traction bars?

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74Dusterkid

74Dusterkid

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do traction bars help on mopars? i have very little knowledge on them if anyone could fill me on on what they do and how they work would be great.

thanks craig jr
 
needsaresto said:
Nope.Waste of time with a mopar.
Click to expand...

I know this is a stupid question, but why?? Same basic set-up as f-body gm and they help them...I want to know because this is the second or third time i have heard that here and since i'm building a couple, i want to know what works. Thanks in advance for the info....this should be good....:cheers:

:dontknow::withstup:
 
Then what is the best way to plant the rear tires of an a-body if you are having trouble hooking up? :confused:
 
The front segment of the springs on Mopars are shorter than
GM and Fords. This keeps them from wrapping up. Turning up into
the the wheelwells. No jumping. Just grab.
Have you watched them at the strip? The GM cars will drop the
back end. The Mopars lift the whole car.
If you want a traction aid. Use a adjustable snubber.
 
Yeah, they are a waste. You can buy a set of clamps through MP to clamp the front segment of the leaves together. They will stiffen the forward segment much like a traction bar. The clamps along with an adjustable pinion snubber is about all you need to put the tires to the pavement on our Mopars.
 
I put Comp Engineering,s slide-a-link on my 73 Dart Sport 340,4 speed(452hp dynoed) These definetly help with traction the same way that cal-tracs work.If all you need is a pinion snubber?Why do you see 4 link setups on Mopars?

OCT 08 006.jpg
 
i have to disagree with the mindset that traction bars dont work on a Mopar or are a waste of time. i have had 2 Darts with Southside Machine bars on them that planted the tires quite nicely. my first '74 with a 383 they worked awesome and now my '71 with the 360 they do the same. i searched out the set for my '71 because i knew how well they had worked on my '74. the Southside bars plant the tires quite well, i couldn't tell you about other brands.
 
so i should just save my time and money and put it into an adjustable pinion snubber. do they make some for and 8 1/4? cause we have the rear out and are going to put a suregrip in and all the works on the rear. so if they do i need to get one while im working on the rear.

thanks craig jr
 
davezinn said:
i have to disagree with the mindset that traction bars dont work on a Mopar or are a waste of time. i have had 2 Darts with Southside Machine bars on them that planted the tires quite nicely. my first '74 with a 383 they worked awesome and now my '71 with the 360 they do the same. i searched out the set for my '71 because i knew how well they had worked on my '74. the Southside bars plant the tires quite well, i couldn't tell you about other brands.
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This is what I have on mine. They are not like the slapper bars. They bolt to the springs and they do work great. They lift the suspension and plant the tires. To bad they don't make them anymore.

Fred B
 
pettybludart said:
I put Comp Engineering,s slide-a-link on my 73 Dart Sport 340,4 speed(452hp dynoed) These definetly help with traction the same way that cal-tracs work.If all you need is a pinion snubber?Why do you see 4 link setups on Mopars?
Click to expand...

Depends how fast you want to run. Most average cars can get away with a snubber.More power you have,more traction you need.
 
briankaplan said:
The front segment of the springs on Mopars are shorter than
GM and Fords. This keeps them from wrapping up. Turning up into
the the wheelwells. No jumping. Just grab.
Have you watched them at the strip? The GM cars will drop the
back end. The Mopars lift the whole car.
If you want a traction aid. Use a adjustable snubber.
Click to expand...

Yes,the axle is not set in the center of the spring like a Ford. It is slightly forward of this point.Makes the front of the spring shorter and stiffens it up.

Those clever mopar engineers...lol!
 
would there be any mods i could do to the stock one. like longer bolts and brace it or something. or would that not work? any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Briankaplan laid it out there well, the rear end is centered towards the front half of the springs which inherently makes that half of the spring stiffer than the back half. This is basically the function of a traction bar. I imagine a traction bar may help some but the spring clamps sold by MP are cheap, light, and don`t create any ground clearance issues.
 
