What is your ride height?

[Kern Dog]

I know that there is a factory spec for measuring this but for many years, I have just measured from the pavement to the middle of the wheel opening arch.

Mine is 24" to the front, 26" at the rear.
I am just touching the bumpstops up front with 1.15 torsion bars and Bilstein shocks.
The rear has Mopar Performance 440-4 speed/Hemi leaf springs with 1" lowering blocks.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Mine's pretty similar. 23.75" up front and 25.5" out back. The rear used to be lower (2nd picture) but rubbed so bad I had to get new front hangers to raise it an inch. But I did like how it looked.

[XH29N0G]

I will need to go measure mine and report back.  I think I went for mostly what I thought was level, but used the factory settings as an initial guide.

What I recall is that the main adjustments are all in the front (as I am sure you already know) and the process of lifting (or dropping) one corner on the front shifts the weight a little on the back (more on the opposite back side) so there was a little work to set it so the car was mostly level (e.g., not raked up or down or side to side).   

A question for you and others on here is if there is a way to drop or raise the car in general (and if that means changing the rear springs/suspension independently - and then how that would be done. 

I don't plan on doing that, but am curious.  Mine is already changed a little from factory because I have shimmed the K-frame. 

[ht4spd307]

I know that there is a factory spec for measuring this but for many years, I have just measured from the pavement to the middle of the wheel opening arch.

Mine is 24" to the front, 26" at the rear.
I am just touching the bumpstops up front with 1.15 torsion bars and Bilstein shocks.
The rear has Mopar Performance 440-4 speed/Hemi leaf springs with 1" lowering blocks.

Hows the 1.15 torsion bars what would you say has it changed the handling ? the ride too hard to soft etc pro/ cons ?

[Kern Dog]

Mine's pretty similar. 23.75" up front and 25.5" out back. The rear used to be lower (2nd picture) but rubbed so bad I had to get new front hangers to raise it an inch. But I did like how it looked.

Your car looks great. I like the low look too. What are your tire sizes?

[Kern Dog]

I know that there is a factory spec for measuring this but for many years, I have just measured from the pavement to the middle of the wheel opening arch.

Mine is 24" to the front, 26" at the rear.
I am just touching the bumpstops up front with 1.15 torsion bars and Bilstein shocks.
The rear has Mopar Performance 440-4 speed/Hemi leaf springs with 1" lowering blocks.

Hows the 1.15 torsion bars what would you say has it changed the handling ? the ride too hard to soft etc pro/ cons ?

I had 1.0 bars and KYB shocks for about 12 years. The ride was not great. When I went to these bigger bars, I also changed to Bilstein shocks. It rides about as firm but doesn't rattle the car as much, if that makes sense. The KYBs are a terrible shock. Way too stiff for a car with higher rate "springs".
This car sits barely above the front lower bumpstops so there isn't a huge amount of suspension travel. The 1.15 TBs don't compress much though.
I would have gone with 1.12 or even a 1.10 but when I decided to change shocks, Bergman Auto Craft had a sale on leftover torsion bars that the owner got from the defunct XV Motorsports. I figured that I would give them a try. The car rides about the same as my Wife's 2015 Challenger R/T with the Track Pack option group.
I'm thinking of changing the lower bumpstops since mine are almost 20 years old and are showing some cracks. I may take a Sawzall to the new ones to allow a bit more travel.

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Mine's pretty similar. 23.75" up front and 25.5" out back. The rear used to be lower (2nd picture) but rubbed so bad I had to get new front hangers to raise it an inch. But I did like how it looked.

Your car looks great. I like the low look too. What are your tire sizes?

Thanks! They are 245/40 up front and 295/40 out back. But I'm thinking about changing wheels so hopefully will go wider.

[AKcharger]

I know that there is a factory spec for measuring this but for many years, I have just measured from the pavement to the middle of the wheel opening arch.

I posted measurements for you on my spring thread

[INTMD8]

Wheel arch measurement is good for aesthetics and may correlate to chassis measurement (but I would at least check with pinch weld/chassis to see if that's even)

Can't tell you measurements on mine as it's still in the body shop after getting smashed but probably similar.

