Adjustable Drop Links? Do I Need Them?

dharder · 10-24-2004, 01:05 PM

I installed stock front and rear anti-sway bars on my '73 and it still doesn't seem to handle as well as other 914's that I've driven with stock bars. At the same time I installed the sway bars, I replaced the rear springs with 140 lb springs. The tires and shocks are good. Would installing adjustable drop links and fine-tuning the front bar help?

I can't really describe what it's doing but it doesn't feel as rock solid as other similar 914's. Don't get me wrong- it still RIPS around turns but it's not quite right.

Acox914 · 10-24-2004, 03:25 PM

new control arm bushings,and slightly bigger torsion bars make a big difference. i have a 23mm swaybar and love it.
most people dont run rear bars or disconnect them for better handling

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

The 140s are probably too stiff for having stock front torsion bars and stock sway bars. I would bet that the car will tend to oversteer at the limit. Which can be somewhat exciting... I would try to pick up a 19mm or 21mm front sway bar. An adjustable one should help you dial in the handling so it is neutral again.

Adjustable drop-links will not really change the balance of the car. They allow you to remove any pre-load, but that's about it. You have to go with a larger or smaller bar, or change the length of the lever from the drop-link to the bar in order to change the effectiveness of the sway bar.

--DD

Dave Bell · 10-25-2004, 10:42 AM

What DD said.

I had stock front sway and put 140's on the back... way too tail happy in the limit when I tested it out. I imagine adding a rear sway would make things even worse!

Start by disconnecting the rear sway, test that out, and then move to a larger front sway... and as D.D. said adjustable would help.

- Dave

BigD9146gt · BigD9146gt's Garage

From what i understand, you can put a preload on the adjustable drop links, but what they're main use is to keep the sway bar arms horizonal at rest...

REASON: If you raise or lower your car and have a sway bar with non adjustable links, it will rise and fall according to the lower A arms. When at rest, if the sway bar arms are above or below horizonal, then you wont get the equal pull/push than if the arms were at horizonal. The arms work along a radius, and the center of the radius is the sway bar. At rest, as said before, you want the arms to be horizonal, so when you enter a corner, lets make it a right hand corner, as the left front pushes up, the right front pulls down by the torsion bar.

I've been told this by several suscessful racers. Good luck on what ever you decide to go with. Don,

schosh · 10-26-2004, 04:06 AM

So my question is this...For those of us who do not autox, but enjoy spirited driving on curvy roads , is all of this necessary? Are the handling improvemnets so large to be worth the time and money? Don't most of these changes negatively affect the "ride"? I am in the planning stages of "refreshing" the suspension on my 76 and am lookiing for opinions /reccomendations for rear spring/shock combinations.
Bill

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

Pertty much anything you do to improve road-holding will have a negative effect on the ride quality. That's not completely universal, but there aren't a whole ton of exceptions. The thing is, different people have different levels of discomfort they can tolerate and different levels of grip that they want to attain.

I am finding that, as I get older, I want the car to be more civilized on the street and am willing to give up a little bit of grip to do that. I'm still keeping the 140s and the 19mm sway bar (considering going to a 21mm one--crap, Br@d was right again!!) but I think I will change over to 60- or 65-series tires for street use soon.

The "sticky" tires will still be 50-series, though!

--DD

BigD9146gt · BigD9146gt's Garage

Daves absolutly right... it all comes down to how much you can tallerate. These cars will kick major ass when set up right and in the hands of a capable driver, but if your going for spirited rides every now and then (and have a 4 cylinder), i would go with Daves setup, that seams to be very popular.

As for my beast, i'm going to have a 3.2 with a VERY spirited suspention setup. Thus, the ride should be tight, so i'm going to buy one of those "space age memory foam" pads from Costco when i get done making my seats. Cut it up and line my seats with that stuff. It reduces pressure points, making life very nice. I just bought one for my bed and wow. It comes in a 2.5" thickness, and a twin bed cover goes for about $90.... should be enough to line my seats.