Throttle cable

[FV90]

OK I have had some throttle cable "issues". My current wire runs thru a hard brake cable since it is close to the exhaust, but is there somesort of bicycle cable or ??? that does not fray easy?

[Dietmar]

If a stock VW cable is your choice, then I would go to a motorcycle repair shop and buy their brake cable sheathing ( cover) .The VW cable fits inside nicely. You will have to make some sort of end to go over the sheathing - sometimes as simple as a round piece of steel with a hole drilled for the cable and another larger hole drilled for the cover to slide into.

If you can not find this , let me know.

Hope this helps.

Dietmar
http://www.quixoteracing.com

[Veefan]

I know I'll get a lot of flack for this post many Vees use Bicycle type cables.

Bicycle cables fray easily, especially if they are exposed to harsh weather... water, dirt, etc. Hard core bike riders change the cables every few years, not sure that many racers do... A great solution is to go with a morse type cable they are used in dune buggys and are very heavy duty. The cables are push pull... so you can have springs on both ends of the cable. They also so not flex as easily as the bicycle cables so you need to take that into account. Well worth the extra $$. I'm not sure if any of the Vee supplers carry them... hint, hint it would be a nice upgrade for the typical cables. EMPI also also makes a similar cable.

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http://www.appletreeauto.com/push-pull- ... -1475.html

[brian]

No flack deserved for bicycle cables. I use a tandem bike brake cable and it fits perfectly and costs $2.50. Yes I replace them once in a while, maybe one a year, but no big deal. Many good bicycle shops carry the sheathes as well. I use their housing ends to affix both ends of the cable. The secret is to NOT lubricate the cable. It only attracts dirt and shortens it's life.

[smsazzy]

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I have one of these hanging on the wall of my garage. $20 plus shipping and it is yours.....

Works fine, I took it out to save a few ounces of weight.

[SR Racing]

The morse cables are nice, but not real flexible when requiring short radius turns. We use and sell cable and sheath by the foot. It is similar to bycycle brake cable. The sheath is nylon inner, wrapped in steel, with a rubber? outer cover. You can literally make a 180 degree turn in a 2in radius with no real measureable drag. It requires no lubrication. We have been using it for years and many cars, with no problems.

[119097]

Something I did was pretty strong never broke. I used 1/8 thick steel cable and used the truck air hose (plastic runs to the brake actuators sort of mini pvc only very strong and flexable.) as the cover/sheathing.

[Mad Dog Racing]

I used bicycle cables for years, but I always had adjustment problems, they stretch a lot when new and when they stop stretching, they break. The latest car has some kind of VW woven van cable that is reasonably flexible and doesn't seem to stretch. I ordered a stock VW cable from NAPA and it was more of a wire, not a cable. I have it as an emergency spare maybe, but I'm not sure I would use it unless I had to.

Once I priced out one of those trick push/pull cables for the FF and decided I really just needed a heavier return spring and some never seize.

[Ed Womer]

Like Jim says, bycicle sheathing which is nylon inner wrapped in flexable steel and with plastic outer is definatly the way to go but I use 1/16 stainless wire rope (the proper name for good cable) as the cable. I buy it in 50 or 100 foot lenghts and use the tig tourch to melt the ends together when cutting so they don't fray apart. I used to wrap the end aroung and thorough the barrel that the stock cable goes into but have made ends on the lathe and insert the calbe into it and crimp it in a press to keep it from pulling out. The other end is a short piece of 3/4 flat stock that piviots on the throttle pedal and has a 1/4 bolt in the other end and the cable loops around the bolt and when tightend under a washer is heald in place. The biggest thing is to use a throttle stop and make sure it is adjusted so when full throttle is atained the pedal is just off the stop or else you will eventually put to much stress on any cable and break it or bend something in the carb/intake assembly.

Ed

[brian]

If your car has a proper throttle stop, it should stretch the cable. Like most drivers I push the crap out of the pedal and if it wasn't for the pedal stop I'd kill a cable every weekend.

[FV90]

Appreciate all the advice, it is a few months before the Barber Labor Day race so I will try and get this problem solved and out of the way early.