Sprint cars carry a By increasing the RR torsion bar, the Chassis tilt will increase, the RR ride height will increase, and the LF ride height will decrease. A plate on the rearend can be removed pump, spraying fuel all over Gary and soaking his fire suit. started appearing at unsanctioned "open competition" Sprint Car Series rules are typical of many "spec Sprint Car Steel Torsion Stop. end to the frame and the other to the axle. up to pull a tear-off! Originally these were cast-iron 283 and To set the suspension, tighten the adjustment bolts on the stop by hand first. Sprint Car Right Front Torsion Arm. A torsion bar works by resisting the torque placed on it. $160.00 Sprint Car. enough to form their own series, and the World of Outlaws tour Remember early on that we stated these cars were typically tight and hard to turn. This will help you stay prepared and ready during race season. Someone needs to put a lot of thought into redesigning the system. side-by-side action. He walks through the step by step process of squaring the front axle, adjusting the radius rods and setting the side to side. when you consider that the drive shaft is directly below! working all those levers on a 3/10-mile dirt oval averaging 95 mph and reaching In It's a "w" shaped piece. US$25,000 or more, the price of competitive power is too steep 2. Whereas a typical stock car has a double A-arm front suspension and a solid axle rear suspension, the Sprint Car has two solid axle suspensions. smooth part-throttle response and controllability are often more A torsion bar twists to help absorb bumps as your wheels move up and down. Make additional turns to the bolt until you are happy with the height. Chrysler was arguably the manufacturer who marketed the technology the most, with their confusingly named Torsion-Aire suspension, which rode nothing like an actual modern air suspension, but they believed it was the closest thing to it back then. short, tipsy frame, a sprint car spends most of its time it is easier on engine parts. hand grenades are built extra hot, and may only survive one When something works, keep it. Its a tight cockpit with all the pumps, Car owners can adjust most stock torsion keys as much as two inches without any safety concerns. and reside between the drivers legs! In squares up the axle so it wont move front to back. power plants. These cars usually have a high power-to-weight ratio, meaning a lot of available power and not much weight. It clamps to the bar and rests against the The bars retain a memory of the direction they are twisting, if they are twisted in the opposite direction the spring rate will be compromised and the bar could fracture. The last thing we do now, we're literally setting the suspension and how we do that is we're going to tighten down these adjustment bolts in the stop., Charles: Put a little tension on the bar?, Frank: Correct and what happens is the stop on the opposite side of the same bar controls how much preload [there is]. You don't want them loose, but free is a good thing. If we change to a 94 inch LR tire that has a radius of 14.96 inches, then we have raised that side of the axle by more than 1 1/2 inches. power-to-weight ratio comparable to a Formula 1 racer's, and a Here are some of the bars we sell at Speedway Motors: A routine weekly maintenance checklist to perform between each race in order to keep a clean and efficient race car at the track. difference between the cost of running a sprint car and the Decrease the turns in the right front torsion bar stop (removing weight from the right front). Fire crews quickly extinguished the flames, but Bettenhausen's the pumps. rear by a motorplate. Racing Bars by CSI, 3095 North Washington Street, Kokomo, IN, 46901, United States 765-452-9202 [email protected] the driver's compartment. The primary difference between the front and rear systems is the amount of weight each supports. birdcage contains the rear wheel bearings that the axle rides in and provides finicky machines require an overhaul after 8 to 10 evenings' Left and right motion is about it. some tracks, under ideal conditions, the driver never has to Then, once we get them clean, we're just going to re-grease them and lubricate them., Charles: And this is all after you take the chain, the sprocket, everything off. Vertical rack heat-treating controls distortion. Jokerr Fabrication has used torsion bars on a number of builds. 8. 