the torsion i am running on my 2 seater came out of a superbeetle--it has the long tube ends which stick through the caps and out in front of the tires. my 12.5 x 31 x 15 tires rub them. i like the tires--can i cut the ends of the tubes shorter? maybe an inch or so past the caps. thanks in advance

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get caps from swing axle tortions

the irs car some had the caps you are talking about. You can use swing axel caps but you have to use the torsion bars out of a swing axel also the irs car torsion bars are inside the end caps .So if you cut them you will be cutting the torsion bars also .Yours are 26 9/16 in you can go to 21 3/4 thats swing axel size I think you have to use a spring plate off a swing axel you have to cut it and re drill but this is not hard to do

thanks rock--i appreciate the info--if id a cut em id be screwed

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harleys and vws----ac all the way

I love my country, But i fear my government

maybe some longer trailing arms.

yea the bars in a swing axel are smaller O.D. out side diameter so they are softer something to think about. I changed them out on my wifes when it was a conventional buggy it road smother

You want short spring plates but they came with the long torsion bars. Take the short spring plates and use a hole saw that fits just around the tube. Cut the center out. Then you remove the center (thing with the splines) from the donor spring plates (the ones from a swing axle, they are the long spring plates) the same method, and weld it all together. What you are doing is putting the splined part that slides on the torsion bar from the swing arm spring plate onto the shorter IRS spring plates. I think these are also available from aftermarket sources.

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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!

yea but I don't like to weld spring plates ain't it simpler to shorten swing axel plate re drill holes

welding the spring steel will make it weaker.

or if you are lucky you can find a THING it has 24 11/16 torsion bars and it was irs either way you have to change torsion bars. I dont't think spring plates are spring steel but it makes them brittle from the heat

The welding is just at the splined holder. Mine have held up for about 6 years now. Even with a big heavy wc motor and some acrobatic hill climbing

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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!

dave at shadetree cut mine 7 years ago without welding they work great just trim the ends and drill the holes

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i dont always ride my buggy but when i do im glad it has a bad ass bow tie makin the horsepower

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Either way will work fine.. Don't let the welding scare you. They are all welded from the factory.

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If your clutch ain't slippin,, you probably got it adjusted right!!!!!

When I converted my red buggy over to IRS I shortened th Swing axel spring plates and drilled new holes for the arms to bolt to. Keep in mind that the shorter torsions offer less twist than the 26 1/2' units so your travel needs to be limited more.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!

Why is that. I used to run swig axle torsion bars and I never limited them any differantly.

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[quote='Odyknuck'] Keep in mind that the shorter torsions offer less twist than the 26 1/2' units so your travel needs to be limited more.[/quote]

With it being shorter it takes more to twist them. You don't have as much leverage because of the length. If you buy aftermarket bars you can get different diameters which will require different forces to twist. = softer of stiffer suspension...same travel

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The longer spring steel is the more you can twist it before it breaks. Its the metalurgy of the material. Also a 21" torsion will actually be stiffer than a 26" torsion of the same diameter because it has more resistance to twist. Im not saying the shorter torsions won't work, just that you can get more travel with a longer torsion with less chance of them breaking. What I dont know is how much.

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Water cooled Dry Sumped Subaru Powered Turbo Charged Fuel Injected 2500CC Tank. Oh Rah! He who dies with the most Toys not only wins, He also wears them out!