Traction Bars ??

[73440]

That's a great website, makes me want to go and make some.

And they even have Homer Simpson there at the end visiting.

Alright I'm back looking for more education . I have a 440 powered 1970 R/T Challenger . It was a 383 car with a 8.75 differential , it had a open rear end 332 gears . The tire size is stock . I put in a sur grip and the car still wheel hops . Are traction bars my next step ? If so what am I looking for  in the way of a traction bar ?  I do not want to change the gears or the tire size . Thanks 

Defend the 2nd Amendment. Tap-a-Talk

[Chryco Psycho]

Clamping the front sector of the spring pack is what made the difference in 70chall440's case not the slapper/traction bar, simply clamping them helps probably more than a pinion snubber. Shocks and a firm front spring sector will fix your issues. GOOD shocks. you may need to add a half spring to firm up the front sector as well

This would be exactly my approach

[BadJoey]

I,m scratching my head why everyone seems down on air shocks ? My ride is stiff but I like the height . My thought is , as the air shock lengthens that would make the springs stiffer , same as a traction bar no ? The only thing coming to mind as to how they could hurt would be if the car had to squat in back in order to hook up ? I,ll have to give this some thought . I,m going to call summit and talk to a tech . I,m going to try clamping the front section first as suguested . I usally start with the cheapest thing first , within reason of course . 

Did 73440 refer to me as Homer Simpson ?

[BadJoey]

Short video .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmBBaCeHCX4

[73440]

No, at the very end of the article I linked to Homer Simpson is animated , that site owner must be a Simpson's fan , as I must be as I am watching The Simpson's right now.

[BadJoey]

cool 

this is a lake wood site . Go to pitcher frame 323 .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rBUuG6okLc

[Chryco Psycho]

Air shocks have no effect on making the springs stiffer  , the spring is the spring the rate is the same , you can re-arc the springs for more height but the rate still will not change at all .
 What air shocks do is to change the load from the spring eyes where it is designed to handle the load on to the frame to the shock crossmember where the load will do damage to the body , you can always tell when air shocks had been on a car at some point as the shock crossmember will have damage .
 By clamping the front section of the springs this will stiffen them reducing deflection transmitting more power to the chassis without wheel hop / spring windup & release  , also adding 1/2 leafs forward reduces deflection even more without changing the ride quality as the rear section is still soft & controls the softness of the ride . this will also allow full suspension travel unlike a snubber on the diff .

[70chall440]

I cannot speak for anyone else, but I will say the reason I cannot stand air shock is because of the damage they do over time but more importantly they will fail at some point, normally at the least opportune time and depending on your wheel/tire selection may make driving the car impossible without destroying the tires.

That said, it is your car, do with it as you like but know that air shocks will in no way help traction or wheel hop. In fact it could be argued that they will do significantly more damage as the energy from the wheel hop will be transmitted directly to your shock mounting points and will eventually cause them to fail or at a minimum cause damage that will be painful to repair.

[Chryco Psycho]

the other fator with air shocks is if you have to use them run separate lines to each shock otherwise the air on the loaded side will go over to the unloaded side & add to sway in corners

[dodj]

I,m scratching my head why everyone seems down on air shocks ?

In addition to what others have said, they just aren't a very good 'shock absorber'. They are really installed by people to increase ride height so they are really more of an air bag.

[1970 RT Challenger 1970]

Shocks are air shocks about 10 years old but still hold air . Maybe 3 thousand miles .

I have a pair of Gabriel Air Shocks, BFG T/A Radials and the Yellow Lakewood Traction Bars that are 36 years old (1980) on one of my muscle cars and they still do the job.

Although I decided it's time to replace the tires and shocks very soon due to the age and my Safety!

[BadJoey]

Get rid of those shocks, air shocks are garbage on a good day, get a decent pair of rear shocks, if they are 10 years old,,,, they are old and need replacement.
Are they original springs? if so how many leaves? 4 1/2?

The springs are original and there is 4 1/2 . I came into a extra $ 400.00 at the casino last night so . Hello traction bars and new shocks . The next question is which ones ? Any suggestions remember I have $400.00 .

[Chryco Psycho]

Espo spring

[BadJoey]

Check out this video . I never would have guessed the axle moved this much . When the car wheel hops , the banging I hear is that the tires leaving the ground or is something else hitting .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wpd3Q8p61cE

[BadJoey]

Here is what I,m looking at for Traction bars and shocks under $500.00 . I know I said $400.00 guess it's back to the casino . 


http://www.manciniracing.com/catrbarsy1.html