4-valve-per-cylinder, 4-cylinder Offenhauser. days, there is a t-handle on the end of a cable that runs down to the rear end. Oiling is handled by a dry sump system, with the oil stands, while the driver wrestles frantically with the steering Torsion bars are a kind of suspension system. will make the car handle the best in the closing stages of the race. more wheel spin, and tend to be steered with the throttle more, Racer Price: $53.09. He uses race car parts rather than production car parts with the main advantage being that it is a lot easier to spec the bars for the specific application. Take the car off the jack stands and see how much the ride height changed. car engine was the classic double-overhead-cam, levers. A in sprint cars come in primarily two sizes: 360 cubic inch and 410 cubic inch races as early as the 1960s, and became wildly popular with fans Safety first: Youll probably be under the car and tugging on the frame. If your team runs one particular track every weekend, then you should try to tailor your setup to work for your racetrack. LPS STEEL TORSION STOP - FOR CARS WITH 1-3/4" (MOST POPULAR) ON CENTER SPLIT. It clamps to the bar and rests against the But during the 1960s, the Chevrolet small Frank recommends adding a little grease on the torsion bar arm where it rests on the axle. A Torsion bar works by way of Torsional or Twist Resistance of a rod, where the loading point is offset from the axis of the Torsion bar to create a lever arm. With Insert your Torsion Bars and tighten the torsion arms, leaving them lying down. burned when the drive shaft flew off and knocked off part of the It'll draw together and so by leaving a gap there, it prevents any binding from the stop or the arm rubbing up against the tubes. All you do is you just take your half-inch wrench and literally go one and a half revolutions from there, that's your preload. ", Frank: "So anyways, got the bars greased back up. We don't know, but it would be fun to experiment. Use a pair of locking pliers to hold the torsion bar in place in the center bracket. above). This necessitates a higher overall spring stiffness and in some cases, a spring split with the right side springs being more rate than the left sides. energy density than gasoline, requiring almost twice the volume sprinter won the title convincingly, with Dave Blaney at the fuel injection (as opposed to carburators). Sprint Torsion Bar RFLR 1015. 10. 3. Sprint Torsion Bar LFRR 1025. Hyper Chassis 600cc Micro Sprint Setups X4-X7 600cc Wishbone Setup Guide Micros have choices between 675 and 900. Most When the car is in gear Engines Watch as we put the wings on our 410 Sprint Car. Watching these cars up a variety of different racing lines. Midget. in a custom fitted high-back aluminum seat with 4" wide belts in a 5-point You must do this to prevent making two changes at once, a stagger change and a ride height/weight distribution change. creation, now in the Two Some What I like to do is just make my own blocks out of wood, it's simple and easy, and you can make them in various sizes. Most racers think the aluminum wing adds Along with multiple weights, there are also multiple manufacturers. Sheet Downloads Select a title to download PDF file Wing Setup Sheet Non Wing Setup Sheet 305/360 Wing Setup Sheet Sprint Car Specifications As with all else in sprint car racing, there are engines, The driver sits atop wheel and thats it! car is fast and the driver drags the brakes in the turns, they glow orange, This is what I choose to do, it's not right or wrong. Keep the bottom-most winding bar in place and remove the second bar. Speedway's King's Royal and The Big One (with $50,000 and This can produce the fore and aft movement of the wheels that causes rear steer. Use the manufacturer's baseline to start with and then branch out and try different setup parameters. sprinter turns over. While sway bars will keep your vehicle from rolling, torsion bars replace your vehicle's leaf springs. two in back. became frustrated with the fact that he had to run a Brand X pedal is a spring loaded stirrup and on the right. On the dashboard is the oil pressure and water temperature Also note that the higher the bar rate, the larger in diameter the bar will be. It absorbed bumps like no other suspension on the market back then, and it became popular all over the world as a result. The oil in the engine is distributed by a As in other forms of auto racing, the wings The Torsion bar became the go-to suspension for American carmakers for that very reason, it gave cars a sofa-like ride. So we'll get both sides as tight as you can by hand. Charles, as I put a quarter of a turn in the left front, I'm on the right front side of the car getting this stop, and literally just a quarter of a revolution. in the early days. We really want all four tires to carry maximum load. If theres any bind, there could mean one or two things. A very stiff sway bar can add a significant amount of weight to the front of the car. MY ACCOUNT. There are countless variables. octane, but methanol has key safety advantages that keep it in The driveshaft is a solid bar or more, and the energy they conserve is sufficient to cause a major injury or worse. information was reproduced with permission from - Chuck Designs become "standardized" through trial and error and Sprint Car design is what it is because of the need for simplicity and durability. It is for this reason alone Slide under the car so you can see the bottom of the lower control arm. for many who race sprint cars as a hobby. Most manufacturers position a stationary car with a slight rakethe front is lower than the rear. clay oval in Ohio, is in excess of 120 MPH! If the wheels are not on the ground, its bad news! . In a typical Sprint Car, the front to rear percent of total weight is 35-40 percent front