Caltracs & drag radials

SHughes

SHughes

Too much is never enough!
Joined
Jan 7, 2008
Messages
9,290
those with 2wd's with caltracs and drag radials...what is a good starting point for getting it all dialed in???
 
off topic but how do you plan on getting caltracs on those bell tech shackles. if they are going to make you a custom set, ill get one as well
 
Mine is dropped with shackles and has the overloads pulled out and standard length caltracs fit fine. I removed one of the jam nuts but I think I could put it back on. As far as setting them up I would just snug them up against the spring and start from there.
 
I'm running two leafs with a set of CalTracs and they fit fine. Had some trouble pressing in one of the bushings in the end of the leaf as the sizes seem to vary. The u bolts I received were crazy long and ended up using the stockers. Other than that the install was very easy. I set mine up snug to the leaf plus a 1/4 turn. We will see how that works soon. They recommend not going more than a full turn of preload because of possibly damaging the leafs.

sent from your moms phone!
 
Bobby, I have had them on for a couple years. I had to flip the Bel-Tech hanger back over...two holes lined up and the rest of the hanger was WAY over the top of the frame, so a buddy made an extension/brace of sorts that the hanger was then bolted to. Makes it s serious PITA to get the shackle bolt out though, I have to drop the entire hanger. LOL

On street tires, I played with a couple settings on the Cal-Tracs, but nothing seemed to help. I do have the over loads removed, and I may have to drop down to just a couple of leafs as well.
 
Remove all but 2 or 3 leaves, 1/2 to 1 turn preload on FLAT ground.
 
FLAT ground...ok...living in Nebraska I got that covered. LOL
 
having had to do the odd frame work to gets these on, the pinion angle changed slightly, but I haven't measured it. the pinion would be pointed UP slightly from stock, assuming the bell-tech kit kept the stock pinion angle. not sure how that would affect things.
 
good thread, i'll be ordering caltrac's for my 06 2wd soon. I have pulled my overloads and have 2" drop shackles on the rear of the leafs. I'll be interested in the best setting for street and then the best setting the track with slicks as well.
 
After talking with a friend who runs caltrac's on both his 8 sec., wheel hanging footbrake cars I found out some valuable infromation.

The preload settings caltracs recommends are really designed for TRANSBRAKE cars!! With a transbrake there is no load on the suspension until the button is released. Totally different when footbraking.

His first reccomendation was to check the spring travel. there must be at least 4.5" of travel in the suspension. Measure the tire to the wheel well when wieght is on the springs. Then jack it up and support the frame letting the rear wheels hang. Measure the distance again. If you don't have at least 4.5", the caltracs will not work properly.

Next, you want to set the preload WHEN UNDER FOOTBRAKE LOAD. In other words, you want a half turn or so of preload when the suspension is under staging load!!

If you watch any of the videos of my truck at TS you will see how it was hopping and spinning all over the place. I had it set with a half turn of preload in the static position. After talking with my buddy, I took his suggestion and set them up as follows:

On level ground, I adjusted the bars finger tight until the pin just touched the springs. Then BACKED them off 3 full turns. This places the pin 3/8-1/2" from the spring.

Since TS, my truck leaves hard and solid. No hopping, no spinning.

;)
 
Dockboy said:
After talking with a friend who runs caltrac's on both his 8 sec., wheel hanging footbrake cars I found out some valuable infromation.

The preload settings caltracs recommends are really designed for TRANSBRAKE cars!! With a transbrake there is no load on the suspension until the button is released. Totally different when footbraking.

His first reccomendation was to check the spring travel. there must be at least 4.5" of travel in the suspension. Measure the tire to the wheel well when wieght is on the springs. Then jack it up and support the frame letting the rear wheels hang. Measure the distance again. If you don't have at least 4.5", the caltracs will not work properly.

Next, you want to set the preload WHEN UNDER FOOTBRAKE LOAD. In other words, you want a half turn or so of preload when the suspension is under staging load!!

If you watch any of the videos of my truck at TS you will see how it was hopping and spinning all over the place. I had it set with a half turn of preload in the static position. After talking with my buddy, I took his suggestion and set them up as follows:

On level ground, I adjusted the bars finger tight until the pin just touched the springs. Then BACKED them off 3 full turns. This places the pin 3/8-1/2" from the spring.

Since TS, my truck leaves hard and solid. No hopping, no spinning.

;)
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing Greg!!!! I'll try setting mine up looser, right now I have mine touching plus 3 full turns.
 
X2! Thanks for the great info! I'm going to loosen mine up as well!

sent from your moms phone!
 
I was told to adjust them with a set of scales and when you get it close to the same weight go racing to keep adjusting
 
I have been running mine with 1 full turn of preload, flat ground. Anything less and they drive me crazy driving around town clanging and banging... Called Calvert and they said cut a piece of hose and place over the bolt that preloads on the spring. That worked for about two days before it cut through it. Any feedback from anyone on the "touch then back off 3" settings? Is the bolt high enough to not bang over bumps when driving? I have had mine installed for about 3 years and on the street they have been a pita.
 
VanillaGorilla said:
I have been running mine with 1 full turn of preload, flat ground. Anything less and they drive me crazy driving around town clanging and banging... Called Calvert and they said cut a piece of hose and place over the bolt that preloads on the spring. That worked for about two days before it cut through it. Any feedback from anyone on the "touch then back off 3" settings? Is the bolt high enough to not bang over bumps when driving? I have had mine installed for about 3 years and on the street they have been a pita.
Click to expand...

Caltracs are not a "set and forget" type of product!! They are designed for racing. You would need to adjust them when at the track for your "racing setup" and the adjust them when you leave for a "street setup".
 
I always loosen mine after the races, but that is mostly because I haul a camper and trailer! On my truck it's mostly to combat wheel hop, and I have had the best luck with zero pre-load on level ground statically, but I also leave with zero boost (so my preload is essentially zero on the launch). I've been trying to help a buddy with a gasser get his working well. It seems like we would get it dialed in and working well, but then he changes something like a carb or camshaft and it throws the whole combo off again.
 
I know this thread is about 2wds but is the tighten to spring and loosen 3 turns the same for a 4wd truck? Greg I was just wondering if you have thought about how much different a 4wd load compared to a 2wd. Its different
 
syrupdawg said:
I know this thread is about 2wds but is the tighten to spring and loosen 3 turns the same for a 4wd truck? Greg I was just wondering if you have thought about how much different a 4wd load compared to a 2wd. Its different
Click to expand...

Will,

Yes, that is the way my 4x4 truck is setup right now. It seems to be working great! Much better than a static 1/2 turn of preload.
 
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