CALTRAC MONO SPRING YESss

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7172 duster

7172 duster
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They really do work! This thing hooks on street tires 28x9 with a 1.49 60 ft 6.94 1/8 mi. It took us a while to get her all dialed in because we couldnt get a good launch. You dont mix super stock springs and caltrac bars together, because it makes it leap like a frog on the starting line. The way to go is with caltrac bars and springs. they work!!! We raced with the NMCA fastest street cars this year ,ending the season with a runner up at Menphis Tn. and no. 5 in the point series , you can go to the NMCA web site and see a vidio of the final round all MOPAR!
 
mikesduster said:
AWESOME!!!!!.....tell us more about your car/combo!! :headbang:
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stroked 360 .060 over 414 ci. 11.5 compression W2 box stock heads street dominator intake 850 Quick fuel carb 1 in super sucker Hedman hustler headers 904 trans man. valve body 5500 PTC converter 430 gear 8.75 W 35 spline moser axles full interior 3350 lbs 510 tq. 510 hp @ 6200 rpm 32 deg. timing 28x9 et street radial mopar 6al box blaster 2 coil street legal assphault eating monster
 
Jesus, I'd hate to meet your duster in a dark alley. Sounds like you got her dialed in really good. I've heard good things about the Cal Tracs I've got 2 friends running them on 500ci A + B bodies and they do seem to do the job.
 
Congratulations on getting everything dialed in and working together. It sounds like you had a really fun season at the track.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the way I understand the SS Springs / Caltrac thing is that the SS springs plant the tires hard which effectively raises the rear of the car. The Caltracs on the other hand, plant the tires by forcing down on the front spring segment and the car actually squats in the rear to gain traction. With a combination of the two, the tires would load then unload, with the two different methods actually working against each other. Knee-deep, knee-deep, froggy hop. :)
 
OldVart said:
...and the car actually squats in the rear to gain traction.
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Any squatting is from weight transfer. I use CalTracs, their mono leafs and adjustable shocks and while my car hikes the front wheels it does not squat in the rear. It lifts like the SS springs do but not nearly as violently or exaggerated.
 
This is my first post here and found this a subject that I'm interested in because I am thinking about upgrading to caltracs due to excessive wheel spin that I'm experiencing. You mentioned that caltracs do not do well when used with SS springs. I'm wondering in a car like mine that only launches at around 400 foot pounds of torque and reaches 450 foot pounds at 3750rpm (approximate lockup of torque converter) if they'd work with OK with SS springs in my setup which is mostly on the street.

Also do the caltrac spring set up function OK on the street?
 
Thats awesome! :thumbup: Im running my stock springs with caltracs and was thinking of going with the mono leaf. Do they come bowed the same or how do you go about getting the ride height you want? Thanks Brett
 
Also do the caltrac spring set up function OK on the street?
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I talked to Matt at CalTracs yesterday. Travis is the other guy to talk to. They are only about 60 miles from me. He said, as reported by many users, that the CalTracs with the monoleafs work great on the street too and there is little difference b/w the SS springs as far as ride quality. It's going to be firm. And to quote him, "it's not going to be a Cadillac" :lol: He also said that the stability of the rear is much better especially while turning. He said you should get rid of your rear sway bar.

Do they come bowed the same or how do you go about getting the ride height you want?
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I asked them the same question. He said you have to tell them the ride height you expect/want before you order them. For example: 1+ inch above stock or 1- inch, etc. They set them up from the factory according to the ride height you want/need. I think he said you can't adjust them for ride height afterwards. Can't remember exactly. Sorry.

As far as clearance issues, which was one of my questions because my car will be on the street alot. They make a low profile design for cars with less than say 500 hp for more ground clearance on the street. There is only one adjusting hole for the Force Transfer Link rod end to be located. See #1 below. The bottom hole is removed and upper hole is used instead.
caltracsbar.gif


In the picture you can see the lower hole being used near the red jack stand. The shock mount on the Caltrac hangs down just a tad lower than the pumpkin on most cars. The Spring Mount/Front Pivot is were you get extra clearance with the low profile design that is offered .
andycuda2.jpg


BTW another tid-bit side note. I also asked which shocks to use up front. CalTracs is working on some new front shocks. He said they had some they were offering but felt they didn't stand up due to valving issues. QA-1 are very good but very pricey. The comps suck but do the job. They said they might have an offering next year and will be offered at a considerably lower price than the QA-1 units. :thumbup: These guys are not out to screw us in the aftermarket world of hot rodding.

