Coil Over vs Torsion Bar

AAndrews said
I've been following this discussion with much interest and can appreciate the pros and Cons that everyone is presenting. Great discussion BTW !! The one thing that keeps coming up to me personally is why , if torsion bar systems are cheaper and as effective as coils are.. why did the Auto manufacturers give up on further developing them for future models? Why does the Demon or Hell Cat not have them? Camaro, Vette Mustang ??, Why did no one develop a rack and pinion steering system to work with torsion bars?
When I was doing my research I could not find any reputable source for this product as I would have probably stayed with the torsion bars, having already invested in upgraded factory T-bars, steering components and K member upgrades.. I did see a few but they proved to be poorly engineered after thoughts and inherently unsafe. I finally decided on RMS (sorry Denny but I did not know about your products at the time) as everything I read and researched on their products was positive. Most of the other suppliers I found unknowledgeable, rude or dis-interested and after seeing their products, I know I made a good choice.
As everyone on here knows , Mopar Action has nothing good to say about RMS but has no back-up to show any failure due to the deficiencies they suggest are inherent in Bill Reilly's design. His product has been around long enough and with customers racking up enough miles that any design flaw would be showing up by now, especially with number of members here who are using it. Not taking anything away from Rick Ehrenberg's engineering analysis as this guy certainly knows what he talks about and is very proficient when it comes to all things Mopar but Ill make my decisions on tangible results, not theories or speculation.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth , having gone the upgraded factory route and then switching to a coilover rack and pinion setup. It was an expensive journey , I figure over $10,000 factoring in brake upgrades. My opinion?
Even if rack and pinion was available for torsion bar systems now, I would never go back. I am absolutely satisfied with my new setup.

The biggest reason if I had to guess is weight. At least in the cars. Now look at Chevy trucks over the last few years, even Toyota and Nissians, a lot of those models use torsion bar suspensions now.

A rack and pinion can be done with a torsion bar set up, but as for retrofitting into these old mopar muscle cars, it really can't be done right. The steering geometry required to eliminate bump steer and Ackerman issues means the rack has to be placed in a spot that requires moving the engine forward and upwards, thus raising the center of gravity and other issues. Some have tried for straight line cars and had it work OK but most ditch it as even in the straight line, a severe enough Ackerman issue can be dangerous.