Traction bars WILL increase traction. There are a lot of threads about this and a lot of misinformation. Think about this....when you nail it(if you get traction) doesn't the front of your car nose up(or any car) even just a little? Now think of the vehicles' weight, and the MASSIVE amount of leverage working AGAINST the rear axle. That's a 3rd class lever, very inefficient. Now, if there's enough force to nose the car up, don't you think the spring is going to wind up, even if just a bit? It's a spring, it flexes, that's what springs do. EVERY leaf spring car(and even pretty much every car period)on launch winds the axle up some amount, even if the tires are spinning you're prolly winding the axle even a small amount(unless you have 0 tire friction such as in the water box etc and VERY stiff suspension). And think about this, what causes the tires to spin? When you're sitting there not under power you have traction, then you nail the throttle, the tire STILL has traction as power increases at the wheels, this causes the axle to wind up....if your power overcomes the tire's friction, then you start to spin, and the spring begins to relax and the axle winds down. But there is STILL some axle wrap up, this is because the pinion gear is trying to climb the ring gear, and even with no traction the carrier, axles, wheels etc all have mass which is trying to resist accelerating, which provides a force to counter against the pinion gear and make it climb the ring gear, taking the diff housing with it, that's axle wrap up. It's all physics, for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction etc. Traction bars are designed to take that axle wrap up, even if minute, and USE it by transfering it to the chassis and then redirecting that energy into a downward force on the wheels. Some are better than others at this, but as it occurs initialy it provides better traction, which is more resistance against the pinion making it climb harder causing more axle wrap up and planting the tires harder etc. Thismeans that when you nail it, the traction bars IF SET RIGHT will plant the tires harder and give better traction until either the power of the vehicle is no longer sufficient to continue axle wrap up and you have maximum loading, and the springs slowly relax as you get down track(but they're still wound as long as you continue to accelerate), or the power overcomes the tires grip even with the added force and you spin. Traction bars can be adjusted and some are better than others, CE's Slide-A-Links for exampleare nice, they can be adjusted on car, and you can change preload to control when the traction bars start working(so with a stiff spring that has minimal wrap up you can set it with a bunch of initial preload so it starts loading the tires immediately, or with a softer spring that wraps more you can set it so there's no preload and it doesn't load the wheels until after the axle starts to wrap) and you can also adjust pinion angle to get maximum unrestricted power transfer through the drivetrain.

But like with anything else related to a car's performance, it comes down to how well it's set up and how well it's driven. Traction bars DO increase traction, even in a car without wheel hop, if they're set right, and if the car is driven properly

 

OK cinderella im going to explain this to you one more time. Who said i squall them for 30 sec at launch? All i was getting at with that statement is the fact that i CAN sit there doing that w/o holding the brake, to give you a better understanding as to why i NEED traction bars. My launch is great, but why not strive to make it better and be able to maximize all of my torque? I.E.; MY QUESTION IN REGARDS TO TRACTION BARS. <-------(*big flashing light*)
I honestly cant say for a FACT that i would wax you, your right, but its about a 96% thing. I have nothing against a small block at all, i actually plan to build one in the near future, but you can sit in the bathroom ALL day stroking it and it wouldnt make a difference.
Anyhoo, thanks 67mustang302, i figured they called em TRACTION BARS for a reason.

 

Dude no harm was meant. And I'm not going to sit here and argue over who is faster over the internet. The only place to argue over that is the track. So turn bitch mode off.

And last time I checked 408ci was bigger than 390ci... but maybe some of the other guys on here running small blockstrokers that make some hard core numberscould double check my math...

 

I will settle the debate once and for all. My traction bars should arrive by Monday morning and i will post the outcome. Thanks for all the advice.

 

LOL, this is not that serious superdavid, you dont have to keep editing your posts. Only reason i know i could "take" you,BESIDES the mods, is the fact that my 390 is lighter than your windsor. Dumbfounded i assume? Take a guess.

Beside the fact, i could careless. I come on here to LEARN and share my interest in mustangs.

 

18 cubic inches doesn't mean dick for performance cars.Marginally better volumetric efficiency will more than compensate for that small a displacement advantage

And how is your 390 lighter, aluminum block?

 

Not only the block, but the pully and heads aswell. Money well spent,

 

I take it you don't drive itevery day?

 

Friday nights and Saturdays at the strip. That is precisely why im building a 351w on the side. Im tired of driving down the road and listening to local ricer's fart tubes. For some reason, as im staring at them in laughter, they think im admiringthere kellogs car and give me "that" look. I cantremember how many times ive thought about going home and bringing Holley out to play, but the one time i have, of course i dont see none of them. It drives me insane. [&:]

 

Traction bars arent going to help a whole lot, not the bolt on kind that push on the spring anyway. As for wheel hop, don't the BB cars come with staggered rear shocks to control that? And nothing in the world is going to make a crappy tire hook. Probably the best traction aid... other than good tires.. are cal-tracs.
http://www.calvertracing.com/

BTW, a 390 stang even with headers and intake, will be lucky to get into the mid 14's. Here are some vid caps of my vert vs a 390 cougar. The GF was driving or it wouldnt have even been this close.





I'll have to look for the vid.