Hope this is useful information and someone doesn't try to "debunk" it for the sake of arguement. Just trying to help by getting some info from the source. :salute:
 
oh yeah the low profile is the same price too :thumbup:
 
:headbang: Seems like I am heading that way too after a good talk yesterday with them.
Going with the low profile for more of a sleeper look:headbang: :burnout:
 
73dart360 said:
GO CALTRACS I have the whole set up also -Caltracs-monoleafsprings,rancho 9000 ajustable shocks
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What can you tell me aboyut how good (or bad) the Rancho 9000 shocks are. Is the install difficult and how do you adjust the height?

THanks

Chas
 
chasb said:
What can you tell me aboyut how good (or bad) the Rancho 9000 shocks are. Is the install difficult and how do you adjust the height?

THanks

Chas
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You can't adjust height with the shocks.
The shocks have a 9 way adjustable dampening. Stiffer or softer ride, it helps in that with the caltracs you can adjust the way they react. Fine tuning for the suspension
They are not hard to put in. Just like regular shocks. One nut on top, one on bottom, slide them off, slide the new ones on, put the nuts back on.
 
Good info.

While we're on the subject, my car has some insane long-shackle springs in the rear... I dont even know exactly what the hell they are. I dont mean to hijack this thread, but can anyone offer me any insight? Will these make it harder for me to install other aftermarket springs in the future?

Dakota_Front2.jpg


Barracuda Rear.JPG


The Project.jpg


Unloading the Cuda.jpg
 
GT340 said:
This is my first post here and found this a subject that I'm interested in because I am thinking about upgrading to caltracs due to excessive wheel spin that I'm experiencing. You mentioned that caltracs do not do well when used with SS springs. I'm wondering in a car like mine that only launches at around 400 foot pounds of torque and reaches 450 foot pounds at 3750rpm (approximate lockup of torque converter) if they'd work with OK with SS springs in my setup which is mostly on the street.

Also do the caltrac spring set up function OK on the street?
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They do with mine.
Interesting that Cal Trac said a year ago their units work just fine with SS springs - and now !!
 
Bakarooda said:
Good info.

While we're on the subject, my car has some insane long-shackle springs in the rear... I dont even know exactly what the hell they are. I dont mean to hijack this thread, but can anyone offer me any insight? Will these make it harder for me to install other aftermarket springs in the future?
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Oh, That's just not good. Just drop that nice looking Cuda at my house.

Looks like somebody used the extended shackle to raise the rear so they could fit bigger tires under it. Instead of replacing the probably worn out springs.
I would replace them with a stock set, or do what I did once and cut them down and use the closest holes, and cut the rest off.
When they were on my car it felt like the rear would sway too much.

Yep, Just drop her off to me, I'll take care of it.

Did I tell you? That's a NICE looking Cuda.
 
Mopower71 said:
Oh, That's just not good. Just drop that nice looking Cuda at my house.

Looks like somebody used the extended shackle to raise the rear so they could fit bigger tires under it. Instead of replacing the probably worn out springs.
I would replace them with a stock set, or do what I did once and cut them down and use the closest holes, and cut the rest off.
When they were on my car it felt like the rear would sway too much.

Yep, Just drop her off to me, I'll take care of it.

Did I tell you? That's a NICE looking Cuda.
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Thank you very much! I bought the Cuda in January as my first project car, and the weird spring setup was the first thing that I noticed was out of whack. I'm not even entirely sure how it's all mounted. I could take some more detailed pictures later, but I do think they just lowered the stockers to lift the rear up. It's not licensed so I dont know how it drives on that setup, but I'm sure it wouldnt be very good. Thanks again!
 
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