![]() ![]() So instead of a short, high pickup point, what if you had a long, low pickup point? Bickel tells us that this arrangement will tend to hit the tires less violently, but it can also create more total load transfer to the rear tires. It definitely looks wild, but it also can result is horrendous driveshaft alignment–the results of which can prove disastrous. Here’s something else to consider is this: A ladder bar with a short, high pickup point can also create considerable body separation during the launch. Between an excessive amount of tire wadding coupled with the reduced traction following the violent hook, elapsed times can suffer (no brainer, we’re sure). Following this initial violent hit, there usually wasn’t sufficient load transfer to actually maintain traction and keep the tires hooked. This regularly resulted in the slicks wadding up at the launch. If, for example, the pickup points were short and high, then the launch would prove violent. That all makes sense, but over time racers quickly discovered that changes in that pickup point location can have a considerable influence upon the behavior of the chassis. ![]() This effectively “plants” the tires, which in turn, makes the car hook (or at least, that’s the hope!). If the car has two ladder bars (as nearly all do), there are really two pickup points–one on each side of the car (see illustration #1 below).Ĭonsider what happens when the ladder bars push up on the chassis at the pickup point. The respective bar on each of the car also pushes down on the tires and wheels. As a result, the forward attachment point is called the pickup point. The front of the car is lifted or “picked up” by this section. The ladder bar prevents excessive suspension wrap up by pushing up on the frame at the point of forward connection (basically the point where the upper and lower bars of the ladder bar intersect). This is a simple triangular-shaped device that connects the rear-end housingto the frame. ![]() The purpose of a traction device is to turn that wrap-up into forward motion. When a drag car launches, the rear-end wraps up. What you’ll see below is Bickel’s personal take on ladder bars and four-link setups. It should be no surprise to anyone reading this that Bickel has built more than his fair share of championship winning race cars, and he is certainly no stranger to tuning suspension systems. What we’ve done here is cut through the maze of information (good and bad) and we’ve gone straight to an established expert on the subject–Jerry Bickel. That has led to all sorts of misinformation, which in turn is bad news for the racer. To complicate things, there has been quite a bit penned over the years regarding suspension setup–some right and some wrong (some very seriously wrong). Of all of the systems, the most common you’ll see today is the equal length four-link, probably followed by the ladder bar. Lift bars, slapper bars, Super Stock springs, leaf links, ladder bars, three-links, four-links, and torque arms (there may be others too, but it’s a start). Over the years, drag racers with door cars have gone through all sorts of suspension arrangements. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |