I concur! Looks good man.

I don't do too many boosted launches... but do traction bars help for all around driving?

 

the absolute FIRST thing i felt was it stiffened up the rear end. the rear end used to be a little bit soft apparently and i never noticed it until i did the bars. also when your driving in the rain and you try to take off in 2nd and all it does is spin.. helped out pretty good there. i noticed today it doesn't spin as much in the rain when you just let off the clutch w/out any pedal. it used to do nothing but spin any way you tried to take off.

 

i am in dire need of bars. my axle wrap will rattle your fillings out. i dont know if these will work with my lift kit?

 

i'm sure they would help you out considerably joe. you may want to go ahead and weld the brackets to the axle though. mine doesn't wrap at all anymore. it just has a little hop, but i think that can be fixed w/ slap bars or as oversize said use some shocks on the bars at a 45* angle up to the frame. that will help keep the rear end down. if i still have hop after i get the rancho shocks i will do that to my bars somehow.

 

i am debating making some bars like that
i want to have them pinned though, not bolted so i can easily remove them if i want to go offroading

 

pins will rattle around a lot. why pull them out for off roading????? the pumpkin on your diffs will hang lower than the bars so if you hit the bars your going to probably smack your diff also. you could also build your rear bracket so that it don't hang like mine. you can weld it up so that the bar connects in the middle of the axle tube so there would never be a need to pull them off when your off road

 

i wouldnt need them for clearance, my issue would be with flexibility. i dont think they would allow the truck to twist as needed for the crazy crap i do.

 

ok here goes travis... heres my traction bars.....
i still cant get rid of ALL my hop, just like yours, she still hops a tad. but id say its 95% better

these first 3 pics are right after i finished them.




these next ones are a few months later so excuse the dirt and rust

 

does it affect the normal ride going down the road?

 

normal ride going down the road is not effected at all. with mine being as i felt the rear end stiffen up under harder acceleration i like the ride much more. other than that everything is the same. these having heim joints i would think would allow a little bit of twist. you could notch the brackets to let them twist a little more i would think also. you might talk to oversize on that b/c he seems to know about the off roading side where i do not... YET!!! my F150 will be the learning point on the 4 wheeling. it has more dang suspension travel stock than most trucks i have seen with stock suspension..

Chris, those bars look good. i need to turn mine around i'm thinkin' LoL. When was the last time you changed out your shocks?? Cody and I honestly think shocks is whats hurting us with the hop. hopefully i can get the engine for my F150 done so i can turn back to the stroke for a little bit. haha

 

Traction bars specifically latter bars short for lateral bars are great for controling axle wrap and increasing traction by controling axle swing for increased down force. The heim joints are a great thing on these but not used by most commercial producers due to minimizing production costs. They allow for essentially as much twist rate as most commercial producers but have less give in flex that the standard polyurathane bushings, in forward and rearward kick since they dont compress. That and they give you the ability to crank up the tension to vary the swing rate. Most offroaders prefer the polyurathane due to the abilty to have some give for additional twist therefore it has become more common to use either standard hourglass or reverse hourglass bushings to allow for more sideward roll/ twist, since they poly can compress approx 1/2" betwen both edges before maxing out against the bracket. Also there is a downfall to latter bars in offroad applications. Where they benfit you with increased trction which is ideal they do somwhat limit you twist rate depnding on the bar design and configuration, as well as effect your clearance depending on design, each has it own advantages. Longer bars allow for more twist rate due to increased rake, where as short bars increase clearance but minimize twist rates due to the more rigid angles, as well as more fell "kick" under hard launches due to angle vs applied force vs energy transfer. So most people prefer to loose a little clearance. The advantges usually outweigh the costs. This is true since most offroaders are concious about their likelyhood of high centering and if bars are kep close to the same angle and distance as the exposed driveline it is no more like to high center on bar than on the driveline, plus give a sort of insurance about not highcetering the drive line and bending it and leaving you stranded. Id personally rather high cente on the bars than the driveline. When combined with block lifts they provide the most effeciency due to the exaggerated axle wrap roll rate caused by the blocks, while in solid spring lifts they simply act to stabilize and control. The majority of application I see in order to minimize ground clearance loss is done by mounting them under the leaf stack by use of a plate sandwiched by the u bolts under the leafs and between the axle housing then running a pair of ears forward in front of the axle housing. This allows for control of the spring wrap by holding the top of the axle and still allows for controlled rotation in twist and thus downforce. As well as doesnt put anything below your axle which is already the lowest point. The forward mounts are basically the same as the designs you guys are already using. Ultimately in homemade applications thelength is the biggest contributing factor as well as if a stabilizer bar is in use to give added strangth in excessive twist so as not to twist a bar during excessive axle twist. This is acomplised by simply adding a second bar running essentially inparallel with the primary bar, then adding some gussets to reinforce and connect the two, thus making the ends essentially he weak link right at they connection points. And by adding the shocks at an angle as I previously described to travis you can basically remove the stock rear shocks and use a higher pressure set of shock to equate to the current ones while dramatically increasing the ability to creat a twist amgle without maxing out the shocks due the increased angle of flex over twist and rake.

