Tortion Bars and Camber?

-
Hang10Mike

Hang10Mike

Active Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2011
Messages
39
Reaction score
1
Location
Florida
I am a little new to Mopars and tortion bars. My Hang 10 is chewing up front tires from the inside. I see it has negative camber and a friend mentioned tightening the tortion bars to help straighten up the tires? I know the bars are used to tighten up ride and cornering on a unibody, do they also serve to align camber?
 
if the nose is on the ground then yes it will help...

if your happy with the ride height and it dosn't bottom out then you need to do an alignment to correct the issue...
 
Torsion bars, which are a type of spring, support the weight of the vehicle and dictate ride height.

Camber is generally adjusted with the upper control arms. The control arms are fastened to the inner fender structure with through bolts that are attached to eccentric cams. The cams adjust the arm in or out which changes camber and caster.

Before you start tweaking things, establish ride height first, then caster, camber and lastly toe. Ride height is adjusted with the torsion bar adjusters.

And obviously you need to fix worn out parts before you perform any alignment procedures. :thumbup:
 
The higher the front end goes the more negative the camber will become. The upper arm will drop and pull the top in.
But to answer your question directly
do they also serve to align camber?
Click to expand...
No. You will have an eccentric (cam) on the upper control arm that does that. There's two of them that adjust camber and caster.
 
Thank you giys for the advice, it is greatly appreciated! My frontend is actually quite low with the rear up on Super Stock leafs, and I've often wondered if the rake would affect the weight distribution and in turn camber. I was thinking allignment but a friend mentioned tortion bars so I thought I'd ask before goin' nuts on it. I will look at arms first. Thanks again!!!
 
Also, get out of your head the notion that adjusting the torsion bars does anything to stiffen the front end. AS long as the frame is not sitting on the LCA bumpers the spring rate will not change with a ride height adjustment. All the adjutment does is rotate the LCA up or down in reference to the short arm that is part of the torsion bar socket.
 
Very low in the front anad very high in the back changes caster angle. Caster and camber are both adjusted in the same upper arm ecentrics or changing either effects the other. You could get more adjustment from Moogs offset upper arm bushings.
If you already have a wear pattern established in the tires you may as well ride on until time the buy tires again.
Then again, If you are riding on the upper bump stops 95 % of the time lifting the front suspension via the torsion bars will make it handle a lot better especially if you have a stabilizer bar.
 
You may like the "stinkbug" look but it's terrible for steering and handling.
 
Thanks RedFish, I was wondering how much bearing the rake would have on performance...unfortunately i now know. lol. Actually car rides and handles very well set up this way BUT I see what ya mean on caster and camber. As for tires, Showing cable already so I'm parked this week. Thanks for the input though, It is appreciated. I will look into raising the front end again.
 
I would check you toe in if it chewing up tires. This is more likely the cause unless the camber is really far out. like the other guys said check for worn components before getting too carried away. Severly worn lower balljoints will give toe and camber issues all in one. And lets face it the a-body front ends aren't exactly the toughest and most durable!
 
340duster said:
I would check you toe in if it chewing up tires. This is more likely the cause unless the camber is really far out. like the other guys said check for worn components before getting too carried away. Severly worn lower balljoints will give toe and camber issues all in one. And lets face it the a-body front ends aren't exactly the toughest and most durable!
Click to expand...

I agree, check the toe too. Camber is a tire wearing adjustment, but I've run as much as -1 degree of camber without any tire wear issues. On the other hand, too much toe in or out will chew up tires, and FAST. Camber, unless its way out, will usually take a lot longer.

Adjusting the ride height with the torsion bars does change your suspension geometry, and if you go too far with the ride height you'll run out of adjustment with the camber bolts on the UCA's. Offset bushings can help you get some more adjustment there.

But it sounds like you should definitely get an alignment before you put new tires on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top