Scaling HELP !!!
 

Thanks in advance for any help or ideas...
I have a 69 Nova that is a stocker converted bracket car. I normally leave the line and pull the wheels about 4' to 5' and the weight transfer is good 9" tire. I have all the trick suspension (double adjust Afco shocks all the way around ,all global west up front ,cal-trac bars and rear leafs...) the car is almost right but I am stumped. Once the car leaves the line and pulls the wheels it starts to "roll" to the left. I tried to add a little more left bar on the cal-tracs and even tried a little bit of variance in the shock setting left to right, nothing has really fixed it but I have not been real aggressive with the changes either. This off season I have wanted to cure the problem and tried relocating some weight from the right rear to the left rear but that only seemed to make the problem worse. So as the car is on the scales now I am 100# heavy on the left rear in comparison to the right. Does anyone out there have some good advice on a baseline as to where the weights should be on the scales and front/rear shock settings.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

What do you mean by "roll to the left"? Does the car drive to the left and you have to correct or does the car tilt to the left side?

If it is driving to the left, check the toe-in/out on the front end. Check the toe by raising the front 1/2" at a time all the way to the wheels coming off the ground. Be sure the toe alignment is not kicking out as the front is raised. That can make the car go left even though the steering wheel is held straight.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

If you are rolling to the left and are leaving with the wheels up 4-5 inches, then you need to look at the rear suspension. Since you have adjusted the bars and shocks and it has not helped, I would look at the rear spring to make sure nothing is bound up or make sure the spring perch (look at both, specifically the passenger side) is not distorted and that spring to axle u-bolts are properly torqued. If that checks out, you need to make sure the axle is square. Check wheel base on both sides and make sure you don't have a bent axle tube.
You'll find that when you adjust your bars the scales will show different weight. The 100#'s may be due to the increase in preload you gave the drivers side.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

Be sure to check the OD on the rear tires. Some can be off quite a bit.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

The car lifts the wheels straight and while it is in the air it falls over to the left side and drives to the left. The wheelstand is not 4-5 inches it's in feet. I understand the bars can adjust weight in the car but the 100# heavy is with the car neutral on the scales no preload. What I'm trying to find is at neutral preload what weights should I be looking for. I have checked the springs and suspension and everything moves freely. Tires are within 1/4 inch

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

you might try putting the right spring on the left side and left on the right to see if it rolls right or stays the same It would be nice to get the rear weight as even as possible before any preload on the bars the set preload according to how the car is reacting

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

Dennis, before doing anything ,check the rear to see if it is straight in the car.
This can be done simply with a string and tape measure.
If the rear is straight, check the corner weights withe the drivers weight in the car .
Take all preload out of the bars ,both sides, and measure ride heights at all 4 corners .
If the height is not equal side to side ,both front and back start there.
If it is equal, look at the corner weights with no preload. ....dont get too carried away with ballasting the right rear, get it close to equal side to side ,but dont go overboard.
You should never need to add more than 50# preload with the bar to go straight.
Keep in mind most stock chassis cars will always have a little more weight on the L/F wheel due to engine / driver location ,as opposed to a full chassis car.
If the chassis is rolling while in the air staggering the rear shock rebound may help slow it down.
It sounds like you may have just a little more HP in it than a Stocker might have .
In that case you may want to consider adding an anti roll bar.
That will help keep it flat on a long ,high wheelie.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

? Is the car #100 lb heavy on the left rear wheel "with the driver or without?" I agree with others check for broken parts but if not then usually set the rear wts equal with the driver in the car. That will make it leave even. Some people try to guess the wt to add to the rear wheel and that often doesnt work.

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

On my 69 Nova stocker I run 30lb's more weight on the right rear than the left. This is with the car exactly like it runs down the track (driver in car, weight in , etc)

Re: Scaling HELP !!!
 

It apparently drove left before the 100#'s of preload (which is too much) so that's not the issue. As I said before, the first thing I'd do is check the spring perches, one could be crushed and it should be the right but check both. Then check square of rear end. Look for bent axle tube.
I speak from experience on these! That's why I got Calvert to make CM spring perches as even the boxed in MS perches can get smashed!