waddisme

Installing my Pfadts this week before RA Sat. Need to figure out how to adj without a lift. I thought of setting car on 4 ramps if I can figure how to keep car from rolling off. How long should car sit to get re-settled?

sperkins

You can drive it up on 2 ramps to do each end.
The other option is to put jack stands under each ball joint, but that's a little more risky.

davidfarmer

I don't think you need to settle the car a lot just for setting bars.....not as big a deal as adjusting springs on scales. You can do the rears without even jacking the car up if you don't mind getting dirty (and maybe a busted knuckle). I'd set the fronts in the middle setting, then play with the rears on the ground myself.

If not, any way you can load the suspension is fine. Jack stands/wood blocks under control arms, ramps, etc.

waddisme

So the loading issue is just from side to side and not as much front to back? I can get at the rears easily in my garage. I have some ramps I can set the fronts on. Maybe it won't be as hard as I assume they will be.

mgarfias

hubstands!

sperkins

Yeah that's right - side to side. If you can't get them adjusted exactly how you want, just set them both to the stock length (4.25" center to center) until you can get it up on a lift.

waddisme

$1000

Surprised more of the the hardcore racers don't have this.

froggy47

Just drive up on ramps for the front & back up the ramps for back. One end at a time.

mgarfias

Theres also the accu-line setup from mittler bros (should be enough to get you there via google). Those start at 700.

VETTERACER11

Is it mandatory to adjust the sways with the suspension loaded? What happens if you jack the car up and adj the sways with the suspension hanging down unloaded. is there really any difference as long as both sides of the sway bar is either loaded or unloaded?

dbratten

You can't assume you have equal droop on each side in relation to the loaded height of the suspension. You can be close enough to drive safely with this method but not necessarily accurately without preload.

waddisme

Thanks. Bushings should be here tomorrow or Wed.

96CollectorSport

The best way to connect the end links is to have the cars suspension loaded (with driver weight and fuel load). Your sway bars should be nuetral when your car is just sitting there, if you install the endlinks on the hoist you will be pre-loading the sway bars. Because you won't have the drivers weight and fuel load in the car at that time.
I just use some wood blocks (2x6's 4 high and screwed together).
I also try to center the sway bars as much as possible at that time and make sure that they are moving freely, if you can't move the bar easily then it's pre-loaded with the bushings. Sometimes all you have to do is remove some of the paint from the sway bar or use washers under the mounting points.
The whole purpose of the bar is to transfer weight from one side of the car to the other when you are cornering, if the bar is binding or pre-loaded then the bar can't work correctly because there is extra force needed to offset the bind or pre-load. So the easier the bar moves and the more static the bar is when going down the strait the better.

waddisme

That about covers it there. Good explanation.

froggy47

I have done in in a pinch, when pressed for time, but it's kind of bubba & pretty easy to do it right.

waddisme

Couldn't get my car high enough to set on ramps. May try to adj at track where I can drive up on my trlr ramps. Anyway they are on except for the decal. Between the R888s and the sways, I should be able to run off the track at 120+ instead of 110+.

Hopefully see some of you at Rd Atl tomorrow! 67* and 0% chance of rain.

morris

Thats interesting that you are having challenges, I did mine last weekend LG sways I just put the endlinks on the sways lowered the car and was able to adjust the rear links till they were the correct length to line up with the holes in the control arms.

The front was about the same but I did have to turn the steering wheel to the locks to reach the link from under the car. Of course I did have an air ratchet which made it a bit easier to tighten the bolts in the small confined space.

0RAAMaudio

I like the accu-line and others like it, notice the bearings on the bottom, that is a key part of why they work so well. Unless you remove all preload, binding, etc....you just cannot get a totally accurate alignment or remove all preload from the sways.

I might buy some stock and make my own this winter. Maybe 2 sets for my two cars I really car enough about, instead of inserts, etc just made for each cars hub bore and bolt pattern. Those I would have machined, the rest is pretty easy.

Then again, all the stuff I know I can do, all the projects I have going on, all the time I do not have to do it all, in a couple of years I am going to retire so I can make more stuff

Rick

waddisme

Never got time to adj bars at track. I don't think the fronts are right. Straight line braking car stayed planted, even from 145+ going into 10a. But any time I tried to turn with front weighted and braking, Turn 1 at Rd Atl, the car would like get like squirrelly in the front and the brake pedal would feel soft(?).

I finally got car up on ramps yesterday to properly adj the bar. Bar would not move when disconnected so I shimmed the brackets to where to bar could be moved by hand. When adj the endlinks, I notices the bar had 2 types of end links. One type was what is pictured in the Pfadt website, and the other looked like the LGs. Oddly enough, the rears were the same. So I switched the end links to match. Fronts are done now and will do the rears tonite, as I didn't have any more washers that would fit. Trying to do VIR next Monday so hopefully it will be much better installed correctly. BTW, so far, no noise out of them yet.