Need help with 2 issues but same place!
On the street; My 325/50-15 BFG-Drag Radials are no better than plain old 295/50-15 BFGs or Coopers.
Since my lil 360 spins to 65 mph and beyond I doubt traction bars by themselves would help me. I'm not giving up my street suspension for a half-second better 60 ft, and like you, I'm not made of cubic money either. Those bars, also called slapper bars, when properly set up, lotsa guys have had success. Back in the 70s I installed some on my 340Swinger, and learned to make them work, so yes; they can help.
But you gotta realize, like; my car 60fts lousy at 2.2 to 2.4, and the best it could ever be might be 1.7 to 1.9, so I'm looking at a half-second improvement,maybe up to .7 and most of that would come from tires and starting-line technique. So I'm not about to drain my bank account for that, and even then, that's on the track. It would never translate the same on the street. So as long as my car goes where I point it, and recovers as good as instantly if it doesn't, then I let the 60ft be what it is. Since she's been wearing 295s, about 2004 I think, She's never not gone where I pointed it anymore. Sometimes my sense of direction hasn't been the best,lol, but a lil clutch or throttle correction has always put things right. I'm just a streeter, doing streeter things, trying not to get caught. Sometimes I like to get a lil Duke-Boys action going but mostly I behave. Getting caught is getting to be too expensive.......
I like what
STR said
just to recap the last post - it isn't just the width of the tread, but having enough wheel to plant the tread in an effective way. You move the springs in and then the limiting factor is the wheel well... if you move the wheel well into the frame rail that's the most there is without surgery to replace the whole frame (back half). Except for the tires themselves (drag radials???)
that's life with a 67-76 hardtop Dart.
