Can somebody please help me understand the purpose of the adjustable end links on the rb rear bar?

 

The stiffness of a sway bar comes from the size of the material as well as the length of the arms from the center line of the pivot points. An adjustment of the arm length will change the rate of the bar. Shorter the arms the stiffer the bar, longer the arms the softer the bar.

-billy

 

Ok, I got all that, but what does this mean in terms of handling/cornering? In thinking about the geometry of it, it seems that shortening the links will give me less roll in the corners, while lengthening them will give me a more responsive launch due to the added pre-load on the rear suspension. Is there a flaw in my thinking, and do I just have to find a happy medium of both?

 

What added preload? Maybe I'm missing something, but swaybars will/should have very little to do with straight line response.

 

The adjustment affects under/oversteer, nothing more. Stiffer, more oversteer, looser, more understeer.

 

Trochoid, did you miss type this? Which would be less understeer?

My experience is generally with four link rearends, and with them, when you try to launch, as the torque hits the wheels, the rearend has a tendency to try to roll forward/upward as a reaction. By placing a restriction, such as traction or ladder bars, you inhibit this roll, causing all the force to be applied in a downward direction.
I really don't see the sway bar being strong enough to fight that travel without bending, but now you at least know the basis of my thought train.

 

Never mind. I misread it.

 

Is it safe to say that this car will be used mainly for drag racing?

 

On the rare occasion that I race it, yes, it's drag racing. Also it's a daily driver, and a sunday "spirited" driver. When I race it, I can't hook up. I'm not about to be the fool with slicks on a 14 second car, and rpm's don't seem to have a lot of affect on my launch. If I launch under 3k I can hook it, but as soon as I stab it, it breaks loose, and second gear is just as bad. I'd go with a taller tire, but I think that would kill my rpm's in the distance. Right now I break the traps in 3rd at about 6500 and 92 to 94mph.

 

I guess none of the above really matters since I RARELY race it. I just drive it daily, and sometimes a little aggresively. I know nothing really about the effects or the rear sway bar, and I don't want to be upside down in a field. So here's my million dollar question....For basic "fun" driving, how do I want to set this thing, and what am I looking for in feel?

 

Well I have the 3 adjustment holes on my aftermarket sway bar and I just set it right in the middle for a nice tight feel but not too much.

 

i took my stock rear sway bar off and had great results. so i'm thinking that softer would be better.

 

Great results for what? That thing should wanna drive pretty soft or something........

 

well, before i took it out, the car was oversteering way too much. now the car is much more neutral, easily controlled. I might be putting the stock rear back on once i get the whole suspension done, but i'll check it out without the rear first and then compare with the rear on.

 

Sounds sensible.

 

For feel what your looking for is a car that can power through corners without giving you the feeling that it is unstable and about to slide. I have an RB rear bar set to full stiff and I have a hard time getting the rear end to slide in the dry weather, which is a good thing. Just make sure you have good tires, because all seasons will slide without much provocation. I know because it cost me a wheel and an axle. The reason a sway bar won't effect straight line traction is because it is designed to move up and down in a straight line with the axle. The anti-roll characteristics only come into play when one side is moving opposite the other which forces the bar to twist. The bars resistance to this twisting force is what enables the body to stay flat with the road and suspension instead of rolling to the side.

 

Anti-sway bars do just what they say, control sway, which is induced during cornering. Does absolutely nothing for drag launches. Traction bars, ladders bars, etc. are designed for that. Road racing and drag racing suspension setups are non-complimentary of each other.

 

A car specifically set up for drag racing will not be much fun to drive on the roads. You'd be looking for a very soft rear end, to help absorb the power of the launch without breaking loose. And that's just for starters, but its more than enough to make the car a pig when you try to hit some turns.

Since you also want a fun spirited driving car, for occasional drag racing, I would suggest setting the car up for fun driving but use an adjustable rear shock. That would allow you to set the rear end soft for drag racing, but firm it back up for everything else.

www.re-speed.com has some great products. You can get the Illumina shocks by Tokico, which are 5 way adjustable and work great. You can also look into coilovers, which allow you to set the ride height you want, and choose the spring rate you want. Lots of goodies to be found there. Billy is a regular member on this site, and if you tell him what you want out of the car, he will be happy to advise you. That's what I did, and he set me up with exactly what I wanted and the car is performing well beyond my expectations. His username here is Bwaits, so send him a PM and he'll get you pointed in the right direction.


.