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Rear end height eveness.....

Started by 1974dodgecharger, September 21, 2013, 06:51:03 PM

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1974dodgecharger

Does your guys charger rear same height both sides? I ask mine driver side sits half in higher than other side.  I put 1.5inc lower block on driver and 1inch on passenger now they are even.

Ghoste


ws23rt

Mine is the same both sides.  (Old and original)
A good question is what was the factory intent?

JB400

Well, we can tell what your car has done in it's past life. :lol:  All the weight of your car shifts toward the right rear when you launch.  After a few times, your car will sit like it did.

Sublime/Sixpack

My Charger sits even from side to side. But when I installed new torsion bars on my '68 Coronet the right rear sat 3/4 of an inch higher than the left rear even though I adjusted both bars the same number of turns. So I adjusted the left front torsion bar up a bit more and that brought the right rear down where it needed to be.
1970 Sublime R/T, 440 Six Pack, Four speed, Super Track Pak

XH29N0G

This may be naive, but I'll put it down in case it helps. 

I assume the front is level.  Mine is not exact in the back, but the back went up and down and side to side when I adjusted the front ride height.
Who in their right mind would say

"The science should not stand in the way of this."? 

Science is just observation and hypothesis.  Policy stands in the way.........

Or maybe it protects us. 

I suppose it depends on the specific case.....

myk

I honestly can't tell, I think it's level.  What I'd like to know is how "level" the rear is when I'm sitting in it...
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bull

This can be a tough one. Mine measures the same on both sides at the rear but it looks off, so apparently there's some differences in the body. Sometimes the bumpers can be off which makes them look wrong, sometimes there are differences in the sheetmetal, trim, etc. You kind of have to eyeball it with a form over function attitude if you want it to sit evenly and you'll have to split differences and compromise. The rear isn't adjustable everything has to be manipulated at the torsion bars up front.

bull

Quote from: myk on September 21, 2013, 10:49:10 PM
I honestly can't tell, I think it's level.  What I'd like to know is how "level" the rear is when I'm sitting in it...

Right, and assuming it sits low on the left with you inside how does it look when you're traveling on a road with a crown to it as opposed to level ground? It might be dead-on.  :shruggy:

1974dodgecharger

Just did a measurement from top of fender to ground.  Mt driver side is 30 and passenger is 29.5 or so, but looks even based on my block lowered w/1.5 inch.

Mike DC

 
Look at the bottom edges of the doors & rocker panels.  Imagine extending those horizontal lines outward into the wheelwells, and compare them to the center-point of the wheels.  That's the only way to judge suspension height effectively IMHO. 

Measuring from the ground to the wheelwell bodywork isn't very practical.  The bodywork may not be as symmetrical as it should be and even artificial man-made ground surfaces are just not smooth enough.  And tire inflation & wear differences can easily screw with your figures by 1/2" or more from right to left. 

1974dodgecharger

Quote from: Mike DC (formerly miked) on September 22, 2013, 08:26:11 AM

Look at the bottom edges of the doors & rocker panels.  Imagine extending those horizontal lines outward into the wheelwells, and compare them to the center-point of the wheels.  That's the only way to judge suspension height effectively IMHO. 

Measuring from the ground to the wheelwell bodywork isn't very practical.  The bodywork may not be as symmetrical as it should be and even artificial man-made ground surfaces are just not smooth enough.  And tire inflation & wear differences can easily screw with your figures by 1/2" or more from right to left. 


will do....im just curious....

375instroke

Adjust the front to get it even.  If you raise the front left, the rear right has to go down.  If one end of the car is level, and the other isn't, the car's twisted, and you have bigger problems.

Hard Charger

when I took the factory springs out and put in super stockers they sat uneven.

rave_12000

there is an extra leaf in the right side of rear.   intention is to counter the torque created by the rightward turn of the drive train...and helps to create an even launch.  because of the extra leaf, car will naturally sit a bit high on the right in rear at standstill.

375instroke

What's wrong with just adjusting the height?

1974dodgecharger

Quote from: 375instroke on October 07, 2013, 11:04:32 PM
What's wrong with just adjusting the height?

thats another questions I pondered if I made it even would it be 'ok' if all the cars are supose to be uneven  due to the weight of the driver in the car makes it even?  Either way I put a 1.5 block on driver side to even up the ride with the passenger side with 1inch block.

375instroke

I wouldn't use mismatched blocks.  The front is adjustable, so how do you know it's adjusted properly?  It could have been compensating for something wrong in the back, so saying it was even before you changed something is invalid.  Unless you weigh all four corners, there's no way of knowing, and even if you did, so what?  Let's say the rear right sits high now, but the weight on the tires is even.  If you raised the front left, the rear right would go down.  This raises the weight on that tire, but so what?  That's what you want.  That higher weight gives you more traction on the tire that spins easier because it makes it harder for the axle to lift that tire.

375instroke

Now that I think about it, different height blocks is an even worse idea as far as handling.  The differential rotates in an arc when it goes up and down, with the front spring eye being the axis of rotation.  When it does so, it moves fore and aft when everything is close to the stock location.  You want the mounting point of the differential to be above the spring eye, and even side to side.  When the car turns, the inside of the car lifts, and the outside drops.  This causes the outside tire to move forward a bit, and the inside tire to move rearward a bit, turning the differential into the turn, inducing stabilizing understeer that increases with speed.  People used to jack the back of the car up, causing the differential's mounting point to sit lower than the spring eye.  This made the differential turn out of the turn, causing oversteer.  With different thickness blocks, the rear won't turn the same amount on left and right turns, and could cause oversteer in one direction, and understeer in the other.

1974dodgecharger

375,

Took your advice took out that block and in fact this morning took out all blocks.  With adjustment to front adjustment height and hotchkis bars I like my stance....need to post pics of new setup....

1974dodgecharger

she sits perfectly the rears are 28inchs tires are both 'eyeball' same amount in the rear well.  The fronts are 26inches now im trying to adjust to get more 'rake'.


375instroke

Glad you got this sorted out.  I'd set it so the gap from the wheel to the wheel lip is the same.  Notice that you see more tire above the front than the rear?  That's fine on a Roadrunner or Dart, with the dropped rear wheel wells, but there shouldn't be more air above the front on a Charger if you ask me.  Makes it look like you just pulled the motor out.

1974dodgecharger

thx 375, yeah I readjusted the fronts to make it lower now everything sits perfect, thx for thelp man  :2thumbs:

Fred

Somehow I missed this thread. Not that it matters as it's all sorted out.
Stance is mean and beautiful.  :2thumbs:


Tomorrow is promised to no one.......drive your Charger today.

375instroke