?traction bars? which one and why

[Hot COCOAL]

Ok everyone....i humbly request your input once again.
I have been searchin around and reading up on them for a bit, i still dont know which is best for me, and which is best quality.

Ladder bars
As far as quality goes, one of my biggest questions is- how thick should the material be?
As far as which one is best for me?... ladder bars from BDS, procomp or Fabtech, whos bars are better/best
CALTRACS
I have read that cal tracs make noise that is annoying? Can you change out the rod end to one that is teflon lined, or are they already? What/how much benifit do you get from "preloading" them?
I have read that ladder bars limit articulation of the rear axel, are cal tracs better or worse in this department, also which would be better in an off road situation, clearance and strength wise?
TRACTION BARS
How do these differ from caltracs and ladder bars? What are their pros and cons? And how do you determine length? Some sell 60" kit 50" kit merchant sells a 74" kit and a 90" kit?????????????????
Please Help a guy make a good choice for a all around truck, that tows, does mild off road, sees the track and drives like a maniac.

Again, THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT

 

[Odyssey25013]

Subbed

 

[jnieberlein]

I run mild off road as in my driveway which is dirt, I pull a trailer and I like my cal tracs I have never off roaded with them but I think if you are too wild off road you would hit your ladder bars. The cal tracs do make noise, I grease the joints often like once a month but I don't think the noise they make is that hateful for all around versatility on a daily driven truck that you may pull and race with, one vote here for cal tracs

 

[TROJAN366]

I put the all seasons on my truck. The ride was unaffected and they make no noise but they do hang a little low. If you spend much time actually off roading the truck it could definitely create issues with ground clearance. They are extremely heavy duty though so if you're not thrashing it hard they'd probably be ok.

 

[Janimal444]

I have the Fabtech Bars, clearance could also be an issue, as the gusset on the bars hangs even lower than the bars themselves. If you are strictly drag-racing, I'd get the Caltracs. If you are sled pulling, or drag racing and sled pulling, I'd get a long bar, like the Fabtech, or Tony's kit.

 

[TROJAN366]

Those gussets look badass though Jan. I need to paint mine before they rust up on me

 

[Chevy1925]

BDS, fabtech, procomp, ect are just "cool looking" traction bars.

ladder bars are more generally refered to as triangulated traction bars. meaning the bar mounts to two spots on the axle (one above the axle and one below), the thrid point then attaches to a shackle which is mounted to the frame or crossmember. this stops ALL axle wrap and if you build it right, you can change anti squat as well.

Caltracs are one of the best setups for the money for a drag race setup. its gunna net you the best 60 fts once setup right. there are a few guys here who have seen guys run them for sled pulling and say they work damn good at that too. the noise part comes from the cantilever part that touches the springs. when you back the bars off to get a stock ride back, every time you hit a bump the little roller that rolls on the spring to stock any bind rattles. ive heard of guys using heater hose and stopping it all together that way. Its not the rod end thats rattling unless its completely wore out.

traction bars are miss leading. They are mainly there to stop axle wrap, not create more traction. You will actually loose traction easier since the suspension is no longer flexing and giving to the torque applied, letting you keep more traction. this is why caltracs work so well on the strip as they allow that give to keep traction but not so much that axle wrap occures. you can also change antisquat with them giving you more control.

i like the two straight bars (axle wrap/traction bars) just for the fact they work well all around. No clunks, no prepping them for the track, stop axle wrap whether im towing or not, and ride only get a hair bit stiffer but that is inherant with any device you add to stop axle wrap all together.


thats your one free lesson for today Jason

 

[Redbowties88]

I'm a big fan of my caltracs.. and 1.63 60's on street tires seems to back that up.

 

[Hot COCOAL]

James-:hail2:
Nice post!
I'm definitely leaning(well more like falling) toward the cal tracs, but im not sure i have seen the 2 bar set up you are referring to? Is this a custom "James" built traction bar set up? Or an off the shelf setup?

 

[Ryan T]

cal tracs are the best, the only reason i have the straight bar style is becuase my truck used to be lowered with a DJM kit and i couldnt run cal tracs..

 

[Chevy1925]

James-:hail2:
Nice post!
I'm definitely leaning(well more like falling) toward the cal tracs, but im not sure i have seen the 2 bar set up you are referring to? Is this a custom "James" built traction bar set up? Or an off the shelf setup?

Lol

are you talking about the triangulated setup or the general straight bars that trojan posted a pic of?

 

[DBUSHLB7]

Cal Tracs on my truck. Haven't had em on long enough to start making the noise the others speak of. Only raced with em once and ran 12:18 with a 1.89 60'. Pretty lousy sounding its not the Cal Tracs fault I'm learning how to adjust em still. Kinda hesitant to make a bunch of passes for the sake of adjusting them while any day could be my motors last.

 

[cwmeaux1]

Sub

 

[Hot COCOAL]

Lol

are you talking about the triangulated setup or the general straight bars that trojan posted a pic of?

Which ever ones you were referring to at the end of my "free lesson" there^^lol
You said the 2 straight bar set up?

 

[Redbowties88]

Cal Tracs on my truck. Haven't had em on long enough to start making the noise the others speak of. Only raced with em once and ran 12:18 with a 1.89 60'. Pretty lousy sounding its not the Cal Tracs fault I'm learning how to adjust em still. Kinda hesitant to make a bunch of passes for the sake of adjusting them while any day could be my motors last.

If you can get that 60' down shes got 11's in her for sure with that mph.

What hole are you running the caltracs in? How far off the spring pack is the bar? IMHO preloading them is worthless. you want them just barely making contact..or at least thats been the best for my truck

however i do have a lot less srping then most and therefor more squat...YMMV

 

[Hot COCOAL]

Also(great, more fuel for the proverbial fire) since you mentioned the inherent stiffness gained by any anti axel wrap system, to obtian better ride comfort could one use sulastic rubber shackles for the rear leaf mount without comprising the efforts of a set of cal tracs/trac bars? Or would you be "shovlin into the same hole" so to speak by doin both?
Can we have our cake and eat it too?

 

[Redbowties88]

I'm no suspension expert, but I have a hard time seeing adding more play to where to the spring is mounted to the frame as being anything but a bad idea... In terms of launches anyway. You want that weight to come down hard on the back end...

 

[Hot COCOAL]

Agreed, but hoped i was wrong
cuz i gotta keep it comfy for the fam!

 

[Chevy1925]

Which ever ones you were referring to at the end of my "free lesson" there^^lol
You said the 2 straight bar set up?

that what you see on my truck, sled puller trucks, the fabtech bars, the cognito bars, as well as quite a few other trucks on here. one end attaches to the bottom of the axle while the other attaches to the frame. mine use a johnny joint so i can flex/articulate the rear all i want without bind, under full articulation my pinion angle changes by .5* though.

 

[RENODMAX]

I put the all seasons on my truck. The ride was unaffected and they make no noise but they do hang a little low. If you spend much time actually off roading the truck it could definitely create issues with ground clearance. They are extremely heavy duty though so if you're not thrashing it hard they'd probably be ok.

Dear god those are long