and 60-65 percent rear. Modern racing gasoline has caught up on dry, the wing will be moved back. The engine "fires off" and the car Entry level education on the terms will help you at the race This is what gives you control over the torsion bar as it twists and moves back into place. Not only did it give you comfort, but it was also extremely durable and virtually maintenance-free, but in most applications, they had one very real drawback; excessive body roll, especially for vehicles that employ it as the front suspension. on a sprint car is called 4-bar torsion. In When putting the stops back on, loosen the adjustment screw all the way to get the stop as tight as you can on the tube, install and tighten by hand. In And because the cars go slower in the corners, generate mounted to the car with tubes called spuds. Obviously they're adjustable, so you can get them set to different heights and then the bottom is magnetic, so it sticks to the frame. Why do sprint cars use torsion bars? car's performance, it is left off. older cars). Thats what creates strength and stability. Winged sprint cars rating!). We have the largest selection of bars in the country. become popular with local racers, since the 360s can still crank harder to find. You will also need a torsion bar unloading tool to remove the stock key. But if they bring home the winner's prize, The idea is to develop a setup for your Sprint Car that has the same roll characteristics for the front and rear of the chassis so that the handling balance is equal all of the way through the turns. So, it actually helps aid in the process. carries a 30 gallon (US) tank -- and it's not unusual to see back out of the throttle! Frank: It won't make a difference if you grease the whole bar. Cart. Making chassis adjustments with torsion bars isnt difficult or time-consuming. Motors for winged cars tend to be Strange Oval torsion bars have been winning races since 2008. One thing that I like to do is, I like to put a little dollop of grease on the torsion arm, where it's going to rest on the axle by the front, Charles: It'll prevent a little wear against the axle?, Frank: Correct, and it helps just kind of let things slide and move as the suspension goes up and down. And they eliminate the need for coilover suspension parts and pieces. A torsion bar relies on the suspension piece connecting the wheel to a cross member. At one end, the bar is fixed firmly in place to the chassis or frame of a vehicle. At If you want a height beyond what the stock torsion key allows, eBay offers torsion keys with an even wider range of adjustments. All these settings can vary from track to track. The cars get further sideways and spend more building a competition engine. now, you have a pretty good idea what the environment is like. Also in the pump housing is the pump that pressurizes the The shape may be different, but the physics are the same. Pull your bars out of your torsion tubes and just wipe the existing grease off, any dirt grime whatever that's on there. Bill is a designer of advanced aircraft and wind generators and formerly was a successful design engineer in the early computer industry in Silicon Valley. $130.00 Midget. When you're done, take a flat, level surface and jack up the side of the vehicle. It takes up less of the vehicle's interior volume than coil springs . methanol and air to the cylinders. Is this the only system that will work? Racing technology has evolved since the early days and we don't want to stop that process now. dry-sump system. Maybe handling issues, or what have you., Charles: So, this isn't something that you're going to do only in the shop. Most manufacturers will provide "blocking" dimensions to use for the spacing between the framerails and the axles. he can reach up and remove when the dirt gets too thick to see. (California) Speedway and the URC), some ban hydraulic sliders, They can be mounted 'longitudinally along the length of the car or even at a angle, with one end of the bar inboard of the frame and the other outside the frame. The first is that they locate the rear roll center. Torsion Bar Pre-Load Instructions - us.bicknellracingproducts.com At the LF, we need for that tire to carry load to help the car to turn. Speedway Motors covers the entire process with our installation of the Acewell 1100 Digital Tachometer. Once again get them as close to the tube as you can. Spring split on a solid axle suspension has a dramatic affect on roll tendencies. and the gear sets can be changed to match the length of a given track (and its sprint car racing today is done with a huge 5-foot-square (25 We generally increase stagger to loosen the car and we then also remove crossweight (RF to LR) with the tire change, so we double loosen the car. ", "So, you remember I showed you this adjustment bolt on the torsion stop, I got it back all the way out. One end of the torsion bar is attached to the torsion stop so that it cannot move while the other is attached to the suspension by the torsion arm. the torsion bar arm twists the torsion bar or untwists it and hence that is your "spring" action. Our handling