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Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: Evil Spirit] #824948
10/10/10 07:53 PM
10/10/10 07:53 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 20,149
Park Forest, IL
slantzilla Offline
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Quote:

How well traction bars work is directly related to the amount of thought and effort in tuning them. Just slapping a pair on is only the first step. Clamping or unclamping the springs and trimming the snubbers to set preload must also be done for them to work well. But at least you can set preload from side to side to prevent the torque from trying to pick up the passenger side tire, which helps traction and helps keep the car in a straight line. If you can tell me how to preload one side with a pinion snubber, I'm listening. That is, how without using SS springs that are mismatched from side to side, ride unnecessarily hard, and affect normal handling.

Leaf springs by nature aren't suited to transmit torque - by the time they are stiff enough not to wrap up they are way too stiff to let the back work. A softer spring package with properly tuned slapper bars can work extremely well with a little tuning. And no, I didn't forget about shocks; that's a whole other topic.




Post of the thread right there.


"Everybody funny, now you funny too."
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: slantzilla] #824949
02/18/11 10:00 PM
02/18/11 10:00 PM
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Posts: 12
Florida,USA
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clark2334 Offline
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Quote:


How well traction bars work is directly related to the amount of thought and effort in tuning them. Just slapping a pair on is only the first step. Clamping or unclamping the springs and trimming the snubbers to set preload must also be done for them to work well. But at least you can set preload from side to side to prevent the torque from trying to pick up the passenger side tire, which helps traction and helps keep the car in a straight line. If you can tell me how to preload one side with a pinion snubber, I'm listening. That is, how without using SS springs that are mismatched from side to side, ride unnecessarily hard, and affect normal handling.

Leaf springs by nature aren't suited to transmit torque - by the time they are stiff enough not to wrap up they are way too stiff to let the back work. A softer spring package with properly tuned slapper bars can work extremely well with a little tuning. And no, I didn't forget about shocks; that's a whole other topic.




Nice thoughts. Any I still got my Lakewood traction bar on my vehicle. It helps me prevent twisting and keeping my rear tires firmly planted on the ground.

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: clark2334] #824950
02/18/11 10:17 PM
02/18/11 10:17 PM
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Posts: 1,894
Mira Loma, CA
69B3GT Offline
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I got a free set off my friend, figured theyre worth a try. That and they look cool

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: Challenger 1] #824951
02/18/11 10:23 PM
02/18/11 10:23 PM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 18,153
Mass
DAYCLONA Offline
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Quote:



I'm sorry but I always thought they looked dorky. Look how low to the ground yours are. lol Plus a pinion snubber weighs alot less.









Hmmmmmm .. BIG Willie of the Brotherhood racing ran them on his Daytonas,....I'd like to see you tell him they're dorky!,...you jive talking moth'a......


Seriously though, anybody that's been into cars for decades has at one time slapped a set on just to see "what they do",.....back in the day we all ran them






Mike

6483250-bigwillie.jpg (96 downloads)
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: 69B3GT] #824952
02/18/11 10:57 PM
02/18/11 10:57 PM
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Posts: 15,487
Florida
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scratchnfotraction Offline
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some things down here are just cooler than he77

i like them just cause the work and most think they are dorky

the ssm bars seem to do what caltracs does but in another way of doing it

I just put a set on my truck per the ssm instructions

it sits all catty wonked but will counter the engine torque on the launch

and with a set of mono leafs it will get some good body lift to plant the tires

mind you this is a A-body 8 3/4 with ssm bars for an A-body car on a flip flop in my 85 truck

results will vary and i plan to adjust as it goes

but no doubt I gots a set of dog catchers on mine for the old skool look

skip the rubber snubber and clamp the bar in the same place caltracs applys the pressure to the leaf and preload them for the hit

with the the shock plate solid to the bar and the bar clamped just behind the front eye you can see the preload in the mono leaf so as the pinion climbs the ring gear the spring unloads and the harder it hits and the more the bars lift the body and plant the tires

watch the vid of the green car on the caltracs post

the rear end snaps down wrinkleing the tires then unloads like a rubber band lifting the front up and planting the tires



on mine you can see how the leaf is bowed if you look right above the sticker behind the clamp in front of the drum

