightly higher than my oil pan
#3
Damn, that is nice. Especially for the money spent. What are the dimensions?
1984 Volkswagen Jetta LX
#4
to be perfectly honest i dont know what the OD was, i just picked up what i thought might be appropriate, i think it was one or 1 1/2 inch. the thing i like best about it (besides the cost of course) is that i could bend it myself and determine how much ground clearance/ space between the transmission i wanted. i've seen some pics of these people bought that were way too close to the ground in my opinion. the space between the bar and the trans is exaggerated a bit due to the angles of the pics, like i said its at the same height or higher than the bottom of the oil pan. It does not hit the trans when driving either. I also didnt have to use longer bolts for the control arms either
Modified by drtbmxer at 6:11 PM 5-16-2009
#5
Hm, that's an interesting idea, coolio.Do you have a strut mount bar too?
#6
no upper strut mount yet....id like to get one but ive heard tales that they run into clearance issues with an aba in there, and i haven't decided if im going to put one in there yet....so im holding off for now...i think im going to make one of the very front crossmember supports next
#7
Mine is 1 OD and .125 wall thickness, its Total overkill but it stiffened the front end up a ton.
#8
i want this.anyone in socal have a garage and tools and want to spend a weekend day making a couple of these? i figger we can run to lowes for pipes and paint, run to 7-11 for beer/redbull, and run back to their house for man time.
anyone? PM me. im in the valley.
#9
this can easily be built with simple hand tools BTW. I work at a dealer so i had access to a drill press, oxy/acc torches, vices, a lift, etc. to make the process quicker/easier but with a simple hammer, a propane torch, some sort of vice or securing device to bend it and a drill with the correct bits this could be made by anyone, there is really no welding, special skills or tools needed to make this
#10
Something like this has been on my to-do list for a long time. Looks nice!
#11
hehe...i made some of those... but they hold up the stainless chimney on the roof of my shop for my furnace!
looks good. i'd think about using real pipe if i were you. looks like you got the fab down. now get real steel.
#12
IT is tubular so it is plenty strong.Nice work!
A lot Cheaper than the anything bought at the store. I see these places charging upwards of a 100 bucks for a piece of tube.
Forget that!
#13
Quote, originally posted by MK1DUBZ.COM » IT is tubular so it is plenty strong. Nice work!
A lot Cheaper than the anything bought at the store. I see these places charging upwards of a 100 bucks for a piece of tube.
Forget that!
very true.....granted these peices being sold by places usually have welded ends on there, but im willing to bet this works equally as well. as for the structural integrity of this, it is really pretty damn tuff, it took some serious smashing to get the ends flat and there was no way it was bending without heat, id put this up against any purchased bar for the application it's being used in. i took some measurements too actually so i could check it in a few weeks to see if it bent or changed in dimensions at all, but im really willing to bet it wont. again i could really feel the difference with and without this thing on there, so it must be at least fairly strong enough
#14
Quote, originally posted by drtbmxer »
very true.....granted these peices being sold by places usually have welded ends on there, but im willing to bet this works equally as well. as for the structural integrity of this, it is really pretty damn tuff, it took some serious smashing to get the ends flat and there was no way it was bending without heat, id put this up against any purchased bar for the application it's being used in. i took some measurements too actually so i could check it in a few weeks to see if it bent or changed in dimensions at all, but im really willing to bet it wont. again i could really feel the difference with and without this thing on there, so it must be at least fairly strong enough
I totally agree, you woudn't notice a difference with a more expensive bar. You may be able to get measurements from machines and such, but bar for bar, I put that up to the test. Even if it is 80 or 90 % of a bar sold and some joint, 80% of an expensive more than makes up the for the cost difference.
Some people though just like the name and pretty factor.
#15
Quote, originally posted by drtbmxer »
very true.....granted these peices being sold by places usually have welded ends on there, but im willing to bet this works equally as well. as for the structural integrity of this, it is really pretty damn tuff, it took some serious smashing to get the ends flat and there was no way it was bending without heat, id put this up against any purchased bar for the application it's being used in. i took some measurements too actually so i could check it in a few weeks to see if it bent or changed in dimensions at all, but im really willing to bet it wont. again i could really feel the difference with and without this thing on there, so it must be at least fairly strong enough
werd and in the end anything is better than nothing. I've made these from just a piece of angle iron before
#16
I look under every vw I see in the junk yard but this would still be cheaper.For not much more a 4 point one could be done.
#18
yeah thats cool and all but the first speed bump that strikes you just fractured your conduit.
#19
Quote, originally posted by GoKraut » yeah thats cool and all but the first speed bump that strikes you just fractured your conduit. If you lowered your car way too much and drive like a moron, yes.
1984 Volkswagen Jetta LX
#20
Not to correct you but... whoever said a propane torch must not have meant a hobby torch.(I have a oxy-acetalyne torch converted to oxy-propane) a fullsize torch with propane alone will get hot enough for this.
