As many of you are probably aware, my 1996 Dodge CTD 12 valve truck is in dire need of some traction bars. At my most recent trip to our local drag strip here, I left the line with about twenty (20) pounds of boost and the truck left the line bouncing and jumping around while spinning the tires for over ten to fifteen feet in 4WD High!!

I have been looking at traction bars and also talking with a buddy of mine (a welder and fabricator) about possibly making a set for me.

I have also been looking at the aftermarket for them and like the "Caltracs"
made by Calvert Racing. I know that DTR Member "UnrulyNFS" has a set on his 06' and said he liked them. I am wondering if any of the members here have tried these traction bars on their 2nd Gen. Dodges, if so, how you like them and if they are hard to get set-up right?? I feel that they have priced their bars very reasonable. I know that several other companies make these bars, but IMO some of them are just to overpriced.

Any input from DTR Members that have these Caltrac Bars would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

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John_P

 

I have some on my Nova, they work great on the car... 1.289 60' times. They're the hot setup on stock suspension leaf spring cars - heavy trucks? Got me there. Call them up and ask, John Calvert is a great guy to talk to.

 

John,

I would not buy Caltracs for your diesel pickup. I had a set on my 99 and they didnt make much of a difference and didnt help in the strip either.

Also now looking back they were flimsy as all get out and hard to install to boot!

If you are wanting a good set of 1.5" OD traction bars that are COMPLETELY bolt on I would advise you check out a set from Darryl Poole. He goes by Diesel Darryl on TDR. A friend of mine runs them on his 01 pulling truck.
The bars I mention are the "ride control" bars that lsfarm used to market (dont know if he still does). But I believe that Darryl was the one actually manufacturing them all along. They are also reasonably priced, in the 500 area if I remember right.

 

I find it fascinating the idea of trying to race something that big. Something you might consider is video taping your launches to see what the truck is actually doing. The suspensions on these trucks and the weight distribution is really way off in left field for the power levels they are capable of.

Probably the best thing to do is to get out and talk to guys with trucks that are quite a bit faster than what yours is, they've very likely been through the same issues you're fighting right now. Cal-Trac's/Slapper bars and other similar devices are used to prevent spring wrap up and can be tuned a little bit to control the hit on the tire. This may not be an issue on your truck at all. It could be a lack of travel on the shocks, shocks too soft, many things can cause problems - the video will help a lot to see what is going on.

What kind of tire do you have on it? Are you running slicks on the rear?

 

John,
I will say Caltracs seem to work good for other diesel race type pickups. I just didnt see a night and day difference. I believe the "project x" truck had some Caltracs installed on it.

 

Justin and idoxlr8:

I want to thank you both for your input! I appreciate it very much. To be honest with you guys, I really thought there would have been more responses here?

What you both have said is pretty much what I have heard so far in the little bit of checking I have done. Justin I will contact that TDR Member and see what he says. Justin are you running traction bars on your truck right now and how do you like them?

Thanks again for your input.

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John_P

 

Oh yeah, I have to have traction bars for the sledpulling thing..

But I will say that traction bars are a must for a modified Cummins pickup be it on the strip or the street.
You will like the way your truck drives on the street a whole bunch more with traction bars. You'll be putting more power to the pavement.

 

John,

This is all my personal opinion, based on my experience at the track... On a 4x4 pickup, Cal-tracs are not that much of a help. You can get more help by clamping the front of the leaf springs. On a 2 wheel drive truck it's a different story. The problem we really are trying to eliminate is axle wrap. We do not want to do weight transfer, as keeping as much weight on the front of a 4x4 is a good thing. The front suspension on a Dodge is a factory four link, so with a good set of shocks and some type of poly bushing, the front is good to go. Going with most traction bars on the rear, they convert axle wrap in the rear to lifting force on the front. Not really what we are after. Getting rid of the axle wrap is good, lifting the front is not, and can lead to tire shake in the front.

While it is not the ultimate solution I am looking for, I clamp the front of the springs. This greatly reduces the axle wrap. Basically what you do is clamp the spring pack together, towards the front end of the shortest spring. This stiffens the spring pack, at the point that axle wrap wants to make a inverted U out of the spring. Since I have been clamping the springs I have not had tire shake problems. I can still spin all four tires (I have locker both front and rear), but they don't go into shake.

What I would like to have is basically a pinion snubber, that would actually transfer weight forward, as the axle wraps.

Sled pulling of course is a completely different thing...

Paul

 

Paul:

Thanks alot for your input!

What do use to clamp the sprins together on your truck??

Thanks!

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John_P

 

I made a set out of 1/2 inch thick by 2 inch wide (can't remember how long), plate steel. I used 1/2 grade 8 bolts to bolt the two pieces (one on top of the spring, and one on the bottom) together. I've also seen it done with square u-bolts, but I couldn't find any that fit the way I wanted them to. The amount of room is fairly tight between the springs and the frame.

By any means it's a cheap thing to try...

Paul

 

Paul:

Thanks for the tip! I have a friend who does fabrication and welding work and I will get up with him on what you said.

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John_P