Custom Volkswagen Parts :: Airkewld.com

One of the many questions I get asked each day, how do I lower my VW and what do you recommend? Well, there is so many answers so I will try to narrow it down. If you want to lower your ride, you need to take the necessary step to ensure the base you are working with is solid and straight.

1. Check the tire pressure in all your tires to ensure there is 32 psi in them.
2. Make sure you have matching tire sizes on the front and matching in the rear.
3. Make sure you are on a level flat surface. Measure from the ground to the upper arch of each fender and write those measurements down.
4. Measure the distance from your tire or wheel to the outer portion of your fender edge.

You might ask why we do this. The bug reason is to see how your ride has been treated in its lifetime. If you found that your car is sitting on a slant or you have a larger gap on one side than the other.

If your drivers/passenger front measurement height is different from the other side, it could be;

• Torsions in the front end are weak
• Frame head is bent
• Different manufacture of fenders (China-Brazil-Italy-German-etc)
• Different tire sizes
• Vehicle could of been in an accident

If your drivers/passenger side front wheel is in farther than the other front wheel, it could be;

• Different manufacture of fenders
• Body is not centered on the chassis
• Beam has been altered (Narrowed incorrectly-Adjusters installed incorectly)
• Vehicle could of been in an accident

If your driver/passenger rear fender height is different from the other side, it could be;

• Different manufacture of fenders
• Torsion bar has become weak and started to sag
• Torsion bars have been adjusted incorrectly
• If you have air shocks in the rear, the pressures could be different (Let the air out and measure again)
• Spring plate grommets could be worn
• Different tire sizes
• Vehicle could of been in an accident

If your driver/passenger rear fender to wheel measurement is different from the other side, it could be;

• Different manufacture of fenders
• Body is not centered on the chassis
• Different axle lengths (Not common but has happened)
• Different tire sizes
• Vehicle could of been in an accident

Why is all the information valuable? Most clients never check these items. These see a product and they want it! They install it and the car look crooked. More times than not, they are going to blame the new parts. Upon investigation, one of the above items was overlooked and was the culprit. It is always valuable to know this info even if the car is already lowered. Identify every area to make yourself more familiar with your ride

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s figure out what the best way to drop your ride. Planning ahead is one the biggest things to do. Because most of us are on a budget, you should purchase products that you will use when you envision your ride being finished. For example, If you want to drop your ride 3 inches and narrowed your track a little bit, you go with a 2" narrowed/adjustable Ultimate Beam. You install it and it looks great, exactly what you want right now. 6 months down the line, you want to lower it more. You can adjust the adjuster lower or you can add drop spindles. Drop spindles would be ideal. You install them and find out that they add 3/8" to each side and now you are rubbing on you fenders when you turn. How do we fix that? Well, you can;

• Buy a 3" narrowed beam to compensate for the added track of those drop spindles
• Buy smaller tires
• Buy wider fenders

Or you could plan ahead and figure out what works best in the long run.

Here is another scenario. Now you have a 3" beam, drop spindles and smaller tires on your ride and you want to stop better. Disc brakes are great option but depending on the manufacture and the route you are taking with your ride, options could be detrimental into once again buy another beam, tires or even fenders....again. Some disc brake applications add track width. That is not necessarily a problem but if you do your homework in the beginning, but knowing that will help you make better decisions in the beginning. So, you buy disc brake from another manufacture, install them and they add 1" of track width. What are your options? Well you can;

• Buy a 4" narrowed beam to compensate for the added track of those disc brakes
• Buy wider fenders
• Buy a different set of disc brakes that do not add track

The same can be said about wheel choice as well. If you know which wheel you want to end up with when the car is done, let us know the wheels and any specs you can get on it. We will help guide you to the best possible route.

You see where we are going with this right? So do your homework and plan ahead. Instead of sticking to a budget, you will not be one of those who spend 4x more then they should.

So you have done your reading on the web, talked to some friends, checked out our build sheets and you want to get this started. What's next? Since there are some many scenarios, we will just start listing them

If you want to drop your ride 2" and under, go with an Ultimate Narrowed Beam. Which wheels are you planning or are running?

• Stocks - 2" Narrowed Ultimate Beam - 145's or 135's would be an ideal tire size
• Empi 5 or 8 Spoke, Sprint, BRM, 356 or Chromies - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x4.5, - 2" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x5, 6, 7 - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche 17's - 2" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Escra 17's - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Custom 17's - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam

If you want to drop your ride 2.5", go with a set of Forged Drop Spindles. To make sure that your ties will not rub, measure the distance from the top of your tire to the bottom edge of your fender. If you have 3" or more, you are good to go.

If you want to go 4" or more of a drop, go with an Ultimate Narrowed Beam & Spindles. You can even go with one of our Complete Lowering Kits. Which wheels are you planning or are running?

• Stocks - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam - 145's or 135's would be an ideal tire size
• Empi 5 or 8 Spoke, Sprint, BRM, 356 or Chromies - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x4.5, - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x5, 6, 7 - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche 17's - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Escra 17's - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Custom 17's - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam

If you ever decide to go with disc brakes, Make sure you know how much track width they add. Some kits can add up to 1". We have "0" offset kits available for the cruiser but in the event you plan on installing a large motor, a bigger caliper set up would be ideal. For more info, go here. If you do go with disc brakes that add track;

• Stocks - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam - 145's or 135's would be an ideal tire size
• Empi 5 or 8 Spoke, Sprint, BRM, 356 or Chromies - 5" Narrowed Ultimate Shockless Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x4.5, - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x5, 6, 7 - 5" Narrowed Ultimate Shockless Beam
• Porsche 17's - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Escra 17's - 5" Narrowed Ultimate Shockless Beam
• Custom 17's - 5" Narrowed Ultimate Shockless Beam

Now as you see from above, some of these applications call for an Ultimate Shockless Beam. This mean there is no longer a shock absorber on the front end any more. This is fine if your car is a cruiser but if you plan on being a Street Machine, you need shocks.

If you want to keep your options open for Air Ride in the future, you do not need to go as narrow as shown above. Why? Because you now have air adjustable suspension. The ideal ride is half way up in travel. All you need to worry about is clearing the fenders at full drop. If you want to keep this option open and you are running;

• Stocks - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam - 145's or 135's would be an ideal tire size
• Empi 5 or 8 Spoke, Sprint, BRM, 356 or Chromies - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x4.5, - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche Fuchs 15x5, 6, 7 - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Porsche 17's - 3" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Escra 17's - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam
• Custom 17's - 4" Narrowed Ultimate Beam

I hope this info helps make it easier for you to decide which route to take. If you have any questions, you can always This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Comments (2)

tariq al Qemzi said:

... Hi there ... i am really confused with a lot options in your site and how to do my air rid beetle .. i just bought the car from germany it look very sporty with fuchs wheels lowered and has disk break and power full engine..the car still in germany and i am from Dubai so instead waiting for the ship to reach Dubai ,i decided to order the air ride set but all what i can say is that car is a 69 model with a look of 67. and i understood that the fitting of the air ride system is very complicated especially the rear axel, and it needs skills .and there is not one beetle in Dubai so that means no good mechanics . best regards

August 14, 2010

Airkewld CEO said:

... You will need a to purchase the 69 and later kit to accomplish the air ride on your car. If you do not have the tools, I would go with just the front. Let me know if this helps!

August 15, 2010