a real technical torsion bar question

Discussion in 'Suspension/Chassis' started by pig rig, May 30, 2010.

  1. pig rig

    pig rig Enthusiast

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    so Im thinking of reclocking my torsion bars so heres my question

    if I loosen up my bars and pull them and then set my truck at ride hight then putt the bars back in I should have it set back to have the same firmness in the front like stock and keeping my lowered stants correct

    with that being said I could also raise my a arms up alittle so I could stiffin it up some if wanted

    help me with my thinking and correct me If Im wrong
     
    pig rig, May 30, 2010
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  3. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    Just make sure the torsions dnt have a guide on the splines. Otherwise ur guna have to grind it off

    but yes u could do it how ur saying but its guna be hard to judge when its guna stay at that height. just re index them, take it off the jack/jack stands check height. tighten or loosen the torsions to ur liking..
     
    jetas, May 30, 2010
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  4. dillinja666

    dillinja666 Toyotaholic

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    yes and no...you can achieve that ride stiffness, but remember when you lift your truck up the suspension sags a bit then lifts off the ground. The torsions twist, and thats what gives you your stiffness. If you were to just put them in when the truck is at ride height, they would sag ( twist ) and lower the truck more, but you would get the same ride as stock. So you are just going to have to play with it.

    Also I think the stock torsions have a keyway in em, you are going to have to grind it out of the key..
     
    dillinja666, May 30, 2010
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  5. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense logically. You won't change the firmness by raising or lowering your suspension. Making it stiffer can only be achieved by changing T-bars or physically topping out the suspension on the bump stops and preloading the bars.
    I know what you are saying, but re-indexing the bars only makes sense if suspension is capable of traveling further than the bar will adjust to.
    Say you wanted to lift the truck, then you might want to index them, but since you can lower the truck all the way to the bump stops without running out of adjustability, it won't make a hill of beans.
    Usually the ride gets "stiffer" not because the ride IS stiffer, but because it bounces off of the bumpstop so easily, resulting in ESS (Ejector Seat Syndrome).
     
    Litneon, May 30, 2010
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  6. dillinja666

    dillinja666 Toyotaholic

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    with turning the torsions keys though it does make it ride softer from what ive felt...softer until you bottom out lol
     
    dillinja666, May 30, 2010
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  7. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    It physically can't unless you unload the bars against the upper bumpstop.

    Unless you change the leverage acting on the bar, a constant weight will always twist the bar the same rotational angle. Doesn't matter what angle you index it to, until you hit a suspension limiter, ie. bump stop.
     
    Litneon, May 30, 2010
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  8. IronNam

    IronNam Grand Toyotaholic

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    When you "loosen" the torsion bars, you are DECREASING the SPRING RATE. This lowers the ride height.

    When you "tighten" the torsion bars, you are INCREASING the SPRING RATE. This raises the ride height.
     
    IronNam, May 30, 2010
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  9. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Again, you can't change the spring rate. Adjusting the key only changes the angle of the key and the LCA equally. If their centerlines are parallel, they will remain so until contact is made with a bumpstop.
     
    Litneon, May 30, 2010
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  10. pig rig

    pig rig Enthusiast

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    ok I think I got my question answerd

    litneon I think I understand what your say'n but if my understanding is correct the way a torion bar suspension works is one end of the bar is staionary and the other end flexes with the movement of the suspension so by lowering the truck Ive relaxed that flex or by raisn it Ive removed the flex thus a stiffer or softer ride and when I say flex i mean it in a twisting motion
     
    pig rig, May 31, 2010
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  11. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    You probably could get a stiffer ride but you wud have to re index the torsion key but it would only make u go higher. So to counter that drop spindles/arms/bj flip would be necessary.

    Just get the SAW torsions....
     
    jetas, May 31, 2010
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  12. burnzya

    burnzya Grand Toyotaholic

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    This is correct. The amount of spring in the steel is constant. The angle of the control arm stock is close to parallel. When you adjust the torsions they aren't parallel and the ride suffers. Raising the truck with the torsions gives the same ****ty ride as lowering with them.. Re-indexing only helps with the ground clearance.
     
    burnzya, May 31, 2010
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  13. Litneon

    Litneon Super Moderator Staff Member

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    Yeah, I wasn't going to go there yet, but you are right. The more angle you have on the A arms (or any suspension linkage), the more of the energy gets transferred straight into the frame instead of being absorbed by the spring/shock combo.
     
    Litneon, May 31, 2010
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  14. pig rig

    pig rig Enthusiast

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    ok Im understanding what your say'n now so as far as my question goes it is wat it is and the only way to help the ride out is to put better shocks on it and then live with it
     
    pig rig, May 31, 2010
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  15. burnzya

    burnzya Grand Toyotaholic

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    You can change the torsions to aftermarket, they will have a different spring rate. Doing spindles and drop control arms will give you a stockish ride.
     
    burnzya, May 31, 2010
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  16. pig rig

    pig rig Enthusiast

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    yea that stuff cost money something I'm a little short on right now
     
    pig rig, Jun 1, 2010
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