 

Part 2
When you change the geometry of the shocks you have several variables that come in play. the shocks are designed to work on a single plane vertically. By incorporating them in diagnally you switch to a twin plane system a combination of both vertical, and horizontal. The effects are the angle causes the shocks dampening/ spring rate to be effectively cut in half at a 45* angle, as well as is extension rate. plus the mountaing location on the rake effects the amount of leverage it incorporates. By angling them 1" or vetical travel equates to only 1/2" of extension rate and 50% of the dampening spring rate under ideal conditions. Thus the need to either add higher resistance shocks, or 2 or more shocks per side to restore or increase the previous dampening rate. Then the mounting location comes into play the closer to the front being the fulcrum vs the axle being the control head, effects the amount of leverage intruduced to the system. The further to the front the less leverage implied vs the rear = greater leverage, similar to someone swinging a baseball bat and you trying to stop them by hold the bat just above the hands, or by the end of the bat. Ther fore ideally we want the shocks mounted relatively close to the control head (flex knuckle at the axle) for maixmum efficeincy. Then when adding the socks you need to factor in their maximum length devide the throw and mount them on center swing for maximum articulation before max out with a variable of up to 25% of the there throw exposed asthe greatest flex will be in downward articulation due to spring sag. Then realize the forward mounted shock will need to be 1-2 inches shorter due to the created angle between the horizontal frame perches and the diagnally angled lateral bar. The overall effect of this is the ability to use standard shocks with example 20" overall length to achieve 40" of travel where no shock of that length exists and still maintain spring dampening for additional traction while still limiting axle wrap. Also in travis's case while still adding the factory shocks instead of removing them allowing for increased implied downforce on the rear axle through leverage. Sorry if this seems a little complicated but there is a lot of complex math involved I post links recently to help travis with his and there are some diagrams ther which might help better explain anything you dont quite understand. But in laymans terms they will help you on and offroad, most of the time. They system was designed for offroad racing but has on road implications. Also sorry if I missed any details I got to typing kinda fast and Im kinda tired and still at work I hope I didnt miss any essential details. let me know if you need anymore help.

 

wow, you have spent some time figuring that out there oversize. LoL. you wanna build the suspension for my F150??? LoL. some of that went pretty well over my head, but thats ok. i will read it a couple more times and probably start to figure it out.

 

Sorry I get carried away sometimes. I spent too much time in the offroad world, and kinda became an expert in suspension, drivetrains etc. so I could figure out what worked best for what my intended purpose at the time.If you dont figure it out refer back to the link I sent you and look at the pictures maybe that'll help. If nothing else hopefully our resident engineering students will get it and learn somthing.

 

OT just something to make you you laugh I went from high school to the Marines, came out went to school for engineering, and diesel wrenching thinking Id have a good redundant plan, went to work for Caterpillar, and now years later I somehow manage and occasionally drive for a trucking company. Interesting how things work out huh.