I-Beam front suspension....hows it drive and handle???

ok ive searched on here but couldnt find a straight out answer.

my question is how well does a i beam front suspension handle??? ive heard they are all over the roads and not the best idea for daily driving. is this true??? i also heard of people mounting a shock from a VW onto the racken pinion so it takes out some of the play on steering and he said he helped.

i got a i beam from a truck and ive been thinking about using it but im having mixed thoughts.

thanks for the help

 

parallel leaf of Ford style beam ?

 

thats how its setup right now but im going to change it to have the leaf sprin onto of the ibeam.

 

yes, you heard right....i beam axles aren't worth a shit , and should not be used on any car

 

you have parallel now, and you're going to change to Ford style transverse spring?

How are the roads where you live?

 

What are you building? If it's a hot rod.........mandentory I-beam. $.02

 

bump steer out the ass

 

it looks just like this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fron...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

well im not sure what im going to do yet if i dont use this then im going with a ifs because i no its alot better for a daily driver the roads here are ok but they suck like any other roads and have pot holes and what not

 

Ford only used them for a few years. There are hardly any left on the roads because they didn't work right....oh wait Ford used them from 1903 until 1996...or sumthin like that. Look under a newer big truck.......cement truck, semi, whatever. Yep, still used.

 

Too much $$$$. Keep shopping.

 

I have one with the transverse spring and a Vega box and I have no problems with handling issues nor do I experience bump steer (especially out of any body orifices...). Having said that, good handling is subjective; you really need to see for yourself whether you like it or not. My standards are probably not the same as yours.

 

If you set it up right, it will work right. I love em! All the bad things you hear are from bad or incorrect installation. You will not need a steering damper, there will not be bump steer & it will handle fine as long as it is done right.

 

well i never done a i beam setup before so could you help me out and let me no the right way to do this???? or do you have some pics i could see to see what all it would take to make this work correct

 

sorry i thought u had a twin i beam.... I was watching something about the olsen twins.....my f up

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford...ae7QQitemZ280407497447QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks

how does this setup drive??? or is it crap??? not knocking anyones ride just want a good true answer because i keep hearing mixed thoughts about this. hope these pics help you help me thanks again

 

Straight axles handle just fine if they are set up right and you grew up with them. If you are going from a Accura to a jalopy you are going to think it doesn't handle for chit. But its a hot rod you just have to learn how to drive it and remember that it isn't a modern car.

Hell if you were driving a Porsche 914 and jumped in the Astin Martin from Gold finger you would think it handled like a truck. Which is more classic well the Astin of course.

 

We dont know how that car rides because we never rode in it.

 

I have a transverse spring setup in my 34 chevy and I do not have bump steer, using a vega cross steer. You feel the road but that goes with the territory. If you go fenderless in my opinion thats the only way to go, thats a hot rod. With fenders I'd go mustang II. My .02 also

 

Take a walk aound a few of the rod shows in your area. Either IFS or an I-beam can be set up to work well. If the front end shows, you may want to run the I-beam simply to have it look right. Steering type and geometry need to be sound, but it's not that hard to achieve. You mentioned Rack and Pinion, I've seen the cross-chassis link type used, as a push-pull on the passenger side steering arm (mounted thru the second tapered hole, behind the regular cross-chassis arm). I've had good results mounting a standard rack system directly to the I-beam, on the back side. The one precaution builders mention w/the corvair box and drag link setup, is the possible ground clearance issue.

 

I beams kinda suck for daily driving. They tend to jump around on rutted roads, and track with grooves in the pavement. There is bumpsteer. Parallell or transverse handling aren't that much different. Parallel rides better. The I beams I have driven work ok but have weird handling.

 

thanks for the help and yeah im not running a hood or fenders i like the open look and its not going to sit on the ground but it will sit some what low. i think im going to have it off the ground about 1foot or 1 1/2foot from the ground to the bottom of the body/frame

 

no matter how you set it up all your children will be born naked

 

You never said what you were going to put it in. The original design that Henry came up with works great. If you start to make some radical changes, you better know what you are diong.

 

First of all it's Rack and Pinion , and second a steering damper from a VW or any other car does NOT take out "play" in the steering. "Play" is loose motion in the steering , adding a damper shock will not cure that.

 

From your profile you need a complete education on traditional hot rodding. Before you start any build read up and observe. the basic I-beam, transverse spring suspension has been on the road for well over a hundred years. STUDY and LEARN before jumping in. Better yet get to know some REAL hot rodders in your area and let them introduce you to the right way to set up a real hot rod suspension. Not much from Mini-trucking will do you a lot good over here on the dark side.

Frank

 

if i go with a IFR and IRS then the mini trucking does come into play because ifs and irs setups arnt very hard to do it just takes alot of time. i am new to the i beam stuff. also im not here for my spelling lol. i am trying to learn about the i beam setup hint to why i asked about them??????? you all dont like the name RAT ROD but its a general name for trad. rods. if you dont build crap then why get mad if someone calls it a rat rod. the name rat rod is more common then trad. rods.

i got some REAL hot rodder friends but they build theirs diff. and not the style i like. they put the bodys back to stock other then chopping the top and built motors their not much on the i beams so thats why i asked. so how else can you learn if you dont ask questions????

 

WHAT are you building? how much HP are you handling? if you're going to run a beam axle up front, what are you running out back? is it torque tube or four link or hairpins? are you setting it up "gasser" style or raked? are you planning a "suicide" front end? little details like these will eliminate much of the asskicking you're getting.
what are you USED to driving? if you're fresh out of a miniJap and expect the same handling on a rod you're going to be A. disappointed B. pissed at how much time and money it takes to get that kind of handling and C. not a rodder very long. if, however, you've spent twenty-thirty years driving all kinds of cars and trucks in all stages of disrepair, then you know ahead of time what to expect driving a straight axle car. i've had several straight axle trucks and vans, always headed where i pointed them, and didn't wander. can't even say THAT about my Taurus.

 

A little background on two "impolite" words around heah.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=395851

 

In my buddys 32 roadster we used to stay right on corvettes a- - coming down the mountains.

full house 3/8x3/8 ,

 

Don't get your dick in a knot. You asked for opinions and you're getting them. It's obvious from your first post that you need to be educated about beam axles. They've been on the road for over 100 years, so there must be something to it.
All of your REAL rodding buddies don't seem to know their asses from their elbows , so you come hear and expect people to do your research for you. Then the real cherry on top of the sundae is you telling everyone that their hot rods are really rat rods. You're not making too many friends here yet.
As to your spelling? Racken pinion??? You are just another example of a failed public educational system. You don't need to be particularly smart. It is all a matter of perception. Appear to know what you're talking about and you will get a bit more respect.
If you are even considering the purchase of that 350 buck front clip from Ebay, then you are getting exactly what you deserve. Look around and you can get that sort of stuff for free. Additionally, a racken pinion will not work on a beam axle. It's been done by mounting it to the axle, but it is, by far, not the hot setup.