Which is a better, stronger, more durable setup. The IRS conversion or swing axle rear setup?

[quote="whygobuggy"]I am located in the tri-state area and ride all over. Go to Haspin acres, black mountain,

is that the black mountain around harlan?

if so im close

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Brandon

Yes that is correct. harlan aka black mountain.

that's funny, Ive ran b/j 2.5' raised disc brake spindles for over six years on my buggy. with out a single failure while in the same period Ive seen alot of king pin spindles break go figure.

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Air cooled forever,i hate rusty tools!!!!!!!

In 20 years of buggies I have never tied up that kind of money on an entire buggy(not counting engine). I usually ran a stock used KP beam. I have bent rims, spindles, control arms, wheel adapters, tie rods, rod ends, shocks & beams & I would rather keep replacing parts than spend 5K for spindles & arms JMO. My trick setup for this season will be a new JT adjustable aluminum beam (JT made the only strong aluminum one),poly bushings, stock braced arms & a pair of homebuilt 3" raised spindles. This is all crap I have lying around the garage & have no money in. I should have nearly 5 extra inches of ground clearance & its fairly light weight. I have no idea if the beam will hold up so Ill carry a stock one & if it gives out Ill swap it at camp. I had a non adjustable JT that I got 14 years out of. Wheather the adjusters weaken it I dont know. All Im saying is unless you snap spindles every week Id start simple. Again JMO.

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that's funny, Ive ran b/j 2.5' raised disc brake spindles for over six years on my buggy. with out a single failure while in the same period Ive seen alot of king pin spindles break go figure.[/quote]

I'll agree with the King pins "spindle being week. Thats why I like the combos. I snapped the balljoint off on my 1600 buggy, and I dont consider it to be very offroad capable.

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And Rick, I bent a king pin spindle. And I am sticking to my buggy phylosophy of "If I break something I'm going to replace it with something stronger if I can afford to.

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so what are everyones thoughts on the best rear trailing arms? i have seen a few pics of the appletrees breaking at the carrior... and whats the deal with the stubs? can i use a half ton chevy wheel bearing assembly and stub shaft breaks and rotors?...

I like 2x3 like Drews & souther buggy sale

I've seen it done. looks alot like the micro stub set-up. If you've got the time and tools, I'd go for it! the longer the axle, the better off you are in almost every way!

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

Wow my stock GERMAN beam has lasted 6 years now. I thought you put all the high dollar stuff on there to last longer. 2 years is not long.

My stock Germans almost lasted a season, but then again they were 50 yrs old at the begining of the season. From what my cpl of race buddies tell me they beat the heck out of them things compared to us woods guys. With the exception of finding a good solid tree.

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I'm gonna say that 1 enduro race (close to 100 miles) is equal to about 2 seasons of woods riding as far as wear and tear, not including hitting stuff

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

The 84 and later Vanagon is the strogest VW trans. It has a larger reverse gear being driven off the main shaft not the Input shaft. You will have to use a cable shifter , Turboblues mechanical shifter or make your own. If you get the Tweeds go with the Rollor bearing option. The Bushing setup will not hold up to much Woods abuse. I can no t express this enough. At this point we do not know how well the bearing setup will hold up either. The Jurys still out on that one. I have been working with Steve the owner for over a year on the getting him to do the bearing conversion. I had him convert mine over so we will see come spring.

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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!

so if i buy the trailing arms with the stub axle setup do you just use a car wheel bearing? it appears to have the 3 bolt flange like many new cars and trucks....

or is it not worth it in the long haul and just go with the vw bearing and good stubs? i like having something thats one off but can hurt with spare parts on the trail..

The issue with that is getting stub axles. If you can make it all, then its (imo) the best way to go.

I had my tweeds conerted over to needle bearings the winter before i broke them too. They didn't last long enough to see the benifit. My foddrills have needle bearings, and I have't had to touch them after 3 full seasons of racing. Just keep the water out!!!

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

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The issue with that is getting stub axles. If you can make it all, then its (imo) the best way to go. [/quote]

so if i get the trailing arm for the micro stub setup can i bolt in a chevy half ton wheel bearing to that 3 bolt flange?

i have access to a lathe so i think i can turn down the axles on my own and i have a few spare parts for my truck to make more than one set to take on the trail...

would it be best to have 2x3 or 3x3 arms??..

I didnt say the bolt pattern is the same. I know i couldnt find a bearing carrier that my stub axle fit from a truck. That is all hearsay. Chevy 3/4 ton is close, but close doesnt work. but for that matter, the plate is the easiest part to make. I would go 3x3 or bigger. I'm runnin 10x8's. It all can be made, I just think by the time i made it all, it would have been worth the $1400 or so to buy it all.

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

I had my tweeds conerted over to needle bearings the winter before i broke them too. They didn't last long enough to see the benifit. My foddrills have needle bearings, and I have't had to touch them after 3 full seasons of racing. Just keep the water out!!! [/quote]

Racebuggy what broke on them?

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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!

They tore open around the gussets on the main body and the spindle ripped off. We had a whole pit crew set up for that enduro race and twice I had to pull in to get the spindle re welded and gussetted! It was cool having that kind of support! I still think i finished that race in second place with the wheels literaly falling off! I ordered Foddrill King-Kongs the next day

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Maybe you should chug on over to mamby pamby land....

Got pics of those gold plated spindles?

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i would have to disagree with this statement as far as my buggy is concerned.i ride couple hundred miles every weekend i ride and id say i ride close to 35 to 40 weekends a year and i run the piss out of it.stock ball joints and i get about 2 seasons out them but they live a hard life for those two years.its called up keep,keep shit greased oiled and cleaned and it will last longer plain and simple.i beat my front end off of everything from rocks to trees and the ball joints work just fine.if they will stand up to what i put them through then they are woods tough.and if one comes out you can ratchet strap it back in and get home.best thing to do is either weld a chain on or bolt a limit strap on between the trailing arms and even this wont happen.chad

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NOW GAS IT!!!!!

so what is best to use to make my own trailing arms? i want to use all front chevy stuff cause i think it'll be strong..

should i get a piece of the 5 or 6 inch DOM and use like half inch plate to bolt the bearing assembly to? probably make them 3x3 so best to get tubing or make it from box or just buy one with the micro stub setup and cut the plate off and weld on the one that i need?

check out afterburnts buggy in BOTM and PM him, he mad the half ton chevy 4x4 rear arms himself and they are bada$$, he should be able to hook you up in the right direction on this method..... HIs buggy is bulletproof.

sounds good... not too sure how the pm things work but i'll try