Traction bars

-
Captainkirk

Captainkirk

Old School Mopar Warrior
Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
3,371
Reaction score
1,510
Location
Northern IL
Why is it you rarely (if ever) see traction bars on an A-body? Is it due to the fact that you can install a pinion snubber that stops rear axle wind-up, or some other reason? Just curious.......
 
On Mopars, the axle is not centered on the springs front to rear, like GM or Fords. They mount about 1/3rd of the way back from the front. It makes for a much stiffer front section than a normal spring so it is a lot harder for it to deflect from torque applied by the axle. That cuts down on wheel hop which is a result of rear axle trying to rotate (lift) the front of the spring and push down the rear of the spring. Once the springs can't rotate any farther, it will spring back and basically lift the tire off the ground and starts the process all over.
The mopar way is to keep the front of the spring stiff and the back soft and to use a diff snubber to control the amount of rotation.
Here is another way to look at it....
Take a 6 foot long fishing rod and have somebody hold it by handle and somebody else hold it by the tip.

Grab the rod in the middle and try to twist it with your hand. I bet the tip end will move a lot farther than the handle end.
Now move you hand to 2 feet from the thick end and try the same thing.


Mopar did it right!
 
Capt. In addition to the well said answer above, good job Dave, the pinion snubber is at the center of power. This is where all the problems start and then move outwards. Buy stopping the axle wind up here with a smaller lighter weight snubber, the need for traction bars go away.

On MoPars, traction bars also put alot of stress on the front of the springs. This is not very good for the spring and the comfort level you feel since the spring s nopt free to do what it is there for. The all ready shorter front half is now stopped from moving around.

IF at some point, your snubber is nt up to task, then Cal-Trcas or Comps slide a link should be used. It still allows the spring to do what it was designed for and will add traction control for launch.
 
On The street traction bars are a sign of a sure win on ant leaf spring car for the guy without them. we call em Slapper Bars.
 
Slapper bars on an A-body are workable, although as Dave points out, less vital than on something like a Nova. The design responsible for the "Never put traction bars on a Mopar" rule was bars that mounted with bushings or Heim joints at each end. On a Chevy, with a very flexy spring, you could get away with those. On a Mopar, the more rigid spring would cause these things to bind up the suspension solid.

A good traction aid for an A-body should be designed to work with the spring, not against it. You can set up slapper bars to do this on an A-body, but the Cal-Trac type design really does a great job.
 
Hey Blitzrieg.Just put a post about tranny any help??you seem to know more about dodge than me.It, only been two years and I,m a Ford employee.I know sorry about my luck.Any help would be appreciated.Thanks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top