I plan on making one soon too, Why people pay $100+ for some of these is silly to me. I won't be using conduit though, isn't that stuff galvanized? I always felt like the conduit sidewall was too thin too.
#21
Quote, originally posted by GoKraut » yeah thats cool and all but the first speed bump that strikes you just fractured your conduit. umm if i were to hit this thing on a speed bump then this thing denting would be the least of my worries as it sits HIGHER than my oil pan. Also it would have to be some sort of speed bump that my wheels wouldnt be going over as the bar sits virtually between the two front wheels, which would mean it would need to be dragging on the ground as i drove. A manhole cover or a big bubble in the road might get it, but A. I'm no where near low enough yet for me to worry about that too much, B. I've driven lowered cars long enough to know straddling any kind of protrusion in the road is the worst thing you can do, C as i stated, my oil pan would hit long before this bar
#22
Yeah, conduit is made to be flexible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...latedYou might not really see a change as your peice is only so long and already has a slight bend.
Modified by 20th#0000 at 10:32 AM 5-17-2009
LOA #13
#23
yeah conduit is not meant to be structural, more protective then anything..but in such a small piece im sure it will do fine. good job on the DIY, i like to see stuff like this. now go make a rear bar out of pipe and muffler clamps!
#24
Quote, originally posted by -teknien- » yeah conduit is not meant to be structural, more protective then anything.. but in such a small piece im sure it will do fine. good job on the DIY, i like to see stuff like this. now go make a rear bar out of pipe and muffler clamps!
i dont think ill be doing that
Modified by drtbmxer at 2:53 PM 5-17-2009
#25
Quote, originally posted by drtbmxer » i dont think ill be doing that
Modified by drtbmxer at 2:53 PM 5-17-2009true... then how about a rear bumper. (not conduit)
#26
i know to many on here no bumpers on an mk1 is a big no-no......but i like the way it looks, always have.......and thats really what matters to me
#27
true, i didnt have a rear bumper on my caddy either.... it just didnt come with one!
#28
i made one for free (got the conduit from an electrician at work) bet free mod i ever did. and for the purpose the steel conduit works just fine. these things are mostly under axial compression/tension, and the strength of the tube in that regard (as in most) is related mostly to its diameter. definitely wouldn't bother welding the stuff though.oh and theres a diy on here with measurements
#29
I made one this morning. I didn't use electrical conduit, but I grabbed a 3' section of galvi pipe from HD. It's alot thicker walled (sold right next to the black iron pipe in the store) It was threaded at both ends, but I cut that part off before I started. It took a lot of heating with a torch to get it bent and flattened the ends. What a difference it made in my Cabby. I was skeptical, but I noticed a huge difference in the "feel" of the car on the first test drive.
#30
i think it's one piece these cars never should have come with out
..........___...............____
......._//_|_\__........//|_|_\__ .......z____\__
O0o|_@_|_|@|..O0o|@_|_|@|..O0o|@_|_|@|
MG MOTORWERKS Its a great place to buy vw parts
#31
Quote, originally posted by sacmame » I made one this morning. I didn't use electrical conduit, but I grabbed a 3' section of galvi pipe from HD. It's alot thicker walled (sold right next to the black iron pipe in the store) It was threaded at both ends, but I cut that part off before I started. It took a lot of heating with a torch to get it bent and flattened the ends. What a difference it made in my Cabby. I was skeptical, but I noticed a huge difference in the "feel" of the car on the first test drive.
i certainly hope you didn't inhale any of these fumes.
Originally Posted by Cheesy231
#32
Bah, I was outside in my driveway with a good breeze blowing... A little galvi fumes is the least I have to worry about.
#33
Before the Neuspeed/Autotech/ABD craze, Mk1 guys/gals use to make strut bars outta rebars.
#34
Quote, originally posted by drtbmxer » umm if i were to hit this thing on a speed bump then this thing denting would be the least of my worries as it sits HIGHER than my oil pan. Also it would have to be some sort of speed bump that my wheels wouldnt be going over as the bar sits virtually between the two front wheels, which would mean it would need to be dragging on the ground as i drove. A manhole cover or a big bubble in the road might get it, but A. I'm no where near low enough yet for me to worry about that too much, B. I've driven lowered cars long enough to know straddling any kind of protrusion in the road is the worst thing you can do, C as i stated, my oil pan would hit long before this bar
*lol* The science involved. Wow.
Well good luck to you, sir.
#35
The way conduit is made it can split when bent if you get a bad piece. Apparently its rolled and welded from a flat piece of steel. I found this out when I saw an electrician split one on a jobsite last summer. Just FYI.Now that I've seen this I'm planning on doing it. As cheap as conduit is who cares if you split one? I may even get crazy and make two! $7.94!! Take that TT!!
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