Welp, just talked to them. Couldn't have been less painful. "Yep, we'll send a new bar out to you tomorrow." Took a deposit for the return of the old bar. That's it.

Now, on to improving my driving...

 

Who's complaining, I love my truck! And, I'm afraid, very afraid; of how many miles I would put on the car if I could drive it 12 months a year....

I'm very happy to read that CompTech was so good to you about the bar, which

 

Now the quetion is, do I sell the new bar before I put it on and buy a Gendron bar? Since I compete only locally, typically on asphalt, I'm not sure the effort is worth it. I wouldn't mind actually seeing some understeer for a change. The new bar is supposedly stiffer than the old - Chris Morton (haven't seen him around here for quite a while) did calculations that, if correct, would put the old bar using 2 bolts (in holes 1 and 5) to be virtually the same stiffness as the new bar with only one bolt in hole 5. I ordered extra bolts so I could double up if I desired.

Jason, you said that even the new bar was far too soft. Would you think that on asphalt? I don't remember anyone saying that even the solid bar Gendron setup was that much stiffer than the Comptech. I believe Andy (s2k2fast4me) has made comments that put the Comptech bar at the same sort of level although it appears that he's switched bars. Insight, please?

 

I would believe that the "maxed" out (2-bolt) first design Comptech bar was not as stiff as the Gendron bar on its stiffest position. At least it felt that way seat of the pants to me. The redesigned Comptech bar I would think should be as stiff as the Gendron. Doing simple calculations for predicting rate just didn't seem to agree with reality on the Comptech, at least for me.

Assuming I could get the new Comptech bar stiff enough, I probably will stick with the Gendron anyway for a couple of reasons...

1) Adjustability - I originally thought the Comptech would be much easier to adjust as well as offer a greater range of adjustment. My experience has been that (especially with the redesigned bar) that changing the bolt to new positions is as hard or harder than switching the endlinks on the Gendron bar (YMMV). Also, I think the Gendron bar on its softer positions is soft enough for the low traction sites we sometimes run. The greater range of the Comptech (being able to go close to stock softness) might be beneficial in the rain, but I don't know if the Gendron on the softest position might be fine there as well (haven't had any rain events in who knows how long).

2) Feel - I had the redesigned Comptech bar on for a few events and it was working OK. However, I switched back to the Gendron and immediately noticed that steering effort was easier and how the car settled into roll was "nicer" (shock settings all the same). Maybe I just did a better job with making sure there wasn't preload on the Gendron bar, who knows.

I'm not sure if the above is a mandate for going with one bar or the other. Basically, I'm pretty happy with how the car is working right now and don't plan on switching unless I want to try something different.

I will say that I was disappointed with the endlinks on both kits. Comptech doesn't have any, which means you are left with the stock (non-adjustable) links which are prone to breaking.

-Andy

 

Firstly, thanks for taking the time to post your comments. I appreciate the way you're willing to share experience. Reminds me a lot of Ansel Adams (a good comparison).

[QUOTE]Originally posted by s2k2fast4me
[B]2) Feel -

 

The Comptech never came with any endlinks, so that's not much of a solution. The kit with the Gendron bar is OK, but has clearance problems with many of the aftermarket shock options. The rod ends don't have a large range of motion, which can make adjusting them between positions without causing binding a bear. Even if you have the clearance to use the tapered aluminum spacers (and help prevent binding) on either side of the ball joint, I don't think those spacers are going to last very long. They are pretty small and will deform easily.

-Andy