Installing a rear "torsion adjuster"
When we initially built the car, we didn't install a center torsion adjuster on the rear housing; I don't remember why, but it was a mistake for two important reasons. The first issue is that the stock torsion housing center splines will not stand up to the abuse they receive in off-road racing. They will quickly strip out, leaving the car with no rear spring support. That would obviously mean that the rear suspension would collapse, leaving no ground or tire/wheel well clearance...... The "King Kong" center adjuster we use is much stronger than the stock center splines. The second issue is adjustability. Adjusting the torsion bar pre-load (ride height) with the stock hardware requires disassembly of nearly the entire rear suspension system and "re-clocking" of the torsion bars, a time consuming affair (at least 45 minutes to do both sides when in our shop). With the center adjuster installed, we can change pre-load at will in just a few seconds. Those are two major advantages for a desert race car.
Original non-adjustable "stock" center spline unitPre-load adjustments are time consuming and the splines are prone to failure in off-road racing
"King Kong" center adjuster taking place of stock center splinesMuch easier to adjust and stronger. If we break one of the adjustable spline "fingers" we can
just drop a new one in it's place. We carry a spare in the car.
The two set screws bear upon individually adjustable Left and Right spline units to set pre-load
Right side rear suspension components after the 2012 Baja 500
You can see both torsion "fingers" on their respective torsion bars - they are not attached
to each other, allowing each side to be set independently.
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