Anybody have thoughts on the Roadster Supply Ladder bars? How much HP will they take on drag radial. Thanks Steve
I believe the design originated at Pete and Jake's, then SoCal. Pete Eastwood is the go to guy for information on how much horse power they will handle.
In my opinion they are not designed for high HP. I really don't know just how much they would handle. Could be dicey with a drag radial and or a stick.
Not much info on what you want to do with what type of car, but if you have enough HP to be concerned about hooking a drag radial, why not get a suspension designed to do it? Like an adjustable 4 link?
Those are designed to work with the original buggy spring and maintain close to the same geometry and wheel motion up and down as the torque tube did. Meaning that the way they are designed the lines of the bars would cross out in front right where the ball on the torque tube connects to the stock transmission. That leaves more of an original feel to it running down the road than having the bars out on the frame rails. High horsepower and big sticky tires might not treat them well though.
I agree with mad mikey, 100% The ones that you show are for a light weight, low horse power car. Plus, they have no safety strap for broken Heim joints in the front. THAT...can be VERY dangerous. Very long equals, easy to bend. Try something like these - Applied Racing Technology or - S & W Performance Grp. Or other bars of similar design Mike
Over the last 40+ years in the chassis business I've done 100's of 32-34 ladder bar chassis without one failure. Pete & Jake's was my go to company for the bars. They made 2 different custom lengths for me to work with my x member design.
I've found I can buy the tubing and joints, and build heavy duty ladder bars cheaper than what most quality cost, and have stronger design.
I made my own when I first started but as business grew I found making my own parts was not the most efficient use of my time plus the consistency and quality of P&J's components made for a nicer end product.
The posted design is meant for reliable and relatively comfortable long distance highway travel, in addition to around town. If you are going to do wild, crazy, drag car type burnouts, you should probably build a drag car rear axle locator setup.
Thanks for all the comments, just trying to find the compromise between performance and ride quality.
Those are built upside down! The heavy tube should be directly in front of the axle centerline where axle thrust is. Even the old Ford torque tube was down the axle centerline [non-hypoid C&P]. The thinner tube should be underneath to control pinion torque reaction [which is less than axle thrust due to mechanical gearing] And also brake torque which is tension loads.
I can tell you first hand, the shorter bars do not...ride that bad. I have a short wheelbase car with bars like my post above shows. The car is actually comfortable to ride in. Far from a Lincoln, or Cadillac, but not that bad at all. If you want longer bars, make your own. Just be sure to use protection in the front in case the Heim joint fails. Mike
Go with a True 4 Link adjustable Or Triangular 4 Link adjustable Ladder bars on street put heim's in a bind & suspension especially when making tight hard left and right turns , Even @ track with big flexible side walls slicks
They don't have provision for adjustment without an amount of laborious and time consuming disassembly. Not racetrack friendly at all! Chris
They will probably hold up fine but you are shooting yourself in the foot. Sticky drag tires will not perform as they should with this design. A properly designed 4 link will maximize the tires you intend to put on. 4 link design is a lo of un! Also a giant rat hole to dive into, research till you are blind and can’t think straight!
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