rallyman 0 Posted March 24, 2007 Quick Question.... So whats the difference between a 1.6 Gti and a non Gti rear beam? I know that the haynes says 1328mm to 1300mm, how do they manufacture the extra track in??????? The details.... Ok, its a bit of a long one but, I value your oppinions and I would welcome them: My 205 Gti 1.6 which Ive used once, all standard (apart from seized rear beam) and 13" rwd wheels, drove ok-ish well was on an airfield - zoomin round! I had to replace the rear beam (while mine is being stripped etc..) and the only one I could find was a non GTi one, its from a 5 door Zest thingey. Before I put it on I measured all the beam dimensions and the beam appeared to be the same...ok apart from the brakes. Distances same across width not including brakes. Beam width is the same The mountings behind the drums are the same! The stub axles are the same! Ive bolted it all up now and it would appear that the car has MUCH less rear track! Where has this extra track come from? I could only find 5mm (x2 = 10mm) on the drums! Or do I have a 1314mm width beam The wheels are now closer to the inner arch...is this tooo close?? Is it that I have gone mad and didn't notice the difference when I first used the car? Is it that I have to hurry up double time and get the GTI beam rebuilt? And which points do the measure the track from??? Ok the car will be used primarily on the rough and I know that the TB's are thinner and that there is no ARB, but this is experimental! Many Many thanking you's for your info! Cheers Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackherer 543 Posted March 24, 2007 The track is the least of your worries, the torsion bars and antiroll bars will be thinner than GTI spec ones. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pug_ham 244 3 Cars Posted March 24, 2007 The difference in track, there is quite a big difference between front & rear track as standard anyway; 1392mm > 1328mm for the 1.6 GTi. Without seeing the distance between the tyre & inner wing on a standard full GTi beam to compare I wouldn't like to say if thats to close or not. All you can do is try it & see. Are the rims the similar in offset & width to the 1.6 GTi wheels? (et25 & 5.5")? Graham. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rallyman 0 Posted March 24, 2007 The distance between the front/back works out to be about an inch and a bit... either side though this seems too little from what I have it seems more like 2-3 though this could be with the rwd wheels on. With any luck I should be seeing Kierans 205's tomorrow to compare with! I dont know off hand about the size/spacing of the alloys at the moment though they are from mySunbeam, and they are the Lotus Rims I think they are 6J's with 185 rubber, but I think that the offset will be different. I will try to find some of the pictures from the event to check against. Cheers Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest smokinslim Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) The main difference between the beams is in the size of the drums, not a massive difference really. If your running steelies then they're probably not as wide as your alloys, which would cause a bigger difference. If your gti beam is past it you could fit the TBs, ARB and complete brakes to the basemodel beam effectively making it a gti beam. As long as your tyres aren't touching the inner arches the distance should be ok. Edited March 25, 2007 by smokinslim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
welshpug 1,657 Posted March 25, 2007 just what I was going to mention, the GTi drums are wider than the base spec drums, and the track is taken from the centre of the wheel are they not? which means the differing offsets will affect it slightly on top of the differing drums/disc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baz 421 Posted March 25, 2007 Where are these pics Michael!! You may have a point there guys, the 1.6 GTi beam runs the wheels pretty close to the inner arches anyway, hopefully it won't be that much different, as the RWD wheels run a lesser offset anyway, giving it a wider stance if anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rallyman 0 Posted March 25, 2007 Piqs will be uploaded tomorrow, so watch this space! Kieran had a looky and was puzzled as me! we tried some normal 1.6 Gti alloys on it, Kierans 205 was running a 309 beam with 15"s so the gap was lot bigger to the inner wheel arch The wheels shown are 6Jx13 (rwd off set) rather than the 5.5Jx14 std alloys. I just looks like the rear track has shrunk since I beam swapped The Gti brakes are still on the car!! Ho Hum Will post the pics soon! Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