this preload is the hit that unloads when the pinion climbs the ring,when the torque flatens the leaf out it lifts the body up with x amount of force pushing down on the axle and seperateing the spring down away from the frame planting the tires

but what do I know i just run dorky stuff that looks kool

6483317-SSM#1.jpg (140 downloads)
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: scratchnfotraction] #824953
02/18/11 11:01 PM
02/18/11 11:01 PM
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Florida
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scratchnfotraction Offline
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6483323-SSM#4.jpg (146 downloads)
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: scratchnfotraction] #824954
02/18/11 11:12 PM
02/18/11 11:12 PM
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 310
western Ky
CraigS Offline
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western Ky
Hey big Willy THEY ARE DORKY!!!!

If you guys want your car to look like a Camaro,go ahead and use them.

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: CraigS] #824955
02/18/11 11:15 PM
02/18/11 11:15 PM
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Florida
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scratchnfotraction Offline
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thats is why i run a truck with lift bars...i am copy cating the ferd rustangs boys

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: CraigS] #824956
02/18/11 11:28 PM
02/18/11 11:28 PM
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 1,894
Mira Loma, CA
69B3GT Offline
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Quote:

Hey big Willy THEY ARE DORKY!!!!

If you guys want your car to look like a Camaro,go ahead and use them.




I perfer a nova over a camaro

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: 69B3GT] #824957
02/19/11 12:31 AM
02/19/11 12:31 AM

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I had traction bars on my 71 Mach1 and they worked great.

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: 67dodge67] #824958
02/19/11 01:54 AM
02/19/11 01:54 AM
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Posts: 5,193
NEW JERSEY
AARCONV Offline
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Quote:

The only reason why I haven't put them on is due to clearance issues with the road, pulling into parking lots, bumps in the road, you get the idea... CRUNCH!!!



I had my issues way back then,hit a pot hole and ripped the rear end center pin on the right and sent the rear tire into the 1/4 panel just a bit , still drove it home and still have that dent on my bar

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: AARCONV] #824959
02/19/11 02:57 AM
02/19/11 02:57 AM
Joined: Aug 2006
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Tracy CA
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rabid scott Offline
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I have them on my Challenger and they work excellently! The car would spin the tires a helluva lot easier before I put 'em on.

Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: rabid scott] #824960
02/19/11 04:18 AM
02/19/11 04:18 AM
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Puyallup, WA
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StealthWedge67 Offline
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I run SSM Lift bars. Similar looking to standard traction bars, but clamp around the front segment of the leaf, offer a shim system to adjust preload, and shocks mount directly to them. My car lifts like SS springs and hooks well.
Lakewood style traction bars are a lot less sophisticated, but still can work well if dialed in correctly.

Pinion snubber = Junk (if you ask me) They don't control the springs at all, just try to keep the housing from misaligning. Very primitive.

Quote:
"I never had a GM get me of the line so I believe that Mopar engineers know what they are doing."

-Haven't raced much, have ya?!


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Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: scratchnfotraction] #824961
02/19/11 05:07 AM
02/19/11 05:07 AM
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Huber Heights Ohio
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greenpigs Offline
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Huber Heights Ohio
I have a nasty wheelhop & would like to try some traction bars. So for a 69 Charger what would you guys recomend that doesn't cost much. Not a fan of them but if they work then they will stay on.


69 Charger RT
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: greenpigs] #824962
02/19/11 08:54 AM
02/19/11 08:54 AM
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Florida
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scratchnfotraction Offline
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i would suggest the south side machine lift bars on the 69 charger

over a set of cheapy slapper bars

or the caltracs system with mono leafs or the split mono leafs


Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: scratchnfotraction] #824963
02/19/11 09:37 AM
02/19/11 09:37 AM
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Huber Heights Ohio
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greenpigs Offline
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I got a set of Southside bars for $25 well $46 off Ebay so hopefully they help. I did a quick search here and found a few others that said the were OK so that makes me feel a little better. Or I won't be pulling them off after trying them out.

Thanks again for the info Scatchin.


69 Charger RT
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: torkrules] #824964
02/19/11 09:55 AM
02/19/11 09:55 AM
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 12,493
Western Colorado High Desert
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Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

I have mine on too. They work and I have always thought they looked cool.




