4-link or ladder bars?

[68chargerboy]

the car will be driven on the street to shows every once in a while but it is turning into a drag car quickly.  everything is being gutted from heater core to windows and regulators.  so im wondering what would be a better drag setup? ladder bars or 4 link?

[Blown70]

4 link.

Tom

[68chargerboy]

thanks for the quick response.  do u know what type of 4 link? there alot of diff setups out there

thanks,  zach

[Blown70]

I have an Chris Alston Chassisworks set-up on mine..... I have some photos wait a sec.  I can get better photos... I plan to be in the shop this weekend

[68chargerboy]

cool thanks

[68chargerboy]

yea if u could get some more pics that would be cool too.  where does the wishbone locator go to on the fram? did u have to make a crossmember for it?

[Blown70]

yea if u could get some more pics that would be cool too.  where does the wishbone locator go to on the fram? did u have to make a crossmember for it?

Part of what I have is a complete Chome moly tube chassis, I will get you some pics this weekend.  FYI, ladder bars are not "Bad" just IMO if your going to change it and do a setup, 4 link is a better way to go.

Tom

[68chargerboy]

yea if u could get some more pics that would be cool too.  where does the wishbone locator go to on the fram? did u have to make a crossmember for it?

Part of what I have is a complete Chome moly tube chassis, I will get you some pics this weekend.  FYI, ladder bars are not "Bad" just IMO if your going to change it and do a setup, 4 link is a better way to go.

Tom

yea but if im tearing up the whole back half of my car im gunna do it right the first time lol.  as much as i love cuttin stuff up and welding i would much rather have a good setup that will launch me hard the first time

[elacruze]

There is no good reason to use ladder bars if you're back-halfing the car anyway. 4-link works way better on the strip (especially in faster cars) and ladder bars on the street turn your entire rear axle into a massive sway bar-not comfy nor easy on parts. The only benefit to ladder bars is that they're less expensive.

[68chargerboy]

There is no good reason to use ladder bars if you're back-halfing the car anyway. 4-link works way better on the strip (especially in faster cars) and ladder bars on the street turn your entire rear axle into a massive sway bar-not comfy nor easy on parts. The only benefit to ladder bars is that they're less expensive.

thanks for the input im definately going to go with the 4 link.  the price diffrence is not all that much anyway and it seems like it will help my car out more then the ladder bars.  thanks everyone.

ps what type of springs r u guys using in ur coil overs? 450lbs or what?

[Blown70]

There is no good reason to use ladder bars if you're back-halfing the car anyway. 4-link works way better on the strip (especially in faster cars) and ladder bars on the street turn your entire rear axle into a massive sway bar-not comfy nor easy on parts. The only benefit to ladder bars is that they're less expensive.

thanks for the input im definately going to go with the 4 link.  the price diffrence is not all that much anyway and it seems like it will help my car out more then the ladder bars.  thanks everyone.

ps what type of springs r u guys using in ur coil overs? 450lbs or what?

450?  GULP, EH?      I have to check but mine are rated at 150lbs maybe 175......BTW pics tonight for you, K.... got tied up with a few other things this past weekend.

[68chargerboy]

There is no good reason to use ladder bars if you're back-halfing the car anyway. 4-link works way better on the strip (especially in faster cars) and ladder bars on the street turn your entire rear axle into a massive sway bar-not comfy nor easy on parts. The only benefit to ladder bars is that they're less expensive.

thanks for the input im definately going to go with the 4 link.  the price diffrence is not all that much anyway and it seems like it will help my car out more then the ladder bars.  thanks everyone.

ps what type of springs r u guys using in ur coil overs? 450lbs or what?

450?  GULP, EH?      I have to check but mine are rated at 150lbs maybe 175......BTW pics tonight for you, K.... got tied up with a few other things this past weekend.

no worrys i appreciate you getting them so no rush.  wow 150? alright deffinatley check for me i dont want to order a spring were its gunna sag like crazy and i dont want rocks either.  thanks again

Zach

[Blown70]

Well did not need to take more, found these old ones.  Keep in mind the surface rust came from being driven 4 hours in a rain storm. (becasue a guy did not show up at his shop that was going to work on the car  )  I have it cleaned and oiled these pics are older, but give you most of an idea.  Not the wishbone, connets to a crossframe.  There are different options for this.... again this is a Chris Alston Chassis works back half.

[Blown70]

Final two

[68chargerboy]

great pics thanks alot i appreciate it.  its going to help a ton.  cant wait to start cutting things up! 

[motorcitydak]

Im glad you are going to build a 4 link over a ladder bar, just figured Id chime in here to explain why everyone is saying the 4 link. When you take off, there are different loads on all the suspension components. Remember that when the drive shaft spins the pinion, all it wants to do is rotate the pinion up, not turn the tires and propel the car forward (power wants to take the path of least resistance). So basically your axle just wants to rotate backwards. With a ladder bar, this force is transmitted to one spot, where they bolt to your frame, usually 32 inches or so in front of the axle and very low on the car.

In order to build a 4 link correctly, you need to guesstimate the center of gravity on the car. The idea is that you draw imaginary lines from the mounting bolts for the upper and lower arms both at the axle and frame ends. They should intersect as close to your CG as possible. This will make the rear end 'jack up' less when you hit the throttle, instead it will lift the front of the car and transfer a lot more weight to the rear tires giving you even more traction and launching the car better. Here is a pic to show what I am talking about. There are a lot of excel programs available that you can mess with to get your setup dialed in on paper before you ever make a cut or weld.

http://www.motorsportsvillage.com/4link1.gif

That 4 link is not perfect, the CG is represented by the cross hair on there. Point C shows where the lines intersect. The pic also shows that there are different mounting holes on the brackets. If they drop the mounting location of the lower control arm down a hole or two at the axle or raised the mounting location at the frame up a hole or two, it would move point C closer to the CG resulting in move weight transfer and more traction along with a better launch. The upper could also be moved around to get that to hook up better. Thats another great thing, the 4 link is completely adjustable, a ladder bar setup is much less so

[john.v]

Nice post and a lot of good info, because i am also thinking of a 4-link i have just 1 small question. how will the 4-link proform on the road?
i am going to use the car more on the road than strip. (that is what i am telling my wife  )

[Blown70]

Nice post and a lot of good info, because i am also thinking of a 4-link i have just 1 small question. how will the 4-link proform on the road?
i am going to use the car more on the road than strip. (that is what i am telling my wife  )

haha mines not done but I would put an anit-roll bar on it, just to help some, which too will help with stip too.

IMO and what I was told it wont be too bad on the street, with all the links it can rattle slightly.

Tom

[john.v]

Nice post and a lot of good info, because i am also thinking of a 4-link i have just 1 small question. how will the 4-link proform on the road?
i am going to use the car more on the road than strip. (that is what i am telling my wife  )

haha mines not done but I would put an anit-roll bar on it, just to help some, which too will help with stip too.

IMO and what I was told it wont be too bad on the street, with all the links it can rattle slightly.

Tom

thanks for the info, 

[motorcitydak]

For street applications, you are going to want a rubber or poly bushing on one end of the links, usually the frame side. That will be able absorb some of the vibrations coming from the axle. It will also cushion the ride a little better than if you had rod ends at both ends.