Cal trac copy traction bars

Has anyone tried these traction bars out?? https://www.ebay.com/itm/175140285025

Calvert has patents.

So that means no you havent?

That is correct. I have used the real ones for 20 years and the ones you linked look and probably function exactly the same. But, do they have the same quality rod ends and tubing? Don't know.

In my first response I was suggesting that they may not be available for long.

Made in China and company has lousy feedback. When it comes to suspension I want quality and safe parts. Your life depends on it.

Think about what is important, saving a few dollars or your life
I like ladder bars and four link now
I have helped NHRA Stock class racers set world class records with leaf springs only before John Calvert and another Father and Son team from Lancaster, CA were both developing that system and the same time.
John ended up making his company to sell those bars while he continued to work full time for the U.S. Government

I can’t see where they would be so life threatening, they push the heim joints and they are or could be the weak link. Are the welds good? If not 1/4” steel that would be the only other problem. Basically the Chinese could make them identical to Calverts but pay the guy making them $2.50 to sell them that cheap and still make a tidy profit. The Chinese have good machinery they just don’t have to pay union wages

If the front mount, or the front heim breaks, and the front of the bar drops down, you have an incredibly dangerous scenario. Is that any more likely than a real caltrac setup? I don’t know.

$ 265 or $389, 124$ difference, NO WAY would I get the cheaper copies

The company is out of Texas. They build to order.

NO offense meant to you but peoples thinking on the "cheaper" chinese product is exactly what has gotten this country in a position the be dependent on them. Now consider their ties to Russia and the current situation

And should any part of that system break during launch or hard acceleration you now have a siutuion where the vehicle may unexpectedly make a hard right or left

The Ebay info say

Location China

The extra money for the Calvert's would be well worth the great support.

Location of SELLER is China, per SELLER information, though to be honest I doubt they are selling US made product from a China location. The actual AD itself says NJ. Not sure where TX came into play.

THIS /\ I've had a set for years. The help they gave setting them up was invaluable. Also, I ordered the wrong size eye bushing, my fault. They sent me the right ones for free.

For a streetcar i think it will be ok, i will find out.

Not cracking wise, but if it's a street car, save even more and get a cheap pair of Lakewood bolt on slapper bars. They will work just as well.

The front eye of spring is still attached in same place, no where to go but bars still being attached on other side would give a dangerous ride. If bubble gum welds be wary. Both heims and tube are in compression, not stretching, solid joints would work fine. The two areas of my concern are the struts on u-bolt plate and the tube in front that pulls down on spring.

We made our own after a friend bought a set. Really the only thing we copied directly was the pivot. It's pretty easy to make the rest with tubing, spacers, flat stock and heim ends. We have less than $100 in materials in them.

I do have Calvert split mono springs and, up to last year ran their single adjustable shock.

It's not rocket science. Lots of other products out there with their own take on this. The Assassin bars are just one example.

They do work well as we've been 1.36 60 ft. with a 275 drag radial and 3,700 lbs. street car.

Pics of us putting them together...

Dear customer
Thnaks for contacting with us
All our parts are manufactured by our Germany engineers in HK factory , we
have 2 years warranty . you can always order with confidence

For now, it sells at a discount price, if it is okay with you, due to the limited stock, please kindly click up "Buy it now".
We will arrange shipment for you urgently.
And the fast delivery of 2-5 business days and 2-year warranty are provided for free.
If you have any other question, please feel free to contact with us.
Best regards, this is what the ebay seller responded to me about feedback

Thanks for your input i will be ordering a set and keep yall posted

Yep, that is likely someone in china responding to you. Plenty of clues.

I've got a set of spring relocation style pivots from calvert that weren't exactly top notch. Out of square just a bit... LOL I build the rest of the stuff myself. If I was buying a set up, I'd get it from Calvert. I also have a set of calvert split monos

Chinese metallurgy is horrible , and most of the products they manufacture are of very low quality.
You can argue that it has gotten better , but only because it couldn't get any worse.
It goes far deeper than " union wages ".
It may be good enough for you.
I'll pass.

Reason I said look it over, if still no clue stick with Calverts

I bought a pair several years ago for a little less than that. They are definitely Chinese.
My set has good welds and fit as designed. So far I have only driven on the street and haven't really beat on them.

My only complaints were that some of the female threads had weld splatter in them, requiring a tap (RH and LH thread) I'll probably never use again. Also the rod ends were not protected, and after banging around in the package all the way from Hoo Flung Dung City, those male threads also needed some touching up with a thread file and die.

