Traction bars. Everybody seems to mount them on the bottom of the axle. Is that out of laziness or functionality? What is the theory behind it? Why shouldn't they be mounted on top of the axle?
Discuss

the roatating action of the rear pushes upward on the truk pushin the rear down...if theyre made right..theoretically...i think...maybe...:pound:

correct but if you were to mount them on top & angle the frame mounting points lower then the axle mounting point, wouldn't it push(leverage) down on the front end more?

they would hafta be pretty low and the front wheels are so far away that the leverage wouldnt work out...and then theyd be liftin on the rear axle as it tried to roll

lifting the rear doesn't matter much when the sled is on

seperation would be yer issues at that point i think

it would not work properly. you wouldnt want to try to pull the front down like that.

but hey, what do i know, maybe it would work. go try it.

Garrett

it would not work properly. you wouldnt want to try to pull the front down like that.



Why not if I can get force down on the front end without weights? Not argueing either way just have not seen proof it would not work. That's why I put discuss :D

The rear end rotates upward under torque not down. For instance, when you see a ford break the rear axle the pinion goes up not down. :D

The rear end rotates upward under torque not down. For instance, when you see a ford break the rear axle the pinion goes up not down. :D

yes I know that. That is the discussion. Why would it not "force" down if mounted on top & low enough near the front of thr truck

hence the invention of the 4 link

I think you put them on the bottom because the leaf springs are kind of holding the axle from wraping. Once you get the bars on, it takes care of the rest of the wrap. If they were on the top with the leaf springs, they would not have as much leverage on the axle in trying to hold it still. Sounds good in theory anyway...?

The rear end rotates upward under torque not down. For instance, when you see a ford break the rear axle the pinion goes up not down. :D

Thats why mine are welded!:D

The rear end rotates upward under torque not down. For instance, when you see a ford break the rear axle the pinion goes up not down. :D

my old racecar used to use a pinion snubber not traction bars to push the body up and the rear down. it was an old direct connection factory race manual blueprint

hence the invention of the 4 link

The 4link gives you maximum traction to the rear AND total adjustability with coilovers that leafs can't. They also work because the top bar "offsets" the "lifting" caused by the bottom bar( not alot at all). Same car with just lower bars & crosslink will launch TOTALLY different when the tops go in. I have probably 5 to 6000 passes in 4 link cars. A 4link will keep a rear from rotating but I do not think it would be a good setup in pulling though

my old racecar used to use a pinion snubber not traction bars to push the body up and the rear down. it was an old direct connection factory race manual blueprint

I have a design on a pice of paper here designing that for pull pull truck & streetable when not pulling by just removing a pin. Maybe I should pursue this, my bars weigh 85lbs with hardware. That's probably 75 more I can put out front

my old racecar used to use a pinion snubber not traction bars to push the body up and the rear down. it was an old direct connection factory race manual blueprint

I have seen that used in conjunction with a 4 link set-up and it worked great! Best all around, street, strip, track set-up I have seen.

hence the 4 link...:stir:;)

I have seen that used in conjunction with a 4 link set-up and it worked great! Best all around, street, strip, track set-up I have seen.

Me too, My old Mustang had a 4 link and snubber. Awsome at the track:D

My Yugo had that set-up and with 145-25R13 Sumitomo Radials I never had a problem with traction.

My Yugo had that set-up and with 145-25R13 Sumitomo Radials I never had a problem with traction.

Thats because any car with 45hp wont have a traction issue:pound::pound:

you can set a 4 link up to have a lot of lift on the rear end. you can also have it set up to have no lift.

as you said, its all in the set up.

Garrett

What angle should these bars be ? (same as drive shaft, frame,does it matter)

What length is best?

Can they be too long, too short, too heavy?

Or does the angle determine the length ?

What angle should these bars be ? (same as drive shaft, frame,does it matter)

What length is best?

Can they be too long, too short, too heavy?

Or does the angle determine the length ?

The longer the better- on my CCLB Duramax they will be 7' 1'' eye to eye, putting them almost parallel to the ground when they are mounted! The shorter you go, the more binding issues you have- giving alot rougher ride. I dont see how they could be too heavy though. GOOD LUCK- Steven

The longer the better- on my CCLB Duramax they will be 7' 1'' eye to eye, putting them almost parallel to the ground when they are mounted! The shorter you go, the more binding issues you have- giving alot rougher ride. I dont see how they could be too heavy though. GOOD LUCK- Steven

my CCSB are 7'1".

Garrett

The longer the better- on my CCLB Duramax they will be 7' 1'' eye to eye, putting them almost parallel to the ground when they are mounted! The shorter you go, the more binding issues you have- giving alot rougher ride. I dont see how they could be too heavy though. GOOD LUCK- Steven

thats what she said:pound:

thats what she said:pound:

only til she seen it :eek::eek::eek::eek:;)

only til she seen it :eek::eek::eek::eek:;)

:pound::pound::pound::pound:

with leaf springs, if you mount the bar on top of the axle, the bottom of the axle will want to roll forward still.

here is the thing tho, tubing when under compression forces (bottom mounted) will want to deflect. when in tension (top mounted) its not going to deflect. to over come this problem you go with a heavy enough tube when bottom mounted to prevent the deflection, or go with a triangulated and shackle mounted "ladder" bar set-up.

i had the problem of deflection last year, my bars were made of a smaller thin wall tubing and i have pictures and video showing it bending into a slight arc under full force. i am now building a set of much heavier and longer bars that will not deflect.

i saw that at the pulls this weekend..cept they didnt bend backstrait...looked not so good

i saw that at the pulls this weekend..cept they didnt bend backstrait...looked not so good

That wasnt on my truck was it? I have watched video of my runs to see if my bars are bending but havent seen anything yet. There is a good video on Mikes youtube acount of Leons traction bars bent so far under load they almost touch the ground.

No, it was the other red 2nd Gen that had the left side bar bend. I found two pics, (night and without flash so the second one shows a lot of motion) the first shows the bar straight and the second when he started to pull you can actually make out the wave in the bar. I don't know if it went back into shape after the pull on this run. But I do remember seeing that thing tweaked :D

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Zukimog/SDIM6550.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Zukimog/SDIM6551.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Zukimog/SDIM6551a.jpg

i was thinkin it was a green or blue truk..but it might have been the red one..it was doin some serious bending tho bout halftrack...

i think thats part of the length discussion we had on another post. too long? or mtd too far forward. but the short one swill bind. my racecar once had homemade ladders..they bound up like crazy and ruined the car..i eventually took em off for a pinion snubber

my bars are solid drill rod, not tubing. theyll bend the frame before they brake

I would like to 4-link my rear end... going to the center of the axle on top like a "V" back up to the frame!

The blue second gen was the one with bent bars. They didnt bend back either...


kydmaxpuller, isn't a heavy walled DOM tubing stronger than solid stock?

I would like to 4-link my rear end... going to the center of the axle on top like a "V" back up to the frame!

why? thats not gonna do anything but bind up with leaf springs

why? thats not gonna do anything but bind up with leaf springs

We did it to a lifted CTD and it worked great. no axle wrap! Traction bars to the bottom of the axle like mine and then the two on top running to the center above the diff. plus if you break and axle your not likely to rotate the diff and cause more carnage.

Technically, if you're 4-linking the rear you're doing away with the leaf springs. The only issue would be the fuel tank and the upper arms in that double triangulated setup :D