4-bar setup on Lonestar

Ze Colonel · #1 (**permalink**) 09-18-2006, 07:54 PM

My LSC427 was purchased with the 4-bar linkage setup slightly different then the build manual shows. The connection of the lower bar heims at the axle housing mount are raise up one slot from the lowest setting. The manual shows it should be at the lowest setting.
This makes the upper and lower bars parralell as opposed to being spaced farther apart at the axle connection.

From my limited experience the car drives good. Tesxt books have suggested that this may have been done to improve roll steer at the expense of antisquat during acceleration. I will likely play with the different setting someday but would like to know if anyone already has experience with these adjustments on a Lonestar or similar car.

Thank you.

Barnsnake · #2 (**permalink**) 09-18-2006, 08:06 PM

They need to be parallel or it will drastically change your pinion angle as the suspension travels.

Tim Brewer · #3 (**permalink**) 09-18-2006, 10:30 PM

Mine are mounted on the lowest holes on the bottom, and the highest holes on the top. They can be mounted several different ways without hurting anything. It just makes the car able to do perform differently in different situations. The most important thing is you must be able to wiggle each rod with weight on the wheels, otherwise your cars' rear end will bind and it wont handle correctly.
Tim

trularin · #4 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 06:05 AM

Mine are parallel. I have found that the rod ends need to be lubed all the time and the bolts and nuts checked.

The car drives well, but at over 140, the front seems to lift a little, might be just my car.

If yours is driving fine, why do you want to change the settings?

392cobra · #5 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 06:22 AM

Mine are :
Uppers - highest holes on frame & axle
Lowers - Lowest holes on frame & axle

The rods ends that come stock are very low quality.Sloppy and squeak.
A number of us in the DFW area have switched them out for QA1's.Major difference in ride and handling.AND they don't squeak.

Ze Colonel · #6 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 08:02 PM

Tim,

By wiggle do you mean I should be able to push the frame of the car laterally a little when it is sitting on all fours? I have confirmed full travel using a jack on the differential with the springs and shocks out and it seems to have full range of motion. If I grab an individual bar and pull laterally on it it feels quit solid and firm.

Ze Colonel · #7 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 08:09 PM

I bought the car completely built but no well sorted. Being new to Cobras I have been methodically checking all major components and adjustments. I have learned a lot through simple measurements and a few text books. Because the rear end geometry is not set up exactly like the manual shows I question it. The car was taken to a race suspension shop and had some modifications like front anti-roll bar , shock and spring changes. They apprear professionally done and I though maybe they new what they were doing by setting it up different. I can see the car used to have the links in the manual suggested positions.

This forum has proved to be very helpful to me in learning about these wonderful cars!

Ze Colonel · #8 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 08:12 PM

Thank you for the advice. One of my too do miny projects was to figure out what the hell was squeeking in the rear suspension. I think I have a good idea where to start looking now.

Tim Brewer · #9 (**permalink**) 09-19-2006, 09:20 PM

By "wiggle", I mean you should grab each of the four rods and be able to fairly eaisley twist them by moving the rod ends. If any one of them (with weight on the wheels) can't be twisted, it's bound up and needs to be adjusted. The squeeking could be one or more of thr rods being bound up. Don't forget to grease them, but like Fred says, they are of low quality.
Tim