ladder bar adjustment

Talking about degrees makes me think you're trying to check your pinion angle? That's completely different then adjusting the instant center higher or lower. As long as your setup has front and rear adjustments on the bars, you can raise or lower the front without effecting the pinion angle. As "bahavan" said, raising the front of the bars hit's the tires harder, and getting a little loose can happen even with a good setup if the track isn't just right. Making some passes will really tell you what you need.