Adding a Front and Rear Sway Bar

Front and Rear Swaybars improve the overall handling and stability of your VW. Plan on 1 hour per bar. If you add swaybars, upgrade the one in front AND add one to the rear to keep the handling balanced. The standard heavy duty swaybars will be fine for most people, but if you plan on hill climbs or Auto-X, make sure that you get adjustable swaybars so that you can tune your suspension to get the last inch of performance which many of the other guys won't be able to get. There are two types of rear suspension on VWs; IRS and Swing Axle. IRS should use a swaybar, but Swing Axles use something called a Camber Compensator.

Convert to front disc brakes: Plan on 3 hours. Super beetle and 4-lug STD Beetles alike will really benefit from this upgrade (especially if you are planning on increasing your driving speed with engine and suspension modifications). There are two distinct advantages to disc brakes:

1. They are self adjusting (VW drum brakes need to be manually adjusted).
2. In wet weather, you will have great stopping power because they are "self cleaning" and shed themselves of excess water and dirt. Drum brakes do not do this.

Five-lug wheel owners are stuck with a $550 kit to convert to discs, but they are currently only available for the Link Pin front ends (65 and older), not Ball Joint. It's important to note that no master cylinder change is required. Consider adding stainless brake hoses while you are at it; these swell less for a firmer pedal and better feel.

Four-lug car owners should also consider changing rear brakes to the type 3 units; scrounge the junkyard and get everything from the backing plate outward. They bolt right on and are about twice as effective as your stock units, and retain your stock E-brake; be sure to replace the brake shoes and wheel cylinders, and check the drums to make sure they are within spec.

If you do not want to upgrade the entire rear brake package to Type 3, there's another trick you can use! We only recommend this if you have a "mismatch" of front and rear tires (if your rear tires are significantly larger then the front tires). If this is the case, install the Super Stopper rear wheel cylinders to provide massive braking power and restore the front/rear braking balance to your car. For drum brake owners, we also have added our Super Stopper brake shoes (front and rear) which increase braking power even with your existing drum brakes. These Super Stopper brake shoes are an excellent alternative to the much more expensive and complex disc brake conversion.

CHECK OUT OUR SWAY BARS!