SO what do traction bars actually do??

[dieselholic06]

So, what do they do on the track?? Sorry, pulling new guy.

 

[tracker954x4]

They help prevent axle wrap and wheel hop mostly. The long ones used it pulling also help distribute the torque load further up the frame.

 

[durallymax]

Lots of things heres a detailed explanation, PS im mad now. I was almost done with it the first time and accidentally clicked a link and it erased it.

Here we go.

When pulling your axle wants to move forward. Why? Well you have a lot of torque going to the tires and a 20 ton sled hooked to your frame holding you back. The only thing that absorbs this load are the leaf springs because they are the only thing transmitting the force to your frame. However being a spring they cant absorb much for before they distort into an S shape. When this happens its bacause your axle is moving forward and the rest of the truck isnt. This also changes the pinion angle and can tear up driveshafts.

Now what traction bars do is eliminate the distortion. How do they do it?? Well they act as a brace that keeps the axle from moving at all. The rear attachment point is pretty much standard. Almost all bars bolt up with the factory u bolts(new ones of course). The front attachment is where they differ but ill discuss that later. What the bar does is take the force from the axle trying to move forward and transmit it to the frame in the fron tattachment point. At the same time some of this force goes back to the rearend and pushes it into the ground giving you more traction, thus why they are called traction bars. At the same time it also prevents your axle from doing its own thing compared to the frame which also gives more traction and prevents driveshaft failure which is usually caused by bounching.

The bouncing effect comes from the sprin deforming and snapping back, ones this starts its nearly impossible to stop without letting off.

Now there are all kinds of different bars but here are the most common.

Short bars such as caltracs use the front spring shackle as an attachment point. These work well for drag racing I am told but I havent seen many successes in pulling with them, and im one to testify.

The kinda long bars usually bolt right where the frame bends up in the rear which is just after the rear cab mount. This is a good setup for pulling but keeps alot of the force going to the rear tires.

The Long bars(like what I run) connect way up front. Mine connect in between the trann x member and the t bar x member. These bars take a lot of the force and use it to lift the front end. Which is actually bad for a lot of people as you want your front end planted to the ground as naturally the rear will always get traction. however for guys like me who can hang weights the frontend is already in the dirt, this lifting is counterbalanced with all of the weight on the front and thus you have success. The reasont ehse bars are superior is they really spread the load out and work best at keeping you from hopping.

In theory ou would actually want a bar that points down but clearance issues dont allow this.

Anothe rthing is that the longer your bar is the stronger the material needs to be. Because the longer it gets there is more stress on the bar itself, if its too weak it will flex and your gaining nothing. If its strong enough it will tramit the force to the frame and you will be successful. This is also the reason you see people making ladder bar setups where there are two bars running parallell with triangular shapes in between. However this is not necessary, in pulling its best to use the KISS method(keep it simple stupid).

The jury is still out on whether square or round tubing is best.

You can make the adjustable if it will be a street vehicle as you want to actually slightly push the axle back and then for street driving release the tension and remove the bar.


hope this helps

 

[mmangels22]

good explanation.