SS vs. Ladder bars on on radial/small tire racecars???

With out getting into power management too much which one is better?

A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that ladder bars have no place in fast cars but yet it seems a fair amount of radial cars are being built with ladder bars these days.

That would depend on what ss your comparing the ladder bars to.

cool40 wrote:That would depend on what ss your comparing the ladder bars to.

Mustang stock suspension.

bigblok2000ranger wrote:

cool40 wrote:That would depend on what ss your comparing the ladder bars to.

Mustang stock suspension.

mustang as in "fox body" would be hard to beat according to the performance lately from a few. IMO a ladder bar is all about taking bite out of the setup cuz its the nature of them to hit a tire hard. Shocks! Shocks! Shocks! And shocks! Without a good set your pissing in the wind. JMO......

If stock mounting points are already there and guys are going fast with catalog parts then why change it? If the car already has ladder bars and you can make it work why change it?

Was thinking this would be spirited discussion, it seems I was wrong.

bigblok2000ranger wrote:With out getting into power management too much which one is better?.....

But you can't ignore or downplay power/traction management in the fast class small/radial tire discussions these days, that technology genie is out of the bottle & ain't going back in. Any system that initially pulls power out to dead hook a tire, then ramps power back in & pours the coals to it over X amount of time (either a preset management system or real time management) does kinda level the playing field when comparing small tire A vs B vs C rear suspension types. Well during the initial launch anyway, might be a different story down track when the power is back to all-balls.

Having said that IMO it would be damn interesting if someone did start a fast small/radial tire class that did 100% outlaw & police the use any form of automated power/traction management ramping devices of any kind. The show could be fun just from the standpoint of seeing what drivers have the smooth pedal skills, & who needs the technology crutch.

I'll chime in for whatever it isn't worth......


Jason was pretty spot on. Brad Edwards is a great example of off the shelf parts in a SS application that plain gets it done! But ladder bar cars work just fine, sometimes better if the track is garbage. You say without power management, then a ladder bar car will squeak past just because of its adjustability (relative to SS of course, I know even they are limited). Either way both will work but with such a limited contact patch one must use what offers the most adjustability. But that's a learning curve. And you never mentioned power levels.

If I were to build a grudge car (clearing my throat) today then it would most certainly be a ladder bar car with a 315 tire. Say what's you want about old technology but they work..

Ladders are for climbing. I know a guy who knows a guy building a grudge car. It will be stock suspension and drag a certain red and car like it's tied to a stump. And look like a grocery getter doing it.

southside machine bars for the mother effin win lol.

Barney wrote:Ladders are for climbing. I know a guy who knows a guy building a grudge car. It will be stock suspension and drag a certain red and car like it's tied to a stump. And look like a grocery getter doing it.

Shit we will all be driving space ships by the time that thing is done.

DILLIGASDAVE wrote:

bigblok2000ranger wrote:With out getting into power management too much which one is better?.....

Having said that IMO it would be damn interesting if someone did start a fast small/radial tire class that did 100% outlaw & police the use any form of automated power/traction management ramping devices of any kind. The show could be fun just from the standpoint of seeing what drivers have the smooth pedal skills, & who needs the technology crutch.

^^^^^Would love to see this myself!

bigblok2000ranger wrote:

Barney wrote:Ladders are for climbing. I know a guy who knows a guy building a grudge car. It will be stock suspension and drag a certain red and car like it's tied to a stump. And look like a grocery getter doing it.

Shit we will all be driving space ships by the time that thing is done.  

smart money says it will be done before the next time you pull out of a burnout box.

bigblok2000ranger wrote:

Barney wrote:Ladders are for climbing. I know a guy who knows a guy building a grudge car. It will be stock suspension and drag a certain red and car like it's tied to a stump. And look like a grocery getter doing it.

Shit we will all be driving space ships by the time that thing is done.  

Ohhh snap!!!

Barney wrote:

bigblok2000ranger wrote:

Barney wrote:Ladders are for climbing. I know a guy who knows a guy building a grudge car. It will be stock suspension and drag a certain red and car like it's tied to a stump. And look like a grocery getter doing it.

Shit we will all be driving space ships by the time that thing is done.  

smart money says it will be done before the next time you pull out of a burnout box.

Ohhh snap again!!!


I'd go with smart money.