Drag Bar question

[MDSheds_SS]

So I bought the BMR extreme drag bar and installed it last week. Took the car for a ride and noticed it tightened up the car a lot. Not a bad thing. However for the 2nd time now the bar has moved in the bushings. 1st pass last week it shifted almost against the lower shock mount. So I fixed it and cranked down on the bolts a ton more then I thought it needed. Last night 1st 2 passes perfect didn't move a hair. Last run it slid over to the shock mount again. Anyone else have this issue? I'm not making that much power that the bar can't handle it.

[NJ Torque]

Does BMR give you a torque spec for it? Could they be the wrong bushings? rubber/poly?

[sweetbmxrider]

Did you preload it correctly when installing? Different brands have different installs.

[MDSheds_SS]

Poly bushings. I didn't pre-load it yet. I wanted to see what it would do without a pre-load.
4-5 good grunts after it was tight and I figured that was a good torque spec. I don't recall seeing the specs in the directions... However I wasn't really looking for them to be 100% honest.

[MDSheds_SS]

So after reading the directions, it seems as if it was installed properly. Other then maybe over tightening the bolts I can't see what the issue is. And I doubt I over tightened them. Even if I did why did it take until the 3rd pass to move.

[NJ Torque]

Does it say anything about having the suspension loaded vs hanging?

[MDSheds_SS]

I had the car loaded when making the final connections. That's how they say to do it

[KirkEvil]

Are you using the U-bolt mounts that attach to the rear axle tubes? I constantly had to adjust mine because those mounts would slightly rotate over time. They really should be welded on along with the end link mounts

[MDSheds_SS]

Yea that's what it came with so that's what I'm using. Gonna have them welded when my welder gets a free min. That not the issue tho. They aren't moving the bar is moving in the bushing. The u-bolts and settles aren't moving. I marked them and there in the same place.

[LTb1ow]

What sort of pan hard bar do you have?

[MDSheds_SS]

Adjustable QA1

[LTb1ow]

QA1 makes panhard bars?

[6spdg37s]

Originally Posted by LTb1ow

QA1 makes panhard bars?

yes they do !

[LTb1ow]

Originally Posted by 6spdg37s

yes they do !

Did not know, thanks

So sounds like the rear end should be held pretty straight side to side, anything else moving around on the rear?

[MDSheds_SS]

Had the car up on my trailer and looked everything over and all seems good. Everything was marked when it was torqued and all the marks still line up so nothing is loose. Going to reset the bar with some pre-load and see what happens on Weds.

[KirkEvil]

Aftermarket fixed length or adjustable LCA's? Maybe check that those bushings are in good shape.

The drag bars put a lot of stress on everything so I'm not too surprised that you see it moving a bit. I had to constantly re adjust mine even after just typical street miles, and that's was with the bar mounts, sfcs, and a solid 6pt welded in.

For bar preload I had best results with jacking the front up about 2" higher than the car typically rose at launch, and setting the end links there. It's a good idea to verify the pinion angle after you preload and set the car down too

[MDSheds_SS]

Aftermarket adjustable spherical LCA. And I'm going to set the pre-load like you said. BMR doesn't explain any setup procedure, however Spohn does and they recommend setting it up like you did. Front wheels up, driver in the car. So that's my next step.

[MDSheds_SS]

Found the fix to this sway bar issue. Two 1 3/8" split locking collars. 4 solid launches tonight and no movement. image.jpg

[Blackbirdws6]

Nice. How did she run?

[MDSheds_SS]

image.jpg car #8835

Pretty consistent... 60 ft still not as good with the drag bar tho. Need a track rental to make some real time adjustments. Not waiting an hr between runs. However etown was empty lastnight.