Caltrac Tuning Info LOOK HERE

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Nothing over-tightened here,,, took it all apart / new shocks / etc....

been out twice with the bars and i havent got them dialed yet.

Car is still "porpusing " / bouncing off the line --exactly like it did before the caltracs.

its a real long story.....but i will post back when it yanks the wheels and goes 1.39 60' . (it should )

its went 1.411 on just the ss springs last year --

heres the run BEFORE caltracs =

View attachment 6631120-kevin1.jpg
 
Doesn't look like its hitting the rear tires at all.

Are you sure your rear shocks are long enough?
 
that pic is without caltracs---from last year. I think i had the big truck shocks on it --yes they were long enough
 
496dart said:
I finally have the Caltracs on my Dart. I cant afford the mono leafs yet, so I removed a couple of the short ones from my super stock springs.

I talked to Calvert on the phone and they said the SS springs WILL work if you clamp the **** out of them .

I have corrected a few things like hangers binding , incorrect shock length , incorrect pinion angle ,......

im excited to get the car back out and see what happens--------BUT , its supposed to rain saturday --it seems to rain EVERY saturday where i live.

:angry8:
Click to expand...
Does anyone have advice on "clamping" the SS springs. Do you get it to where there is no give at each spring?
 
i have been to the track since---and i also learned some more on what the bars want--- i will post results after my next "attempt" at the track. My car is still "purposing" .

when this is over i will have some real world results on if this will work or not---its all in my logbook......
 
Lotta good stuff on this, Im going with Caltracs on a 64 Barracuda. The car only weighs 2400 lbs, and hooked good with stock springs with small motor to run 7.09 in 1/8th mile (pulling wheels 8-10inches). Going to mild 408 and should run mid to high 6's, anyone got any advice if could keep my stock springs or should I get the mono's? Wondering if the light weight of my car would be fine with my current springs.
 
Hitting the track tonight for some T&T and also setup my Caltracs,will post my results.Best 60ft was 1.50 without them,we,ll see how they work out?
 
Well my car hopped like a bunny off launch LOL.I started at the top 2 holes 1st pass,no good.So I adjusted 1.5 turns out and turned down my adjustable shocks,no good.Then dropped down to the bottom holes and turned out 1.5 turns,no good.Time was out,loaded up and went home.Today I pulled the 3* shims out(added for pinion angle)also made sure my rear wasn,t too tight and could move freely.This weekend I,m headed to Grand Bend for a Nostalgia event and also Canada,s largest Hemi Shootout.Should be fun!I know I,m gonna have to play with these some more...fingers crossed.

P.S Has anybodyelse had this bunny hop effect?What did you do to cure it?Thanks:toothy8:
 
Well heres something I learned that a lot of people have trouble with apparently. Probably because of the lack of instructions with the Cal tracs.

If you're using Cal Trac rear shocks, full COUNTERCLOCKWISE is full loose. From the way I was originally told over the phone, I originally assumed the opposite was true.

They told me that a transbrake car is going to want full loose then back 1 click.

Hope this helps someone.
 
I tried about 6 different settings,car still spinning due to leafs spreading.I,m gonna try clamping the front sections today(T&T tonight)I also ordered the monoleafs,should be here by end of the week.Right now I have the front shocks set at 2,rears at 5 on the QA-1(12 way)shocks.I,ll get back with results.
 
Well....
I tried everything with the SS spring / Caltrac combo--never got it to work.


I will be getting the Calvert mono springs this winter ... :p
 
I have been struggling with my amx to hook for the last couple of years, ever since I went to a trans-brake I can't get my car to hook.


the amx weighs 3100lbs, 560hp, 4:56 gears. Leaving on the brake at 4500rpm. Brand new pair of 28x11.50 et streets at 13lbs. I have the bars, split mono-leafs, single adjustable qa1's on all four corners. Front shocks are all the way soft and rear shocks are plus 2 clicks from soft. Just enough to keep the tires bouncing out of the water box.

Anyway you can feel the tires spin and see it in the 60ft. Usually 1.64 to 1.65. Then the car proceeds to run 11.20's at 123mph.

