Torsion bar adjustment and alignment

89vette · March 30, 2003

I cranked my torsion bars all the way up to level my 01 Silverado. It helped a lot. My question is does this affect alignment? My front tires are all chewed up on the outside edges after only 4000 miles on the new set. I put the front ones on the back and vice versa and I had such a shake in the steering it was violent. I put the tires bak but crossed the front tires. I now have a slight wobbl ein the wheel but a hard pull to the right. It used to pull to the left. What gives?

Wingnut · March 30, 2003

Yup, it throws the alignment waaay off.

The tow-in, I believe is what it's called. This would definately make your tires wear in the pattern you are indicating.

You should get it aligned ASAP.

Stepside Z · March 30, 2003

Yes you will need an allignment. I caution you about cranking the bars all the way to the top. It will bind the keys aginst the top of the bracket. They need some room to flex as part of suspension flex.

theeZ71man · March 30, 2003

I was told by another person that the max you can go with out needing an alignment is 3 to 5 full turns, but he said the most important part is to bounce the front of the truck to see how the tires sit :thumb:

89vette · March 30, 2003

Thanks guys. I figured as much. Now my front tires are toast. Oh well.

r6nightride · March 31, 2003

I used new torsion keys from Hill 4 Wheel Drive.

cowboy02 · March 31, 2003

So why is it that adjusting the highth of the truck changes the Front alignment?

r6nightride · April 3, 2003

I dont' know, but it does. Mine pulled hard right when I put them on.

Chris A · April 6, 2003

So why is it that adjusting the highth of the truck changes the Front alignment?

Changing the static ride height changes the static alignment. On independent from suspensions, that utilize SHORT LONG ARM suspension (SLA), the tire moves through a very large arc as it goes up and down, it does not stay perpendicular to the road surface. This changes the camber of the wheel through the wheels suspension travel. So by raising the static ride height, you are changing the camber, and can affect how the tires wear and the car pulls. Ideally it shouldn't, but if the camber changes it responds differently to loading. If the tires are pushed out at the bottom after a lift (which they will be because the upper arm is shorter so it pulls in the top of the tire as it droops) the tires will try to push in on the truck. If one side is loaded a little more than the other, that tire will have more grab and push the truck opposite that side.

Changing the static ride height can affect the toe in as well, since the steering linkage doesn't move in perfect harmony with the control arms. Normally this slight variance can contribute to bump steer as the toe changes through the suspension travel. However, for static ride height, it will change the direction the truck wants to steer.

Chris