torsion bars / drag racing

tnts72 said

Gotta have the setup right for a wheels up car...

A a really stiff setting on shock compression will be what saves a car from crashing down after a wheels up launch, no so much the torsion bar...

2 reasons I see for running the slant 6 bars or even the smallest v8 non ac bars:

1.) You can store more energy in them because they are twisting further than a giant PST aftermarket bar. This allows the front end to be lower if desired - upward front end travel is typically a good thing in low powered cars. Low power as in 500hp or less

2.) Lighter weight.

Click to expand...

#1 is what I've read, somewhere there's a good write up in this but I can't find it... Basically the /6 bar has a lower spring rate than the thicker bar, so in order for it to carry the weight of the front end it has to be "twisted" further, placing it under more tension... So you get the quicker nose rise, and also quick nose drop once the car "settles in" going down track...

The theory is Also shown by the larger bars needing to be "clocked different" (having the hexes offset) in order to achieve a lower ride height... It takes such little "twisting" of the bar to hold the light A-body front end, the adjusters don't have to be in very far on a factory clocked bar to reach ride height.

Joe