Mike:

Thanks for your comments buddy! Believe me, I was equally as surprised as you were that JUST the addition of those Caltracs were able to CUT my times like they did!

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XLR8R:

Like Mike D., I am also curious if you have any hard data to post for the members on how your bars helped the performance of your truck on the drag strip? I am not really interested in sled pulling data though,.........sorry!

Thanks.

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John_P

 

I don't have any timeslips to post showing the difference the traction bars make (not much point in racing a 10K# service truck except for fun/exhibition!) - I'm letting guys like Rowland tell everyone how well they work. After all, I could say anything (not that I would! )

I know on my truck the traction bars made three very noticeable improvements:

#1 No more wheel hop on take-off, whether towing the GN or a hard 2K rpm launch

#2 The ability to leave a pair of 10' rubber strips doing the drag launch thing (yes - the AAM Torsen anti-slip DOES work!)

#3 Quite a bit more of front end lift, as viewed from the driver's seat (I actually wondered if the front wheels came off the ground the first few times I came out of the hole ); even the next couple of gear changes when shifting rather, ahh... violently
John - there's still a few of us left that can row like your son!

p.s. oh yeah:

#4 lots of rubbernecking from those who are into the whole monster-sled-puller-bubba-truck thing

 

Hey guys, here are the pictures of the Caltrac Traction Bars. Front and rear views.

 

Sorry for the small pictures. You can view a larger size in my gallery.

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John_P

 

Do they weld on to the bottom of the axle bracket, or do you get new brackets with the "tabs" welded on already John??

Looks good!
Chris

 

Chris:

Calvert Racing sends out brand new brackets with the "tabs" already welded on! Chris, you can go to my photo gallery to see larger pictures of them. Sorry about the size here on the thread!

I am going to put them to the true test tomorrow and run the long 1/4 mile track at Rockingham Dragway, Rockingham, N.C. at the "Mopar Nationals" there. I will give you guys a full report!

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John_P

 

Anybody have any tips on installing these? Does the fuel tank need to be removed to get to the leaf springs to press in the new bushings? Just purchased a set and lookin to get them installed.
Any help greatly appreciated
-Alex

 

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Alex:

I sent you a P.M. buddy.

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John_P

 

Any chance I could recieve the same one? lol With you having had these on for awhile now, anything else to add good or bad? In looking at the pics you have in the gallery it looks as though the rear axle bracket hangs pretty low, about how low below the axle does it hang? Also once you set them do you need to adjust them for daily driving vs. racing or once there set they're good? Sorry for all the questions! Thank you Jeff

 

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Jeff:

I am very, very happy with my "Cal Trac" Traction Bars! They are resonably priced, fairly easy to install, and they completely stopped all my wheel hop and traction problems. You asked about the rear brackets and how low they hang. While they are a few inches below the axle, I have had no problems at all since they have been on my truck and this includes going off-road with them. I will try to get you some exact measurements though. You also asked about "adjusting them" for daily driving and or drag racing. I have found on my truck that if I really tighten them up at the dragstrip, after I am done racing I will need to loosen them back up when I get on the road. But, that only takes a minute or two to do. I don't think it really hurts anything, but on my truck, the truck feels "tight" going around some corners or turns and occasionally I will hear some "creaking" in the rear suspension.

Hope this helps you out some and by putting all of the info here the other DTR Members will have it too!

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John_P

 

John, thank you very much for the info I actually had the oportunity to speak with your friend Bobby today (**** sure sounds like a nice guy) and he also had some good things to say about your bars (except the install LOL) I think I will abandon the traction bar idea for now! Thanks again for sharing!

 

John...what shocks do you run? I run Rancho 9000X (9-way adjustables) on the softest setting and have violant bouncing when I go into 2nd under hard acceration at the track. The suspension is unloading on the 1-2 shift and kicking the rear end up off the ground. I have video and believe me it looks and feels ugly. I was surprised a couple of times that something didn't let go. I've tried different settings for the bars and the looser I run the bars, the better it is (1/4" space between the leaf and the pivot bolt that rests on the leaf.) Since you run the bars tight and don't appear to have this problem, do you also run tight/firm shocks? Funny thing is, it don't do this everytime, so I'm wondering if a little wheel spin in conjunction with the 1-2 shift is causing it??

 

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Jeff:

You are very welcome buddy! Glad you got to talk to Bobby. He is very good at designing and fabricating parts for our trucks and a very good friend of ours! He is right about the install, you have to take out the leaf springs, remove the front rubber bushings in the leaf and then re-install the aluminum bushings that Calvert Racing sends with the "Cal-Trac" Traction Bars. My Son and I did have a few problems with those, but, if I had it to do over again I would just freeze the aluminum bushings and heat up the leaf spring and that makes it alot easier.
Since I installed mine I have talked to about a dozen guys who also have the "Cal-Tracs" and that is what they did making the install so much easier.

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John_P

 

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J Double:

Right now, I am running a set of "Gabriel Shocks." They are not adjustable like yours though, but they are the "firm setting" set, which may have some bearing on what is happening on your truck. I can still get some very slight wheelspin on my truck with real hard launches from the staging lanes (boost at 25-30lbs), but it doesn't happen all the time. I would suggest continuing to "experiment" with your settings on the bars and possibly try a different set of shocks if you can.

Hope this helps you some buddy!

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John_P

 

All the local tracks closed and the weather tunred for the worse before I could experiment with firmer shock settings. I haven't had much saddle time with it since Oct, but I may get it out this weekend.

How much preload load are you running on the bars? Pivot Bar touching the leaf and then 1/4 turn tighter as recommend by Caltrac?

Joel