Help with ladder bar adjustments

[68Coupe]

I have a 68 Mustang bracket car with ladder bar/coils overs. This is my first ladder bar car. Just trying to understand how the bars work.The car has 28x10.5 slicks and runs 6.80's/6.90's in the 1/8th.
Right now the bar are level to the ground.
I was wondering how moving the bars would effect the car.
If the track is so-so would moving the bars up or down help the car to hook better. If i want the car to pick the front tires up more would i move the bars up or down.
I have heard conflicting advise on this and was hoping for some good advise.

[Tod Lane]

Originally Posted by 68Coupe

I have a 68 Mustang bracket car with ladder bar/coils overs. This is my first ladder bar car. Just trying to understand how the bars work.The car has 28x10.5 slicks and runs 6.80's/6.90's in the 1/8th.
Right now the bar are level to the ground.
I was wondering how moving the bars would effect the car.
If the track is so-so would moving the bars up or down help the car to hook better. If i want the car to pick the front tires up more would i move the bars up or down.
I have heard conflicting advise on this and was hoping for some good advise.

At the risk of oversimplification, lowering the bars in effect "lengthens" them and tries to lift the car further forward if you will. The car will try to transfer more weight but it will "hit" slower. If the bars are already parallel to the ground I would be inclined to look at other suspension components to aid the launch such as shock settings front and rear.

Others may well disagree, your mileage may vary...

[Dick Butler]

68, The above suggestion is "not quite correct" On a ladder bar its length at which it trys to Pick up is set by its length, not its height at the front. If you raise the front it hits harder or more pressure. If you lower it the lift is less. If raising it hurts 60 ft try adding more tire pressure then to support the tire footprint. Have someone watch only the slick or rear tire to see if it smashes flat as indicator it needs more air.
Dick Butler

[Harry 6674]

Also if your bars have adjustable links make small adjustments. One flat on the adjuster can make a difference. Always remember where you start and keep a log on the adjustments,the effects it had,track conditions, anything you can think of for future reference. Have fun.

Also, remeber as you raise or lower the bars, the driveshaft is moving up or down as well, which could create a problem with tunnel or loop clearence. Could also put the rear joint in a bind. To maintain correct pinion/drive shaft angle both heims at the rear have to be adjusted if you don't have a ladder link setup.

[Mike Pearson]

Your ladder bar has to have a downward angle in relationship to the frame of the car. The relationship to the ground means nothing. You should have about 2 degrees down angle. the front of the bar lower than the back. An easy way to give a quick check is to park the car on a level surface then step back and compare the angle of the bottom bar of the ladder bar to the bottom of the rocker panel of the car. The ladder bar should be lower in the front in comparison to the rocker panel. Use a protractor or smart level to check and fine tune the angles. you should also have about 2 degrees down pinion angle. When you set up the car take the shocks out and use a solid strut set to the exact installed height that you intend to run your shocks at. Make all of the adjustments so there is no preload. Then reinstall the shocks and put the car back down on the ground and adjust the ride height of the shocks to the same exact dimension of the set up struts. The car should work perfectly with this steup. I am running the same ladder bar set up as you. This is how I set up my car.