Ladder bar with ARB ?

I have always run SS mustangs and a radial tire.... with this big no prep craze going I'm thinking of ladder baring a stang so the question is...

1) Can a anti roll bar be run with ladder bars

2) how hard is it to tune ladder bar set up

3) Am I thinking about this to hard and should I just stay with the SS

Now That's out of the way... I give some friends a hard time cause they run big tire combos but seriously thinking about setting up a car with big tires just for a fun car no class racing at this point.

1) I have never seen an anti-roll bar hurt performance, but that being said it would be redundant with a ladder bar set up. If its already installed you could test it both ways.

2) Ladder bars are very easy to tune and maintain. You will have to play with the percentage of rise a bit to get it where the car likes it. You will lose the IC adjustment switching from a factory 4 link to a ladder bar

3) If you are not tubbing the car I see no reason to replace what is a very good suspension.

Having said all that I have a back halved Fox Mustang with ladder bars and double adjustable shocks (no anti-roll bar). I run the car as you have suggested where I can switch from 10.5" tires to 14" tires depending on the race, etc. Good luck!

My T-Bird is ladder bars with an ARB.  The ARB was added by the original owner as the car had some body roll issues on launch.  Was going straight, but would lift the drivers side higher than the right side.  ARB stopped most of that.  At the time the car had a 615 BBC w two kits and was running around the 4.80 mark @ 3K lbs on a 33X10.5W

My 598 BBF is NA and it might pull the left just a couple of inches higher.  Has gone 1.12 60' NA.  



Before ARB:


After ARB

I dont have an arb.... Yet.

I do have a real stiff set of lb's and housing, on both kits i have to proad the wheelie bars pretty good on the riight side or it will drive left pretty hard... Im sticking a lot more power in it now so I wil add a arb this time around.

Wow what a gorgeous car!

Ladder bars are fine but I don't know why you would step backwards and get rid of your adjustment possibilities by going to ladder bar. Unless you are going to a 15" wide tire. You can fit a 29.5x10.5w on a SS setup.

Don't get me wrong I have guys 60' in the 1.0's with LB but more with SS suspension.

whatbumper wrote:Ladder bars are fine but I don't know why you would step backwards and get rid of your adjustment possibilities by going to ladder bar.  Unless you are going to a 15" wide tire.  You can fit a 29.5x10.5w on a SS setup.

Don't get me wrong I have guys 60' in the 1.0's with LB but more with SS suspension.

It will be on a big tire with L/B set up for sure and a wheel tub

richter69 wrote:I dont have an arb.... Yet.

I do have a real stiff set of lb's and housing, on both kits i have to proad the wheelie bars pretty good on the riight side or it will drive left pretty hard... Im sticking a lot more power in it now so I wil add a arb this time around.

I don't have the motor you got it will be a while for me....


David that is one gorgeous car

My opinion is a combo with a well built stiff/rigid chassis + a well braced rigid rear housing + the average length ladder bar + the ladder bars installed spaced a decent distance apart most likely doesn't need an anti-roll. But if you're going with long ladder bars, or mounting them spaced real close together, then the car might need an anti-roll.

Back when some of the Pro Mods were using a swing arm/monster ladder bar setup (instead of a 4-link) they did use an anti-roll because some of the swing arm designs were kinda long & fairly narrow.

gmsmkr wrote:

whatbumper wrote:Ladder bars are fine but I don't know why you would step backwards and get rid of your adjustment possibilities by going to ladder bar.  Unless you are going to a 15" wide tire.  You can fit a 29.5x10.5w on a SS setup.

Don't get me wrong I have guys 60' in the 1.0's with LB but more with SS suspension.

It will be on a big tire with L/B set up for sure and a wheel tub

if thats the case then you will most likely benefit from an arb due to weight and distance the lb's are a part much like is said above. We use a little different theory than some as we like to have a stupid big arb that does not twist and return like most shops use. I prefer more torsional resistance.

Another words. I would rather have a big ass arb than use my rear end to counter torsional load. I want it to do the job it was built for.

gmsmkr wrote:

whatbumper wrote:Ladder bars are fine but I don't know why you would step backwards and get rid of your adjustment possibilities by going to ladder bar.  Unless you are going to a 15" wide tire.  You can fit a 29.5x10.5w on a SS setup.

Don't get me wrong I have guys 60' in the 1.0's with LB but more with SS suspension.

It will be on a big tire with L/B set up for sure and a wheel tub

spend that arb money on a better set of shocks

whatbumper wrote:.......we like to have a stupid big arb that does not twist and return like most shops use.  I prefer more torsional resistance........

^^^^^This.
Makes no sense to put one of the low cost/small OD anti-rolls (just to save a few bucks) on a fast car if it's combo/application really needs a more rigid bigger OD unit.

But I'm not saying that the cheap small OD anti-rolls should 100% never be used because they can often work fine in some applications. I'm just saying look at the application's needs, and not your wallet when buying an anti-roll.

Thanks guys.....I already have a double adjustable ARB for 8.50 or faster and the ladder bars just need the rear coil over shocks I also already have my springs for the rear coil over so I'm not to far away from having it all.