As far as the Traction bars, unless you have a v-8 or a manual Trans, you
probably didn't need them anyway, because you probably never loaded the rear
enough for it to wrap up and begin to wheel hop. The main function of the
traction bar is to prevent wheel hop. The spring clamps prevent the leafs
in the rear spring from separating, but do not keep the spring from "s"ing
and they do not do the same thing as the traction bars. IMHO, spring clamps
are a good thing, however if wheel hop is a problem the only cure is
traction bars or a custom setup that serves the same purpose. I highly
recommend the below listed link, it gives an awesome detail of how and why
traction bars work and What wheel hop is!! I installed the clamps and saw
very little difference in performance/wheel hop, then I installed the
Traction bars and when properly installed eliminated ALL wheel hop. I have
since lowered the rear of the truck 2" and have not had any problems with
the traction bars. I still have the stock 255/65 tires on the truck.
http://www.competitionengineering.com/articles/chassis.asp
http://www.competitionengineering.com/articles/chassis2.asp
__________________________________
Matt -- Mechanicsville, VA
`00 Sport Plus 4.7L 5spd. 9 1/4 3.92 LSD RC 2x4
Homemade K&N open element, Traction Bars,
Spring clamps, ... BEST 1/4 14.871 @ 91.01 MPH
ŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻŻ
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<Message-----
<From: SwingtimeM@aol.com [mailto:SwingtimeM@aol.com]
<Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 1999 11:50 AM
<To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
<Subject: Re: DML: Spring clamps update
<i had the traction barsfor about 3 months and when i lowered my truck they
<didn't serve much purpose and the shreaded 1 of my 285/70/15 bgfs (100$)
tire
<so i pulled them and didn't notice a difference. i wouldn't mind knowing
how
<spring clams work and where i could get some.
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