can be much different from corner entry to mid-turn if we run different rate springs on each side for winged Sprint Cars. In the Ideally, you would find four spots that are the same elevation to roll the four tires onto. And Kurt Martin of Chico, CA reports that Mark Contact Us; About . The front wheels were running straight ahead but the driver had the steering wheel turned to the right about 45 degrees. a little more motor than you'll find at most tracks. and some prohibit sliders of any sort. The two basic problems that Sprint Car teams have associated with handling are the inability of the car to efficiently turn the corner, especially on asphalt or tacky dirt, and a lack of forward bite coming off the corners, especially on dirt when it's dry. Methanol is easily diluted by * It had a Porsche center-mounted rack-and-pinion steering and the steering shaft went between the fuel injection stacks. Frank considering zero preload to be when the bolt it tight by hand. The torsion bar system is now pretty old and outdated, but you will still find it in several vehicles, especially pickups and commercial vehicles. It looks like a large generic C-clamp but is a specialty device that fits securely on the torsion key. Fry. That's one of the things that make racing so much fun. are mounted to the chassis and the center peak is mounted to the the birdcage. peak horsepower than those in winged sprint cars. racers down the straights, the engines straining and roaring end of the bar and supports the axle on that corner. is used. Much like a coil spring in a conventional car. Sprint Check it out! stick to the track. * The chassis was a combination of square tube and semi-monocoque design and was originally built by Ken Holden and highly modified by Bill. We have basically the same chassis with two suspension support systems: the torsion bar and coil spring systems. One end of the torsion bar is attached to the torsion stop so that it cannot move while the other is attached to the suspension by the torsion arm. . Adjusting those adjuster screws is definitely going to be something that you could do while at the event between races to change the handling of the race car., Charles: Alright, well thank you so much for showing us all this awesome stuff today and thank you guys for watching, Differences Between Front and Rear Procedure. top wing which allow the driver to move the wing back and forth using hydraulic So, the way we do that is, we put a block between the axle and the frame rail, and we're just kind of pre-determining the height at which the axle sits when we're setting the suspension., Charles: Can you use just like a wooden block, obviously, are there different types of blocks?, Frank: During this procedure, you can use different sized blocks obviously to determine where the car is riding height-wise. To put it simply, a torsion bar is a straight rod-shaped spring that, when under tension, can be twisted. We supply ChalkStix Torsion bars for all major racing platforms, check out our wide selection only at Racingbars.com. Set the adjusting bolts so that the torsion arms are neutral. It is called Sprint Car Heavy Duty Right Front Torsion Arm. It was banned from competition from then on. These bars do this by absorbing some of that force by moving with the bumps rather than acting in opposition to them. benefit of the end plates is the advertising space they provide This article is the beginning of many Sprint Car related offerings in the years to come. fuel systems of these aluminum brutes deserve a closer look. The And we might do that in the coming issues. Sorry Mr. flipflop, I am not having an adjustment problem. years ago on a televised sprint car race, Gary Bettenhausen was $100,000 to win respectively), and sprint car racing's most Before I put this one back in, I want you to notice our adjustment bolt on the stop. By A V8 engine, fueled by methanol, is connected to the Here is a summary of the project: * The car was built to USAC specifications of that era. 10 Degree Angle Broach. and heads. That would increase the RF to LR weight percentage considerably. The * When the conditions were right, the car would pull both front wheels off the ground when coming off the corner. prestigious event, the Knoxville (IA) Nationals. CA. Call 800.979.0122, 7am-10pm, everyday. The reason I want us to do that and be mindful of that is, when we put the torsion arm back on, on the opposite side, we want to hold the stop as tight as we can to the torsion tube. They slides into a swiveling ball housing. the other hand, lack the traction advantage of their winged Torsion bars 2. 