Traction bars

[twodko]

Good morning crew,

Are any of you running traction bars on your 2nd gens? Are they worth having for a street machine? What the best for use on a 69?

[Ghoste]

I still like the threaded adjustable pinion snubber best.  Works great, easily set where you want it and unseen.

[twodko]

Ghoste are you talking about the old school Lakewood bars? I've run those on other cars and really liked them. Lakewood bars are what I'm leaning toward.

[68X426]

Tom - what about Cal Tracs? http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,58012.0.html

[Budnicks]

Ghoste are you talking about the old school Lakewood bars? I've run those on other cars and really liked them. Lakewood bars are what I'm leaning toward.

I believe he's referring to the adjustable pinion snubber that mounts directly to the top of the front of the 3rd member, replacing the stock stamped steel unit with a small rubber bumper, it hit's the floor to stop the rear axle housing from rotating, there are 2 types 1 has a infinite thread {in photo below} & the other is adjustable with a receiver, that slides up & down, then a pin/bolt hold in in place, very similar to a trailer hitch & reciever...

[twodko]

Two new options I was unaware of..................researching. Thanks!

[Brass]

I'm not the most educated when it comes to traction bars but I had them at one time and didn't see the benefit.  I don't think Mopars need them.  Unless you're experiencing wheel-hop you're probably just adding weight.

[Cooter]

Unless you are running SS springs which IMO is the reasoning behind the phrase "Mopar's Don;t need Traction bars"..IMO, ANY leaf sprung car can and DO benefit from traction bars. I mean, WTF are those "Cal-Trac" bars everybody seems to think work so well???

Guess what???They are traction bars and they DO help Mopars hook...Just ask anybody running Cal-Tracs. SS springs are so STIFF in front of the rearend perches, they tend to work against them. With any other "Weaker" spring pack, they can and DO help traction..They just got a bad rep in the 70's because they were installed more for looks thatn anything else.

[twodko]

Unless you are running SS springs which IMO is the reasoning behind the phrase "Mopar's Don;t need Traction bars"..IMO, ANY leaf sprung car can and DO benefit from traction bars. I mean, WTF are those "Cal-Trac" bars everybody seems to think work so well???

Guess what???They are traction bars and they DO help Mopars hook...Just ask anybody running Cal-Tracs. SS springs are so STIFF in front of the rearend perches, they tend to work against them. With any other "Weaker" spring pack, they can and DO help traction..They just got a bad rep in the 70's because they were installed more for looks thatn anything else.

I believe that's the gospel right there Cooter. Along with saving for my disk brakes I'll add some Cal Tracs dollars in there too. 

[c00nhunterjoe]

I have the "old school" traction bars on my 69. They definatly made a difference. No more wheel hop, and I can somewhat launch the car on radials.  Caltracs are the way to go though. Got them on the 67 belvedere and they are night and day

[squeakfinder]

 Hmmm, I was under the impression that the pinion snuber did the the job at least somewhat of traction bars. That's why there was no point in having traction bars on these cars.

[Fred]

  Unless you're experiencing wheel-hop you're probably just adding weight.

I'm with you there.

[c00nhunterjoe]

The snubber or the bars will accmplish the same thing, preventing axle wrap

[Budnicks]

Unless you are running SS springs which IMO is the reasoning behind the phrase "Mopar's Don;t need Traction bars"..IMO, ANY leaf sprung car can and DO benefit from traction bars. I mean, WTF are those "Cal-Trac" bars everybody seems to think work so well???

Guess what???They are traction bars and they DO help Mopars hook...Just ask anybody running Cal-Tracs. SS springs are so STIFF in front of the rearend perches, they tend to work against them. With any other "Weaker" spring pack, they can and DO help traction..They just got a bad rep in the 70's because they were installed more for looks thatn anything else.

CalTracs are more than just traction bars but that's just symantics...

[twodko]

The geometry of this system looks like it would pretty much eliminate spring wrap. Does this system change the normal ride characteristics?

[Budnicks]

They aren't cheap... Ride height really depends on what spring rate you choose, some will actually lower the car, call or check out their site for the Calvert/CalTracs www.calvertracing.com or contact them at Calvert Racing Suspensions, 4530 Runway Dr., Lancaster, CA, 93536, phone # is {661}-728-9600... there are other parts that you can get to fine tune a far superior traction system, over S/S springs or good old traction bars, call them they will work with you... very good guys over there...

[twodko]

Thank you for that info. I'm probably going to just replace the springs. I need front disks most riki freakin' tik.......driving with drums in the front is not warm and fuzzy.

[HPP]

 Hmmm, I was under the impression that the pinion snuber did the the job at least somewhat of traction bars. That's why there was no point in having traction bars on these cars.

Yes, they both do the same thing, create a physical contact point to prevent further  housing rotation. Snubbers tend to be up out of sight and out of the way. I have seen under spring traction bars cause clearance problems with speed bumps and flat tires. Similarly, if you just slap only old tranction bar under a spring without setting the proper length, there is the posibility it does not hit he spring in the right location and you run the risk of bending the main leaf.

If yo'u're running SS sprigns and you have them set up correctly, you will never need a snubber or traction bars as they create lift and chassis seperation, which actually pulls those traction devices away from the contact points that allow them to do their job.

Cal-tracs were created by a Ford racer to simulate the short segment action of a mopar super stock spring but stay within the rule limitation of stock pick up locations. Fords and Chevy have symetrical springs with the axle located smack dab in the cente,r ie they have a tendancy to wrap easily. Mopars are asymetrical with the front segment being shorter. Cal-tracs are a nice set up and have some additional adjustment over straight leafs, but I have heard of as many guys who saw no gain with their installation as guys who had huge improvements. I'd say their results are somewhat tuning and combo dependant.