Airkewld Ultimate Narrowed Beams
Available to fit 1949-1965 Beetle & Ghia and 66-79 Beetle & Ghia
What is a narrowed beam & why would I need it?
We will start with the basics first. The heart of your front suspension is a front beam. This has torsion leaves in the front end that gives your front end its suspension. Your control arms are held in with grub screws that attach them to your torsion leaves. The control arms are connected to your spindles and then onto your brakes and wheels. Most stock height Beetles come with 165r15 tyres with stock wheels and sit under the wings about 1.5" on each side. Depending on the wings that are on the car, this measurement could be different. When you decide to lower the front end and use drop spindles, the wheels will come out roughly about 1/2". Now that the car is lowered 2.5" with stock tyres, your tyres will rub the wing edges. To compensate this, you would narrow the beam. This means you would be taking out XX amount of inches from the centre of the beam. This will bring your wheels in and help with negating the amount of rubbing that will happen. With the Ultimate Narrowed Beam, we can come in several inches, but it all depends on where you want your wheel to sit in the wing.
How narrow a beam do I need?
Also, some disc brakes add track width as well. So we always suggest creating a plan by mocking up your suspension, at least on one side. Install your drop spindle, your rotor and your wheel. Find out how much of the wheel is sticking out and how far you would like the wheel to move in and times that number by 2. This will give you a figure like 2", 3", 4", 5" and so on.
What makes the Ultimate Narrowed Beam different from other manufacturers?
The Ultimate Narrowed Beam is completely different from everyone else. These beams are built with 100% brand new parts made in house by Airkewld in USA. All parts are CNC laser cut, CNC bent, CNC Broached or CNC machined for the best fit and finish. Some companies use stock beams, narrow them, install adjusters and replace the bearing and bushing with polyurethane. This is old technology. Some companies skip steps to save time and money. Airkewld do not skip a thing. Airkewld beams even come complete with zerk fittings and zinc hardware.
What else would I need to install this beam?
You would need to either purchase narrowed torsion leaves & narrowed tie rods to complete the job. At this time, Airkewld do not have any torsions or tie rods in stock but hope to have them in soon.
Are there any body mods needed with this Ultimate Narrowed beam?
No body mods are required from 1-4 inches. If you would like to run shock towers and be narrower than 4" you will need to notch your inner wing wells to make it fit. For 4" Narrowed beams, the inside dimension is 29 13/16". That gives a clearance of 1/16" on each side. We can not guarantee that the tower will not touch on your vehicle due to age, accidents or anything else. If you need one custom made, give us a call.
Availability
Delivery time is approx 4 weeks as these are custom made for your application in the States.
Prices from £400 email us for more details.
Email us if you would like further details of narrowed beams.
Click the links below for more details on air-ride kits and Airkewld custom accessories.
Retrodubs, Unit 4 Killiwherries Industrial Estate, Chacewater, Truro, Cornwall. Tel: 01872 561194 Email: info@retrodubs.co.uk
Retrodubs is not an official Volkswagen dealer and is in no way connected, affiliated to, or represents Volkswagen Werk AG, VAG UK or Volkswagen of America or any of their subsidiaries.