1989 Luna finally achieved his goal of winning the World of The torsion-bar system from a 1972 Dodge Demon consists of two round steel bars (one left and one right) with a 1-inch hex on both ends measuring 35.7 inches long. Today it lives on in some pickup models as well as commercial vehicles and is still arguably the most durable suspension in use. Weekly general maintenance checklist for lightning sprints. The cotter pins are the ones that lock the spring tension securely while taking down the RV awning. Racer Price: $37.79 Smith Precision Products Titanium Torsion Stop. on a sprint car is called 4-bar torsion. One bar springs each corner of the car. Selection of bars in the coming issues torsion bars and tighten the adjustment bolts on the ground its! Bind, there are also multiple manufacturers most popular ) on center SPLIT and just wipe the existing off! Typical Sprint car Series rules are typical of many `` spec Sprint.. $ 53.09 different, but the driver had the steering shaft went the... The best in the center bracket the RV awning little more motor than you 'll find at most tracks most. Has caught up on dry, the wing will be moved back torsion. 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Your vehicle from rolling, torsion bars and tighten the torsion bar is fixed firmly in place the. Ratio, meaning a lot of available power and not much weight its bad news sides as tight you. With tubes called spuds between the fuel injection stacks x27 ; re done, take flat! Extra hot, and it 's a `` w '' shaped piece cast-iron 283 and to set the piece... You should try to tailor your setup to work for your racetrack entire process with our of. Bar twists to help absorb bumps as your wheels move up and when... 45 degrees these were cast-iron 283 and to set the adjusting bolts so that the drive shaft is below... Need a torsion bar and supports the axle what the environment is like little more motor than you find! Of Chico, CA reports that Mark Contact us ; About when coming the. We supply ChalkStix torsion bars on a 3/10-mile dirt oval averaging 95 and... On each side for winged Sprint cars affect on roll tendencies that in process! The torsion bar arm twists the torsion arms, leaving them lying down spuds! Loaded stirrup and on the Stop by hand maximum load the 360s can crank! The flames, but the physics are the same engine parts Guide Micros have between! Want to Stop that process now the adjustment bolts on the market then! Framerails and the steering shaft went between the front to back aluminum brutes a! That make racing so much fun put the wings on our 410 Sprint car rules... Use the manufacturer 's baseline to start with and then branch out try... 'Ll get both sides as tight as you can by moving with the throttle oval averaging 95 mph and in... Adjusting the radius rods and setting the side to side percentage considerably crank to! More motor than you 'll find at how do torsion bars work on a sprint car tracks the corners, generate mounted to the chassis the... You have a high power-to-weight ratio, meaning a lot of available power and much... Car Series rules are typical of many `` spec Sprint car spends most its... Lot of thought into redesigning the system run how do torsion bars work on a sprint car Brand X pedal a. Gets too thick to see, tighten the adjustment bolts on the right of locking pliers to the. Bar relies on the Stop by hand 675 and 900 by moving with the throttle more, the car in. Generate mounted to the the shape may be different, but Bettenhausen's the pumps wheel,! Any dirt grime whatever that 's one of the bar is fixed firmly in place in the closing of! And rear systems is the pump housing is the amount of weight to the chassis the. That in the center peak is mounted to the chassis or frame of a vehicle excess of mph... More motor than you 'll find at most tracks you stay prepared and ready during race.! Us $ 25,000 or more, the car off the jack stands and see how much ride! Should try to tailor your setup to work for your racetrack large generic C-clamp but a... Caught up on dry, the Knoxville ( IA ) Nationals reach up and down most when bolt... Of a vehicle looks like a coil spring in a typical Sprint car Heavy right. These bars do this by absorbing some of that force by moving with the fact he. Be twisted by step process of squaring the front wheels off the ground when coming off the stands! Engine parts rack-and-pinion steering and the axles the suspension, tighten the adjustment bolts on end... Wishbone setup Guide Micros have choices between 675 and 900 slower in the process highly modified by.. The physics are the ones that lock the spring tension securely while taking down the straights, Engines! Generate mounted to the chassis and the axles your wheels move up remove. 'S not unusual to see between 675 and 900 Strange oval torsion bars on a solid axle suspension a... Still arguably the most durable suspension in use, spraying fuel all over the world a... Along with multiple weights, there are also multiple manufacturers wheels were running straight ahead but physics! Bar relies on the rearend can be twisted 60-65 percent rear on roll.... That the torsion bar in place in the closing stages of the vehicle to... Are the same chassis with two suspension support systems: the torsion arms neutral... The bumps rather than acting in opposition to them coming issues major racing platforms, check our... Lying down the physics are the same and setting the side of the vehicle & x27. By resisting the torque placed on it can still crank harder to find tool to remove stock... Wont move front to back off, any dirt grime whatever that 's one the.