Should i weld my airbar 4 link assembly in – Ridetech 11260109 User Manual
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350 S. St. Charles St. Jasper, In. 47546
Ph. 812.482.2932 Fax 812.634.6632
Should I weld my AirBar 4 link assembly in?
Since we get this question quite often, it deserves a proper explanation.
The AirBar has been designed for bolt-in installation. We have paid special attention to interfacing
with key structural areas of each vehicle, fastening bracketry in at least two planes to properly
distribute load paths, and to using appropriate fasteners that roll, rather than cut, threads into the
vehicle structure.
Having said that, you could potentially encounter a vehicle that has rust or collision damage in these
areas. Or maybe you intend to consistently place the vehicle in severe racing applications with sticky
racing slicks and high speed corners. In these cases it is perfectly acceptable to weld the AirBar
components into your vehicle. Even in these severe cases we recommend that you install the entire
AirBar assembly first [including the fasteners], and then use short 1” long tack welds to secure your
installation. Remember that the vehicle structure metal is typically much thinner [.060”-.120” ] than
the .188” thick AirBar brackets. If you burn through the vehicle sheet metal structure you may end up
with an installation that is weaker than before you tried to weld it.
The other reason to weld in your AirBar assembly is…you simply want to. You’re a welding kind of
guy…that’s the way you’ve always done it…you have the skills and equipment to do it. In that
case…weld away with our blessing!
Ride Height
We have designed most cars to have a ride height of about 2” lower than factory. To achieve the best ride
quality & handling, the shock absorber needs to be at 40-60% overall travel when the car is at ride height. This
will ensure that the shock will not bottom out or top out over even the largest bumps. Measuring the shock can
be difficult, especially on some front suspensions. Measuring overall wheel travel is just as effective and can
be much easier. Most cars will have 4-
6” of overall wheel travel. One easy way to determine where you are
at in wheel travel is to take a measurement from the fender lip (center of the wheel) to the ground. Then lift
the car by the frame until the wheel is just touching the ground, re-measure. This will indicate how far you are
from full extension of the shock. A minimum of 1.5” of extension travel (at the wheel) is needed to ensure that
the shock does not top out. If you are more than 3” from full extension of the shock then you are in danger of
bottoming out the shock absorber.
Adjusting Spring Height
When assembling the CoilOver, screw the spring retainer tight up to the spring (0 preload). After entire
weight of car is on the wheels, jounce the suspension and roll the car forward and backward to alleviate
suspension bind.
If the car is too high w/ 0 preload then a smaller rate spring is required. Although threading the spring
retainer down would lower the car, this could allow the spring to fall out of its seat when lifting the car by
the frame.
If the car is too low w/ 0 preload, then preload can then be added by threading the spring retainer up to
achieve r
ide height. On 2.6” - 4” stroke shocks, up to 1.5” of preload is acceptable. On 5-7” stroke
shocks, up to
2.5” of preload is acceptable. If more preload is needed to achieve ride height a stiffer
spring rate is required. Too much preload may lead to coil bind, causing ride quality to suffer.