I'm sorry but I always thought they looked dorky. Look how low to the ground yours are. lol Plus a pinion snubber weighs alot less.




you dont think the front springmounts ataching to what litle frame is available under these cars would be a better place to direct all the rotational forces from the rear axle compared to putting all that force straight up into the much thinner floor?




Someone must know what the Mopar engineers had in mind when they specified the snubber and said not to use the trac bars. I know we are killing this topic but I'm a sucker for these two sided arguments. I'll see what I can dig up from my old books.





If I can ever find them, somewhere I have the factory HP manuals I got from Mopar in the 70's. The rear end manual stated that using traction bars on a 8.75 rear with a higher torque motor such as a BB could cause the housing to twist.
I had bought a set for my 69 Charger R/T but never installed them after reading this. That was in 1976.


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Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: moparmarks] #824965
02/19/11 10:22 AM
02/19/11 10:22 AM
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Posts: 15,992
RI Deep in the rust belt
chargervert Offline
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I had read in one of the Direct Connection chassis set up manuals,that the leaf springs will wind up under hard launching conditions. They showed a drawing of the rear end and springs,with another drawing over that one showing the springs and center of the rear axle under hard launch. They showed how the springs wind up and what happens to the pinion angle under load. According to them a certain amount of spring wind up is good for getting Mopars to hook up. Thats why the snubber works so well. It allows for a certain amound of wind up. The picture showed that there was positive momentum from some spring wind up,but once the pinion angle goes beyond a certain amount of degrees,it went from positive momentum,to negative. The adjustable snubber allows you to control the spring windup and pinion angle,to find just the right amount of positive spring windup. The traction bars do not allow any spring windup,or adjustabilty. Due to the shorter length of the front part of the leaf springs on Mopars,traction bars usually just promoted wheel hop. If I am remembering this correctly,as it was more than thirty years ago,that I had read about this. Then there are the ground clearance issues. A friend of mine had a set of Lakewood Traction bars on a 72 Challenger,and the caught a curbing going into a parking lot. It tore the front leaf spring mount right out of the car. He had to tow it to my garage,to have me weld in a new mount,that we cut out of a parts car.


70 Charger R/T SE 472 Hemi 70 Charger R/T convertible 70 Charger R/T V Code Sixpack 69 Charger R/T SE Sunroofcar 68 Charger 383 68 Charger 318 71 Charger R/T 70 Challenger convertible 71 Challenger convertible 71 Cuda 340 09 Challenger R/T Classic
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: chargervert] #824966
02/19/11 11:04 AM
02/19/11 11:04 AM
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Florida
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the weakest part of any spring pack is the first 1-3 inches behind the front spring eye..this is where all the wrap up and hop comes from

caltracs put pressure there to keep the spring from wraping up and unloading over and over at a super fast rate..wheel hop

cal tracs pushes down on the leaf and the triangle bracket uses the leverage to lift the body weight and pushes the axle down to plant the tires and stop the leaf from bending/flexing just behind the spring eye

you see this at the fender lip and tire as seperation of the two..lift

ssm lift bars do the same thing in the same spot but push from the bottom of the sping to stop the wrap up of the leaf

with the ssm bars it has shims to adjust the preload in the left or right spring,pass side allways has one more shim than the other to counter the engine torque on the launch

on mine you can see a bow in the mono leaf between the bar clamp behind the front eye and the bar shock plate preloading the spring

when I jack the pinion up slightly with a jack,this bow comes out and lift the fender lip at the tire...I can see it working to a point by manualy rotating the pinion up

you need the have the pinion in the angle range with it nose down for maximum hit

and as in any street driving,you need to drive defensively and watch for road hazzards,curbs,potholes or you can have trouble

i will leave it at this..run what you brung..and if you out run it...its cause you can!

Last edited by scratchnfotraction; 02/19/11 11:07 AM.
Re: Lakewood Traction Bars [Re: scratchnfotraction] #824967
02/19/11 11:25 AM
02/19/11 11:25 AM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 22,873
Chicken coop
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Quote:

and as in any street driving,you need to drive defensively and watch for road hazzards,curbs,potholes or you can have trouble





...and watch out for rotten road kill, those traction bars scoop them up like a dustpan. I've pulled raccoon chunks out of mine.

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