Help with ladder bar adjustments

[John Mason]

Originally Posted by GTO/GN

When I had my Firebird backhalfed, they installed a ladder bar/coil over setup. This is how I was told to set it up. Take something that weights the same as the driver..( me) and put it in the drivers seat... Then take the bolt out of the front left side ladder bar and adjust it so the bolt slips through with no resistance. Then go to the passenger side remove the front bolt and adjust the bar so the hole in the bar is about 3/4 the diameter of the hole higher than the hole in the mount. Pull the bar down and install bolt.. Sounded to easy ... but it worked the car would leave straight and hard. He told me that was a base line for setting it up , but I never changed it.

FWIT, a rather well known chassis builder showed me a trick like above BUT he had me adjust the RIGHT side for the bolt to slip thru and LOWER the left side 3/4 of the hole then jack UP the bar to install the bolt. He pointed out it was the same net preload, just much easier to jack the left bar up rather than pull the right bar down.
The car showed the same wheel weights and left the same either way but it is only a mid 1.40 60' car.

[GTO/GN]

Originally Posted by John Mason

FWIT, a rather well known chassis builder showed me a trick like above BUT he had me adjust the RIGHT side for the bolt to slip thru and LOWER the left side 3/4 of the hole then jack UP the bar to install the bolt. He pointed out it was the same net preload, just much easier to jack the left bar up rather than pull the right bar down.
The car showed the same wheel weights and left the same either way but it is only a mid 1.40 60' car.

Yeah I guess the end result would be the same...I never ever thought of that,, but since the way I outlined it was the way I was told.. I just did it.. Not knowing any different...But it wasn't hard to pull the bar down, maybe because of the length of bar the leverage helped.