Mopars and traction bars

[docerz]

I have heard back and forth that you should not run traction bars on b body mopars because of the design of the rear leaf springs. they say that the springs wear designed to flex for better hook up on traction. i have heard that traction bars reduce the effect of these springs sometimes helping with traction less. anyone hear anything else let me know i have traction bars on my 70 road runner but am considering taking them off let me hear any opinions. thanks

[Mean Gene]

I have heard the same.

[charger_dan]

why not just install (and properly adjust) a pinion snubber like ma mopar did?

plus, going this route gives you the added benefit of not looking like EVERY idiot camaro and mustang puking its way down the street. criminy, don't get me started.

2 cents.

[Jacksdad]

I wish I'd had a camera a few weeks ago at the wrecking yard to show you guys what someone had done to a Duster. It had a snazzy pair of bright yellow slapper bars fitted. Shame they were on backwards...

[440Ramcharger]

I have found this to be true, less traction with the bars on the leafs of the Duster. Got a set free, and tried them. 340 with 3.91's would not hook up down the 1/4 mile track. Slid all over the place.

[dust]

Originally Posted by Jacksdad

I wish I'd had a camera a few weeks ago at the wrecking yard to show you guys what someone had done to a Duster. It had a snazzy pair of bright yellow slapper bars fitted. Shame they were on backwards...

Hah! Which junk yard is this?

[Jacksdad]

Ecology in Chula Vista. You could see scrape marks under them where they must have been hitting the ground as the axle wound up. Must have been pretty at night.

[dwc43]

Traction bars also tend to bend the leaf springs at the eye and in some cases have caused them to break.

[ehostler]

An adjustable pinion snubber far far superior to traction bars. Traction bars do nothing more than destroy your springs.

If you get to a point where a pinion snubber cannot do the task, then it's time to upgrade to the CE Slide-A-Link or the Cal-Tracs.

[dust]

This was asked in the most recent Mopar Muscle. The asking email said that the Mopar Chassis book says not to use traction bars...

[DanL]

Originally Posted by Jacksdad

Ecology in Chula Vista. You could see scrape marks under them where they must have been hitting the ground as the axle wound up. Must have been pretty at night.

Maybe the guy thought he had wheelie bars????

[mhenesian]

I've raced with "slapper" style Lakewood bars on both my auto and 4-spd Roadrunners, and they can be made to work as a low budget solution. The trick is to push them forward as far as possible, so the rubber bumper is as close to being under the front spring eye as possible. Use spacers in the back to raise the bumpers for ~ 1/8" clearance at race weight. I found this to be more effective at controlling wheel hop than using my Mopar Performance pinion snubber.

The best solution is Cal-Tracs. No wheel hop possible. With Drag radials the 4-spd car will lift 2" front and back and leave straight (on a hot sticky track), without the bouncing up and down that we had with the snubber. We're also running the Mopar XHD springs, which by themselves are NOT stiff enough in the front segment. Dumping the clutch on a 440, with or without the snubber will "wrap-up" the XHD springs,

Mark H.

[daredevil]

I,m with yawl on the caltracs. Almost all of the superstock winners are running that system. My 66 Coronet has limited space in the tubs and i,ll be trying to hook up close to 600 horse on 9 in, slicks so i,ll let you know how they work.

[DartGT66]

I have used traction bars too. They work when set up correctly, like said above. The front has to extend all the way to below the front spring eye, and either a very small gap, or no gap at all. And you don't have to use subber bumper, a bolt will give quicker reaction, and also be adjustable, but it will also be noicy. The reason mopar tells not to use traction bars is, because "the rear axle may warp" using them. Makes me wonder, if the mopar rear axles really are that much weaker than the competition? I really don't like snubbers in a street car, when set up correctly for acceleration, they do not allow the wheels to move in much, and since the pivot point is in the center fo the car, it can cause strange things when cornering.

[Scatman 340]

I`m putting slappers on the Dart. Do they really look that hokey? I`m not installing them for any performance gains rather it will add to the presentation I`m after of a late 60`s-70`s era street machine for the local cruise nights. Should I leave them off? They are bright yellow with the lakewood logo on them. I always thought they looked kind of cool.

L8R

[DartGT66]

I do not like the looks, in my opinion they do not "belong" to a mopar. Painting them flat black pretty much make them disappear. but we all build our own cars, the way we like, not the way someone else likes. At least it should be like that.

[mhenesian]

Hi all,

I agree with DartGT66, traction bars can be made to work on a Mopar. It is definitely a '60's look, some like the look, some don't.

Let me add a note on Cal Tracs. If you go that route and you're also running a short tire (like 25 ~ 26" diameter), you should consider Calvert Racing's "low profile" front spring eye plates. At no extra cost. You lose the lower force link attachment point, but then John recommends the upper hole for the most weight transfer anyway. I made this mistake on my mostly street driven car (that is using the standard "two-hole" drag race style plates), and now I have to be really careful with speed bumps, curbs, driveways, etc... due to limited ground clearance. I'm forced to run 255-60-15's instead of my old 245-60-14", and that hurts acceleration, and looks slightly jacked up in the back.

Also, make sure you use a liberal amount of black moly graphite chassis grease INSIDE the aluminum front sping eye bushings, that you'll have to press into your old springs. The machined cast iron bearing inserts, that come with the Cal Trac installation kits, fit very tightly inside the bushings and will badly gall the aluminum without high quality grease. Some grease on the outside of the bushings will also help with the pressing. You might also need some thin washers to space out the bearing and the inboard and outboard plates that fit inside the front spring hanger. Otherwise the spring hanger bracket gets crushed down, when you tighten the front spring hanger bolt, as the supplied bearing inserts are ~1/8" too short. I'm sorry, I didn't take digital pictures when I did mine. Installing the Cal Tracs can be a real pain, particularly if the old springs are twisted up a bit,

Mark H.

[Tarrbabe]

If you run an adjustable snubber, be sure it is adjusted properly. If not you can beat a hole in the floor of your car. I knew a guy with a 440 GTX that he used the snubber on and he tore a 6 inch hole under his back seat.
My 80 stepside had traction bars when I bought it, but I figured it would wheel hop without them due to the stiff springs in the rear. I usually run the snubber and adjust it with plenty of space for the street and adjust it up for the track.

[dschumers]

I run a pair of $19 Lakewood bolt-on slappers on my Valiant with J C Whitney springs and old stock shocks. It has gone 1.56 in the 60' on nitrous and ET Streets.

You could not give me a pinion snubber or a set of SS springs.

I will get around to installing my Cal-Tracs someday.