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AND NO ONE HAS MENTIONED LIMITING STRAPS.....

DON

Skid and I have been talking about them on his site. I don't play with the newer buggies and, to be honest, when I see the newer designs I don't pay a lot of attention to what is going on in the rear as it is getting quite complicated.

The camber compensator aka a "limiting strap" has been around for quite a while but I had been told that they were passé due to several different problems but... I guess I am wrong (I posted a couple of pix on his string). There were several different reasons such as the strap such as the material aging or soaking up oils causing them to age and fail for example. Add to that the breaking or the mounting hardware getting pulled from the trailing arm (angles or small mounting/weld areas or bad welds for example) then add to that the fastening system stripping the threads (on some of the older designs) which I think was the reason I was told not to consider using them. Now days they seem to be more likely to be using "double shear" mounts which are stronger.

Since I am using a VW pan and torsion bar then notching the spring plates I don't have to cut the stop off the torsion housing the having to rely on camber compensators. My need for travel isn't that great anyway.

Lee

Limiting straps are a low tech way to stop downward axle travel, and they work --- but they drove me crazy hitting the limit as the axle swung down and wham! stopped suddenly. A few innovaters rigged strong short coil springs instead of straps to soften the blow, but it never caught on. Ironically, there is room.

Camber compensators were too easy to install and worked.

Looking at camber compensators online (I've never delt with them myself) what I see is something else adding potential loading to the trans mounts which, in themselves are not that strong as they weren't designed to be used as some of us use them.

If you don't have some kind of truss bars (the commercial are weak also) and they add loading to the shock mounts which are part of the torsion system also.

Welding the seams do help the trans mount part of the torsion system but then the lower part of the torsion system is almost nothing and can fail also.

I don't know what the answer really is other than taking it easier than some do but then there is the "no see-ums" that can cause those adventures also.

What I am trying on my black buggy (water cooled V-6 engine) I am not fully sure of myself.

Lee
This is my blue buggy on the dunes (not streetable anymore for several reasons).

Lee