What size torsion bars to get?

[ace26]

Got my engine trans and the 8 3/4 in my duster finally,now i want to do the suspension not sure what size torsion bars to get,engines putting out around 500 horses,cars just going to b a weekend driver and occasional trip to the track i want decent handling but still want it to hook a little bit,i'm using 340 springs and debating on either .920 or the .990 torsion bars,What do you guys think?

[riverside]

Mopars performance cat. list several sizes, Summit racing only list one for A body cars .920. This is for road racing, I think you maywant one size bigger then 340 bars. For big block A bodies, I think it's .870 its been a long timsince I had a mopar cat. Good Luck

[rumblefish360]

I would stay with stock bars. Going to a smaller bar would help weight transfer at ride expense and then theres the reverse of a bigger bar. OE 318 bars are fine. Slant 6 bars would be the min.

[dwc43]

I agree with Rumble. Stock 318 bar is fine, I"d only go to the slant six bar if it's a drag race only car. Stock rear leafs as well. IF you put stiffer front bars in without installing the same amount of upgrade to the rear springs it will push like hell. IF you want it to handle on the street get a 1 1/8" front and either a 3/4 or 1" rear sway bar and some agressive shocks. Over the counter parts store junk wont cut it. When you go to the track you can remove the front sway bar links for better front end rise and weight transfer. Don't remove the rears cause the rear sway bar will keep the RR from unloading on lauch. All pro stock cars run a rear sway bar now with no front. That will be the best you can do for handling, cause an A body has a crapy suspension for handling. We put B or E body clips in them when we want to really make them handle.

[72Challenger]

I would have to say that your choice really depends on the kind of driving you realistically intend to do. If your weekend driving is in town, stoplight to stoplight, the previous recommendations are perfect.

If you really want to be able to go around corners with any kind of authority, and without the major cutting required to replace the front clip, you need both the big sway bars and the larger torsion bars. I used a 1 1/8" sway bar and went 2 sizes bigger than stock for the torsion bars on the Challenger, I really wish I'd gone even bigger. But I'm an old road racer, your style may be different.

The truth is, you'll get most of your improvement from picking the right tires. The job of the suspension is just to keep those tires on the road at all times. If you're serious about launches at the strip, you need 2 sets of tires, skinnies for the front and slicks for the rear when you're at the track, and the widest, stickiest rubber that will fit in your wheelwells for the street.

The best handling suspension in terms of g-force and transient response will cost you about 1 second in ET at the drag strip. The setup that gives you the best possible launch at the strip will be an accident waiting to happen on the street. Everything else is a compromise between the two. Figure out where your priorities are, and build accordingly.

[Satty71]

I went 1 inch on my B body and couldn't be happier. Smooth ride good handling. I did have to back out the adjustment screw to 2 inchs to get the ride hight correct. Other wise I wouldbe driving around looking at the sky. I tried it one night at stock adjustment man would it carve corners.

[ace26]

Thanks for your input guys,I am planning on getting sway bars and rebuilding the front end and evrything with the polygraphite,the car will b fairly light prolly end up alittle under 3k and won't c much track time, mainly for the street.

[Satty71]

One major recomendation man from my all most complete front end job. Grab one of those pitman arms from mancini. Wow i couldn't beleive how much better my turn radious was. It was like driving a freaking neon and not a monster B body. Serious upgrade!!! Just be careful when you do it I started puting mine on under the car and it was dark. After beating on it for a minute I got the drop light and noticed the allignment marks .