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| Sway bars & torsion bars for road racing https://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=51479 |
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| Author: | SpaceFrank [ Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:15 am ] |
| Post subject: | Sway bars & torsion bars for road racing |
For background, my '64 Dart is set up for road racing. Running the full course at CMP last weekend, we were lifting the inside rear tire on hard turns and losing a lot of speed, especially on right-handers. I currently have brand new "Road Race" springs from FirmFeel in the back and stock /6 torsion bars up front. My current thinking is to upgrade the torsion bars and add a front sway bar like one of these: http://www.summitracing.com/search/part ... model/dart Once this is done, I plan to test drive the car and then add a skinnier rear sway bar to hopefully balance out the handling (neutral with a dash of oversteer, shaken not stirred). My questions: 1. What size torsion bars should I go with? For now, we are still running a 225, but an ill-advised engine swap may be in the cards next year if we get bored of being slow. I don't particularly care about the ride stiffness. I'll drive the car around town for fun occasionally, but it's primarily a race car. I'll also be lowering the front end some more, so stiffer is better, right? My understanding is that cranking down the T-bar adjusters will soften your spring rate somewhat. 2. Would you guys recommend a hollow sway bar over a solid one? I presume that the hollow ones will be stiffer for a given weight. Still, I'm trying to weigh the difference in stiffness between, say, a solid 1-1/8" bar vs. a hollow 1-1/4" bar. I'm not sure the huge hollow ones would be worth the added cost in my application. 3. General suggestions on sway bar sizes, front and rear? I've searched the forum and read up on several peoples' sway bar installations, and I think I can handle that. Having a welder makes things much easier sometimes. |
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| Author: | Dart270 [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 5:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
I would go with tbars in the range 0.920-1.04" - higher end of that if you can find them. 1.125" front sway, rear sway will not be needed. De-arch rear springs at least 2", maybe more like 3-4", and possibly remove the lowest (5th) leaf. You can still get a lot more power out of that engine with head milling and home port work (cheap) and maybe the 1.70/1.44 valves and a regrind cam. Mill head for 9-10:1 comp (you are probably below 8.0:1 now). Carry on! Lou |
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| Author: | SpaceFrank [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 9:03 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
So far, the only place I've found offering torsion bars larger than .920 is FirmFeel, and they offer all the way up to 1.18. We probably won't bother with any head work before the May race, but a new carb and bigger exhaust pipe are definitely coming. |
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| Author: | Dart270 [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 10:55 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
Look on ebay or ask on this site or moparts for bigger tbars. Just Suspension and PST should have them too. manciniracing.com might also have some Mopar ones left? Lou |
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| Author: | zorg [ Fri Mar 22, 2013 7:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
I'm running 1" Firm Feel bars on my '76, cranked down quite low (trimmed bump stops). Save a couple bucks by getting them here: http://www.justsuspension.com/pro-touri ... -bars.html I also have the Addco 1.125" solid sway bar, with no rear bar (I have a 3/4" rear bar on the shelf, but haven't felt a need to install it). I haven't raced mine, but it's carved many a winding mountain road. I'm going to have to agree with Lou, it's a great set up. I have 6 leaf ESPO springs out back, that will get a leaf or two removed this spring to soften the rear up a little, and maybe lower it too. |
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| Author: | Dart270 [ Sat Mar 23, 2013 4:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | |
There ya go! Lou |
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