Just my experience, yours may vary.

Yes it is someone from oversea. I deal with them alot with my small business.

... definitely not written by someone who uses ENGLISH as their primary language ...

The crap quality, junk materials, slave labor, reverse engineering, counterfeiting, theft of American technology, and ignoring US patents are enough that you should avoid this junk.

On top of that, they are also building a military, with our money, to spread their influence (and bio-weapons) and kill Americans if we get in their way.

What is wrong with you people? You would have been buying Mitsubishis, Kawasakis and Volkswagons in 1939 too I'll bet.

Support American companies that invent and develop this stuff. Or they'll all be bought up by PE firms and have the manufacturing *cough* MSD *cough cough* Edelbrock *cough* sent overseas anyways.

You ever try to weld Chinese 4130 or use Chinese consumables? I wouldn't want to trust any of it upside down at speed. Or expect it to retain any strength over time.

I don't mind offending people. They need offending. I'm offended that they even consider counterfeit crap from enemies, thrown in a box with zero information, rather than getting the genuine article from the people who developed it and will talk to you on the phone about how to use it.

Same goes for MSD, Edelbrock, and the rest of them.

Hi Dr Charles , I just spit Coffee all over my screen with your
"Hoo Flung Dung City " comment ! Tears rolling down my face from belly Laughter , I'm still coughing on my inhaled Coffee ! When I go out for Dinner and I'm still coughing , my buddy's are going to say , Hey , you got Corona ? and I'm going to say , NO , just a little cough caused by MOPARTS ! thanks , Ronnie

as a machinist and fabricator for almost 45yrs,and still practicing today, if i need a "copy" of an item and don't want to pay list for something i know i can make, i go that route.
i know my skills will withstand whatever the intended purpose of the item will be.
i also am aware of the time it takes to make something outweighs the cost savings, but being on a fixed income, sometimes i have no other choice if i want something i otherwise could not afford.
just my life experience, your mileage will vary.

Absolutely. I will often take someone else's idea and improve on it. Or modify it to fit my needs and fabricate it using my particular style.

Typically, the time and materials needed to do that, or make an outright copy using quality materials, are more than the mass produced parts would have cost. But the improvement over the original is worth it to me. If a mass produced item will fit my needs with a few tweaks, saving time and money, I go that route, using good parts designed and produced by people I know in this country.

Offshore crap is never a consideration, unless what I need is simply not made here anymore because the people who used to make it gave up trying to compete with slave labor and commies.

SCG DH

The Cal Trac brand is a good value, Mine are over 20 years old and the powder coating is still in good shape except right where they pivot. Quality parts from good people.

Don't forget to gusset your spring perches or buy the really nice ones from Calvert!

Must be abit 10 different companies on eBay selling that kit. It would be nice to know who is actually making it and the quality of the materials/equipment used on the build. That’s the nice thing about US builders. They want to make sure you come back alive from using their products and don’t want to be sued out of existence. Foreign company in lets say China couldn’t care less what happens to you when they get your money and good luck getting anything back if it’s junk.

But the US companies seem to always have a disclaimer, "for racing use only, absolutely no warranty". So it's still up to the user to determine what is safe and what isn't.

That's because US companies can be reached by ambulance chasing lawyers and their idiot clients who don't know what they are doing. Everyone knows - race car parts have no warranty.

Who you going to go after if the ebay junk breaks? Or you need a replacement part? Or you'd like some tuning advice?

Just like always, YOU rely on yourself. If not pay the big bucks for it.

Anyone know how this lawsuit turned out? Calvert Racing vs Smith Race Craft

At least Smith has some discernible differences from CalTracs. A blatant copy is just bull$hit... IMO.

Making a copy for yourself alone... that's up to you.

Buying a set from somebody who is selling a blatant copy... is supporting theft of intellectual property. You can rationalize it any way you want, but it doesn't change the truth.

[quote=GomangoCuda]Calvert has patents. [/quote
NO POLITICS IN THIS FORUM!!!!!!

Slide-A-Link looks awful close to the Calvert piece.

Wonder why no legal action here.

Lots different in design between the two.

I'm gonna guess Calvert won. In the suit they had issue with Max-Trax as the name. If they are the same bars they are called Assassin Bars now. But that's pure speculation.

yes they are assassin bars

Calvert's bars are a high tech version if the old Traction Master bars from the 60s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=099douUPsOE

Dang Hyenas....