Ride Height Restored!

[vanceboy]

So, the charger had been lowered 3 inches when I bought it. (See before picture)

Took out the lowering blocks in the rear and cranked on the adjusters in the front.

Now THAT'S what a charger is supposed to look like!

(don't worry about the blue door protectors, they come off)

 

[Cranky]

Yeah, the top pic is too low but the bottom pic is a hair too high. Does it have sway bars front and rear and did raising it change the handling?

 

[hunt2elk]

Much better. What size are your tires?

 

[vanceboy]

255/60/15 rear and 215/70/15 front.

I am thinking of going with something a little meater but I'm not sure if the magnum 500 wheels I have can handle anything bigger

 

[vanceboy]

Yeah, the top pic is too low but the bottom pic is a hair too high. Does it have sway bars front and rear and did raising it change the handling?

It has a sway bar in the front.

Not too much I can do about the rear height.

The front is still about a 1/2" lower then spec but I didn't want to go any higher

Seems to handle better, less wallowy

 

[Fran Blacker]

It has a sway bar in the front.

Not too much I can do about the rear height.

The front is still about a 1/2" lower then spec but I didn't want to go any higher

Seems to handle better, less wallowy

low wasn't bad, agree looks better up. I would run front down an inch and or rear up an inch. J my HO and it's your car and what you like is all that matters!

 

[Kern Dog]

Raising the front put more preload into the torsion bars so they are actually under more tension.
For example, a Mopar with the torsion bars adjusted all the way UP will feel more stiff than one set to a standard ride height.
Unfortunately, the steering geometry of these cars changes over the travel of the suspension. The taller the car is, the less caster it will have.
The car does look better at the current ride height....a comment I didn't expect to make given my usual preferences....

 

[RemCharger]

Lookin' good! No more sacked out grandpa- mobile

 

[pnora]

Raising the front put more preload into the torsion bars so they are actually under more tension.
For example, a Mopar with the torsion bars adjusted all the way UP will feel more stiff than one set to a standard ride height.
Unfortunately, the steering geometry of these cars changes over the travel of the suspension. The taller the car is, the less caster it will have.
The car does look better at the current ride height....a comment I didn't expect to make given my usual preferences....

View attachment 1801466

The torsion bar itself is under the same tension at any height.

 

[Kern Dog]

No, it isn't. Try adjusting a tension screw against something and then show me how more tension on the screw doesn't equate to more tension on the bar.
The term "Preload" applies here.

 

[steve340]

Don't forget to get a good guy to align the front suspension.

 

[RemCharger]

No, it isn't. Try adjusting a tension screw against something and then show me how more tension on the screw doesn't equate to more tension on the bar.
The term "Preload" applies here.

It would apply more tension if the car simultaneously got heavier while you turned it. Or chained the car to the ground.

 

[pnora]

No, it isn't. Try adjusting a tension screw against something and then show me how more tension on the screw doesn't equate to more tension on the bar.
The term "Preload" applies here.

If you could mark the loaded twist on the bar at its lowest adjustment and again at its highest setting the twist would be the same. The bar is supporting the same weight.

 

[Kern Dog]

I find it strange that any and every car that I have raised up feels more tightly sprung than one at or below stock height. How could you explain that?
I'm not being stubborn, I just don't see the legitimacy of the claim that tension against the T bar doesn't affect the ride.

 

[pnora]

I find it strange that any and every car that I have raised up feels more tightly sprung than one at or below stock height. How could you explain that?
I'm not being stubborn, I just don't see the legitimacy of the claim that tension against the T bar doesn't affect the ride.

I think its more of a geometry change that changes the ride. That and the travel change puts it closer to the upper and lower rubber snubbers depending on which way you go. I know when to high when you drop into a pot hole the suspension only drops a bit until the upper arm snubber contacts. With that happening the suspension travel has stopped and then the whole car dips into the pot hole. To low and you hit the lower snubber on bumps. Both situations make a rougher ride.

 

[dadsbee]

A 1000 lbs to lift is a thousands pounds, no matter where you lift it to!

 

[Kern Dog]

When you turn the adjuster screw, the ride height changes and the torsion bar either twists more o e direction or the other.

 

[dadsbee]

When you turn the adjuster screw, the ride height changes and the torsion bar either twists more o e direction or the other.

It does not. The length the bolt is threaded out dictates the height, bar doesn't twist anymore than it already was supporting the existing weight.

 

[RemCharger]

The car just goes up or down.

 

[nitro_rat]

When you turn the adjuster screw, the ride height changes and the torsion bar either twists more o e direction or the other.

If you crank the screw with the weight of the car on it this is true - until you roll the car and release the stored energy...

It does not. The length the bolt is threaded out dictates the height, bar doesn't twist anymore than it already was supporting the existing weight.

Exactly, you're just changing the clocking of the hex at one end of the bar relative to the position of the rest of the vehicle.