The bars are in the lower hole and currently at 1.5 turns. I have tried moving the bars from no pre-load to 2 turns with the same results. I cannot get the bars in the upper hole as the frame is in the way. I am not against modifying the frame to the bars in the upper hole if it was thought to solve the problem. I feel the 60fts should be in the low 1.50's to high 1.40's.

any thoughts. I haven't had the car scaled or added weight to trunk.
 
Have you tried launching at a lower RPM?I have a Coan 8 inch 4500 stall.If I leave any higher than 2000rpm(footbrake)my car runs slower and sometimes spins.I now have my best 60fts ever(1.44)leaving at 1800rpm.My QA-1,s are set at 0 in front,5 in the rear also with mono-leafs.Car weighs about 3300lbs with me in it.
 
Dustedu2 said:
Does anyone have advice on "clamping" the SS springs. Do you get it to where there is no give at each spring?
Click to expand...

clamp the front sections / from the axle forward. Not behind the axle.

just makes some clamps out of 1/4" steel or whatever wont bend.

Install them anywhere you can-- where the factory ones are not. I think i might have added 2 per side--id have to go look
 
Just kind of wondering how the Caltracs will work if you do not have at least 5" of travel? For instance if you were to use a members Coil Over conversion.
 
I got a question cause I may be in the 2% range that make it difficult to work. I have a 70 Duster with a 440. I currently have fenderwell headers that limit my front tires to a 25" size. With the smaller front tire I have a hard time getting the 5" of front end travel and maintaining enough ground clearance. I pulled the front snubbers and can squeeze out 5" of travel, but it seems a little bit nose down and my front control arms are almost parallel to the ground. I have tried every setting on the rear shock and some pre-load. I made sure the Caltrac Bar was parallel to the ground.

I didn't know if someone had a similar setup and similar issues. With the 440 rebuilt, I hit about 1.48 60ft and low 10.40's in the 1/4. I think there is more in it though cause I ran another 440 Duster with almost identical setup and SS springs. He ran a 1.43 60ft and low 10.30's in the 1/4. I can get it to hook, but almost any adjustment made doesn't affect my 60ft. Tips/Tricks?
 
mshred said:
hey guys,

I have compiled a chart based on some very good information provided by a cutting edge caltrac tuner. This stuff is very helpful, and i think will take alot of the guesswork out of (where do i start in tuning my caltracs). A good reference to print off and use for dialing yourself in

good luck and here it is
Click to expand...

I needed this info for a while now ,this helps alot thanks.
 
Besides my 73 wheelstanding Dart I also own a low 10 sec 72 pontiac Ventura with cal tracs.I run them in the bottom hole with a nickels worth of air gap. When I first got them i tried every preload senaro and all it did was spin the tires then I tried air gap( about the thickness of a nickel) and it hooked hard pulling 1.39 60s on a 9 inch tire. I have rancho 9000 shocks set on 2.The frontend has 4.5 inches of travel. I also leave at 3000 on a T/brake.

Pontias4-4-12.jpg
 
I was thinking, if the traction was right, is it better to hit the tires a little harder and maybe add a little preload. It feels like I leave the line good, but always want to get the most out of it. My shocks are at 7 and Zero preload. The Caltrac tech guy said that zero preload is good for footbrake cars. Mine is more of a button brake car where I foot brake and use the 2-step on the MSD for consistency.

If mine was a little nose down, I kind of thought a harder tire hit might pop the front end where it needs to be improving my 60ft. No video yet, so that will definitely be helpful.
 
dragduster said:
I was thinking, if the traction was right, is it better to hit the tires a little harder and maybe add a little preload. It feels like I leave the line good, but always want to get the most out of it. My shocks are at 7 and Zero preload. The Caltrac tech guy said that zero preload is good for footbrake cars. Mine is more of a button brake car where I foot brake and use the 2-step on the MSD for consistency.

If mine was a little nose down, I kind of thought a harder tire hit might pop the front end where it needs to be improving my 60ft. No video yet, so that will definitely be helpful.
Click to expand...
I run with one full turn of pre-load,QA-1 12 way adjustables set 0 in front,5 in rear.footbraking the car at 2200rpm 60fts are 1.44.I run 26 inch tire with fenderwells also.Hymed struts help huge with frontend lift.
 
Hey,been to the Spokane drags a few times,but not in recent years. Just wondering if the bathrooms are still a health violation...
 
Spokane, is totally different since Bucky Austin started all the remodels. You wouldn't even know it is the same place.
 
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