[cbrestorations]

24 front and 24.75 rear. I have stock .89 torsion bars with 700lb 2" bump springs on top of the front shocks (nascar bump stuff) . I wanted a nice ride but then when auto crossing or road racing the bump springs take over for a more controlled spring rate vs stock bump stops, . Plus softer torsion bars transfer more weight back when coming out of corners or drag racing. Rear leafs are aftermarket 440 leafs with 1.5 leafs removed with the front hanger raised 2" in the body and sliders in the back side. Cuts corners and rides nicely.

[Kern Dog]

Thank you, guys.
I know that some people scoff at measuring the height the way that I do. I just figured that my way is the easiest. I'm not looking for space shuttle NASA precision on this, just a reasonable number for the purposes of comparison. If I had a completely stock car and wanted to match factory specs, the situation would be different.
A couple of dickwads at FBBO were critical of me for not measuring the factory way....as if anyone with a modified car would follow a factory method.
Chris....It was good to chat with you at Fall Fling last year and great to see the car up close.
INTMD8.....That ghost BB stripe looks fantastic!

[INTMD8]

Lmao, I don't even know what the factory way is.

Aside from that, thank you, afraid to say the ghost stripe is currently in -delete- mode and going to solid B7 

[Challenger340]

I just did this.... even got Pics

On the stock 14" Road Wheels with P225-70R-14 Tires on a stock unrestored '69 R/T SE 440 Magnum/Auto
Rear   24 1/2"
Front  24 1/4"


After Installing 15" Magnum 500's because the 14" are such limited availability in sizes, and to lower rpm for Highway use, I went with 275-60R-15 on Rear and 255- 60R-15 on Fronts
Which resulted in what felt like some 'goofy' downslope angle sitting in it..... like the ass was jacked up even though it was only like 1-1/2" Higher @ rear ?

So I did some Torsion Bar adjustment which Seems as you raise the front even slightly the rear rises as well ?
Rear  26 1/2"
Front  26 1/8"

[Mopar Nut]

Thank you, guys.
I know that some people scoff at measuring the height the way that I do. I just figured that my way is the easiest. I'm not looking for space shuttle NASA precision on this, just a reasonable number for the purposes of comparison. If I had a completely stock car and wanted to match factory specs, the situation would be different.
A couple of dickwads at FBBO were critical of me for not measuring the factory way....as if anyone with a modified car would follow a factory method.
Chris....It was good to chat with you at Fall Fling last year and great to see the car up close.
INTMD8.....That ghost BB stripe looks fantastic!

That's exactly how I measured the ride height on my Charger. Your Charger looks awesome.


Nice looking Chargers everyone!

[Kern Dog]

Thank you, Sir.
The critics thought that the method I used is inaccurate because the fenders and aprons could be out of spec.
No.
My body panel gaps are consistent and this car has never been wrecked.
Who wants to lay on the ground and stuff a tape measure under the front of the car?

[HPP]

The factory came up with their measurements so they would be consistent across numerous models within a body style and a wide variety of tire sizes.  As Challenger340 demonstrates, changing tires can alter ride height.

If you want to measure it at the fender opening lip, have at it. Its a common reference point a lot of people seem to use. The pinch weld is a better spot to give you a sense of how much rake you have. Factory measurement isn't of much use unless you are hard into OEM restoration. Since the rear height is not as easily adjustable as the front, I've always suggested you set the front at a height that achieves the rake you want to best match the rear height.

conversely, if you are setting spring rates, I suggest you set the front first and then change the rear to compliment the front. There are only so many t-bar rates out there, but you can tune a leaf pack to a wider range of rates.

[cdr]

My junker is more set up for drag racing, also have a very large rear tire, 390 45 r15 rear tire, 29.5 height, & a short front tire 205 65 15, I have to have approx 4" of front upward suspension travel so I get good weight transfer , & HOOKS good on this street tire ,any taller front tire will rub at my ride height, so mine is 24.5 front, 28 rear, it is a street driven car also, I couldn't get a measurement when it does this  in the picture vv below LOL , just a note it drives great

[cdr]

sitting still, good shot of the Coke Bottle