The truth about caltracs

I ran CalTracs for 5 seasons on a '69 Charger,3800lbs.,transbrake Super Pro car. A good adjustable shock on the front is a must,I had QA1 Stocker Stars single adj. set at 6,in the middle of the 12 adjustmets. Used the Rancho shocks from Calvert with their mono leaf springs. I think stiff sidewall slicks with tubes help as well. I ran 10.5 inch Hoosier's @ 15lbs. I launched @ 4500 rpm,440 with about 500hp,727 with 8" Turbo Action converter,4.56 gear with a spool. Dual batterys in the trunk,one on the pass side,one on the driver's side.
I went from a SS spring,pinion snubber setup with CE 3 way shocks. My car would hook great with the SS springs on a good track,pull the left front tire about 10 inches,but not well at all on a slick track,60fts all over the place.
When I installed the CalTracs,I took the car to a track on test & tune night,knowing there would be no track prep at all. I had adjusted the car in the shop with the rear shocks on 6,half a turn of pre-load on the pass side. The car spun at the hit,bounced at around the 60 ft mark. Came back set the shocks softer,@4,next pass almost the same but not as bad. Long story short,I took all the pre-load out with about a dime's thickness air gap,ended up with the shocks set at 1,softest sitting worked perfect on any track. Pulled both front tires about 3 inches.I never changed the sittings in five years. I think alot of guys try for to hard of a hit with CalTracs just like I did at first.Also I found the need for higher pressure in the slicks,ran 8lbs with SS springs,15lbs with the Tracs. My car would 60 ft. within a couple thou all year long. So they did work for me,but at first I thought I had wasted my cash big time.
I wanted to use the CalTracs to keep from cutting up the car,otherwise I would have went ladder bar or 4 link in a full on race car.