Ride quality even worse than expected. Advice welcome.
Personally, any person running t bars over an inch is probably applying principles that they wish they could apply to their dick.
I get a kick out of all the stiffening people do to their chassis after they run the biggest t bars and thickest leaves on the market cuz you know....
Bigger is better.
Like maybe the chassis doesn't need to be rock hard and rigid if their suspension on their STREET car has some compliance.
If you don't want a lumber wagon, stop building a lumber wagon.
And yes, I'm ready for the hate. Bring it.
Hate? No reason to hate. It's pretty obvious you don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about though.
First off, the problems that mrGTX is describing aren't an issue with 1.14" torsion bars. He has an install or alignment issue. I know that because my car with 1.12" bars doesn't have any of those issues. So, right off the bat I know the problem isn't just that he's running large torsion bars. There's no reason a car with 1.14" bars has to ride like a "lumber wagon". Mine doesn't. Set up properly a car with torsion bars that size should ride similarly to a modern performance car. After all, most modern performance cars run a wheel rate similar to what you get from a 1.06-1.14" torsion bar.
Second, if it was just a "bigger is better" deal, we'd all be running 1.24" bars. You can get them from Firm Feel or Sway Away. So really your logic doesn't apply. Heck, if we really were just working off of "bigger is better" we'd all install C-body torsion bar anchors and adjusters so we could go BIGGER than 1.24". That is after all what they did on the NASCAR and oval track Mopars back in the day. A-body anchors are only 1.25", so they limit the bar diameter to 1.24". The C-body anchors are larger, so you can go even bigger- all the way up to 1.40" if you wanted. And Firm Feel will custom make the bars for you if you want.
Finally, I've run 1" bars on the street. Even the 225/60/15 Falken Ziex's I ran for awhile were more than they could handle. The ride was still too soft and the suspension travel needed for that wheel rate precluded lowering the car much at all from stock. I couldn't lower the car enough to get the best suspension geometry for radials. When I went to 275/35/18's up front they simple couldn't deal with the amount of grip the tires had. Sway bars weren't enough, the torsion bars had to go larger.
Bottom line is, there are several members here that frequently put their cars on road and autoX courses. Most of them quite successfully. They all run 1.06" or larger torsion bars.
AutoXcuda- 1.14" torsion bars
GmachineDartGT- 1.06" torsion bars
Tomswheels- 1.06" torsion bars
"Redbrick"- 1.20" torsion bars - formerly lilcuda's car, it is a well documented performance road racer
[SOLD] - 1968 Valiant road racer
Both the Hotchkis Challenger and Taxi run torsion bars in the 1.1" or 1.12" range. The B/E torsion bar spring rates are slightly lower than an A-body bar in the same diameter (B/E body bars are longer), but they're still more than what a 1.06" bar would give you. Their exploits are well documented. And Hotchkis does their homework.
So yes, there is a reason why the best handling Mopars are all running 1.06" to 1.14" torsion bars, even on the street. And it has nothing to do with "bigger is better". It has to do with matching your tires and traction levels to your suspensions capabilities.