If you`re going to drag the car a lot then install a set of /6 torsion bars on the car with a set of 60,000 miles+ front shocks. In the rear, use a set of long shocks. Move the battery into the trunk. These are a few relatively cheap things you can do to improve traction.
 
I guess I forgot to mention,I did have the 8 1/4 back there when I first installed the slide-a-link setup.I was getting some bunny hopping,that,s why I added them,they eliminated that!
 
well i go and check on that now cause it might be a lot more budget friendly to do.the spring clamps and snubber. but i dont think i will find a snubber for an 8 1/4 though.
 
There is also a setup from "Just Suspension" called "The Ground Pounder" it's basically a secondary shock setup that bolts to the frame and the axle to help eliminate whell hop and get better traction. Not sure how well it works, never seen anyone with it. I do know it's based on the same type of setup
4x4 guys have been using for years.

I went to the Just Suspension website to get a pic but i can't find anything on that system even though I've seen it in their back cover ads in Mopar mags.
 
I've alway's used an adjustable pinion snubber. I did try traction bars once and had problems with them. They actually seemed to make it worse. I've never tried any of the other things you guy's are talking about though. I'm going to do some homework on some of these parts. I just love to learn about new stuff.
 
the thing i never liked about the pinion snubber is that when it's set on it's most effective setting it's right up against the floor nearly. cruising on the street it get's a bit "bumpy". if you drop it down for "daily" or street driving you lose it's advantage should the need arise. with the traction bars or even Cal-Trac's you are set on kill all the time. i don't know of any traction bars besides the Southside's and Cal-Trac's that are made specifically for Mopar applications. i didn't know about the slide-a-link bars, so i'm guessing they are made specifically for some Mopar's. there could also be an issue depending on how low you want your ride height to be with what will work under your car. the Southsides have a certain angle built into them and are slightly adjustable for pre-load with some spacers or shims that go between the front of the bar and the spring. with the Cal-Trac's it looks like you can go quite low and they will still work effectively. the pinion snubber needs a certain amount of space to work and move. i've never run Super Stock springs, but i have heard that they do increase ride height some. maybe someone else here has some input there. i do agree on the 6-cyl torsion bars, but i prefer to mix them with a set of 90/10's. and yes i do drive it on the street that way. it's not a problem for me, but could be for others
 
what about super stock springs. whats the diff. between them and heavy duty springs and are they significantly better
 
cudaman51 said:
what about super stock springs. whats the diff. between them and heavy duty springs and are they significantly better
Click to expand...

Probably the biggest difference with the S/S springs is that the right side has an additional leaf so that when you throttle down and the engine torques, the car will level off. If you notice, cars with S/S springs sit a little ****-eyed (high on the right) because of the preload.
 
davezinn said:
the thing i never liked about the pinion snubber is that when it's set on it's most effective setting it's right up against the floor nearly. cruising on the street it get's a bit "bumpy". if you drop it down for "daily" or street driving you lose it's advantage should the need arise. with the traction bars or even Cal-Trac's you are set on kill all the time. i don't know of any traction bars besides the Southside's and Cal-Trac's that are made specifically for Mopar applications. i didn't know about the slide-a-link bars, so i'm guessing they are made specifically for some Mopar's. there could also be an issue depending on how low you want your ride height to be with what will work under your car. the Southsides have a certain angle built into them and are slightly adjustable for pre-load with some spacers or shims that go between the front of the bar and the spring. with the Cal-Trac's it looks like you can go quite low and they will still work effectively. the pinion snubber needs a certain amount of space to work and move. i've never run Super Stock springs, but i have heard that they do increase ride height some. maybe someone else here has some input there. i do agree on the 6-cyl torsion bars, but i prefer to mix them with a set of 90/10's. and yes i do drive it on the street that way. it's not a problem for me, but could be for others
Click to expand...

what do you differently street driving wise to accomadate for those 90/10's you are running?
 
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