Thank you for a great informative video on caltracs. I recently bought a 69 roadrunner already set up with the caltrac and split leaf springs. Again thank you for explaining how they work and how to adjust them
Awesome video , I’ve ran caltracs for roughly 20 years on both my cars , very good informative video . Only thing is with mopars(which I run) you actually want to have a dimes worth of air gap on the front pivot . Mopars have a very short front segment on the spring and they don’t like a lot of preload , talking to John Calvert many years ago this is what he recommended , I run that airgap in a 9.90 5 spd duster .
Kitimatwinterhawks thanks so much for your comments about the short segment on the mopars! You got the 5 spd hauling some groceries for sure! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!
Mopars dont need caltracs to work . I threw mine out and went back with factory as springs and my own bar set up I ran in the 70s . Car hooks as good if not better now .
@@darwinfoster7420I’ve seen a fair amount of this. I haven’t been involved so dk if they are messing up the pinion angle of getting the wrong spring rate or what, but see a lot of big winners go back to the stock mopar setups
I had mine so many years, back on the old 67 Camaro BBC... They didn't have sliders back then guess I need to upgrade... I'f one is looking for grip in low initial traction situations like street/no prep with radial tires....would a lighter rate allow more work to be done via movement? That is to say if everything was taken off the car but the leaf, would not a lower rate leaf allow the maximum body separation, the more inches of separation the more travel you can manipulate with rebound? Allowing one to not hit the tire as hard and in a way providing providing more travel to work with in a similar way to having more front end travel?
Theres actually a lot here I didn't know and some things ive only theorized in my head about. All the installation videos ive seen rarely talk about preloading, they usually stop after the ride height, dime gap. If i continue to build my 75 nova ill be doing the caltracs. I was not aware of the importance of the rear sliders. Thanks for the info
I also found out once I put the Cal tracks on. The car could put a lot more power down out of the turns! Wasn't expecting that but the first time I took the car road racing it was amazing I could use twice the amount of power coming out of the turns without breaking the back end free!!! Bottom line is if you have a leaf spring car you have to have caltracs
I would love to see you do a slapper bar vs Caltrac video, you have talked about your dad starting out drag racing with home build slapper bars, lots of guys still run them, I need somebody to convince me that Caltracs will be better than slapper bars and why.
Kevin I got the CalTrac bars set up on the S-10. Running a well tuned stock LT-1. Wheel hop was so bad I nearly busted the wind shield. Also installed the split mono leaf springs. I bought some Toyo Proxos R888R Dot Radials and a mini spool DAY AND NIGHT DIFFERENCE!!! The bar was nearly parallel so I moved to the top hole to get some angle to increase bite. light rear end. Need DA shocks but don’t how to order. I’m thinking the QA1 shocks. Just running stock shocks. And they have a lot of rebound but no compression. Thanks for the very informative videos. Outstanding!, Andy
Andy Jones thanks so much for your comments and info on your S-10! Give QA1 a call at 952.985.5675 and give them your S-10 info and they can get you the part number you need for the double adjustable shocks if you have all the stock mounting locations still in place. Calvert Racing at 661-728-9600 wold also be a good place to start. Keep me posted! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
To add to what was stated about INITIAL Cal Trac setup, always have someone with reasonably equal weight sit in the driver's seat while adjusting, along with every other "weight" (fuel/etc) the same as if you were about to make a pass, and may as well have the tire pressures set as well. Also, a trans brake car (or one with a manual transmission) will be neutral on the starting line, but if you're foot braking an automatic either with or without a 2 step, I found my car liked the bars 1 to 3 flats LOOSE at static, because the moment you are staged and on the throttle, the housing is going to have some amount of load applied. Something you might want to experiment with if you are having issues.
I rarely comment on videos but this one was so well done and so informative I feel like I had to say great job. I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge
How does moving the bar on a caltracs change the instant center? The instant center is the where the front of the spring is mounted. The only thing that bar does is leverage on the spring and keep it straight.
One of the fastest s10s on the street runs a stock leaf spring... and probably half your viewers I kno i do. Alot of people cant always afford new leaf springs.
Crider prepping channel CPC thanks so much for your comments! Absolutely understand and agree. On these videos I try to cover all the spectrums out there. We have had great success with stock leaf springs and removing some of the stiffer helper springs for sure. Budget is critical, trust me, I know. Thanks for your comments! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
@@KevinWilsonSBC hell yea I'm running stock leafs without the bottom two springs. I'm just now starting to get mine all figured out ran a 6.61 at 110. This video is a big help for me tho bud thank you
Fantastic education! Thank you very much. I have Caltacs on both my cars. One has single adjustable shocks and you are right - they don't work. The only way I can stock the wheelhop is setting them at full stiff 10. They are Rancho (Caltrac) shocks and it rides like a cement truck if I forget to put them back to 5. That car has way too much pinion angle. I can see the front of the yoke pointing down and what this does is make it hit the tire WAY too hard. I need to cut the perches off and start over or use pinion angle wedge shims.
This video helped me understand a lot to how this whole thing works thank you ! I was completely off on my thinking lol… I’m Running a VAS traction bar kit on my truck the bar is on the hole closest to the leaf spring the bar looks parallel to ground Will lowering the bar below the differential (off setting it lower) work the same to adding more bite anti squating
Thanks Kevin, when do I need to run a panhard bar/wats linkage with floater / ladder bar? I notice most leaf springs are not parallel , is this enough to not require a panhard? thanks man
Camaro Drag Racing Second Generation thanks so much for your comments! We have actually ran some sliders that have some drop in them on the hit and they work great, so yes, good point! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!
Just wondering is the squatline a line parallel to the bottom Caltrak bar was curious about where the other end of the line goes to is there a target on the chassis to aim for?
You started to touch on a higher hole adjustment at the axle bracket. If you mount to a higher location at the rear bracket, I assume that will add even more squat?
This came from my chassis guy: the top hole tends to work better for radials and the bottom hole tends to work better for bias ply. we run 275 radial pros and use the top hole.
At what point do you think all the fancy leafs and bars are needed? I run 6.50s 1/8 mile with stock leafs and slapper bars! Lol it 60ft 1.43-44s. pulls both fronts 6" and rides out
J Bevins thanks so much for your comments! If it ain't broke, don't fix it! We have had stock stuff and slapper bars in the 1.32 60' all day long. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Why do you need the back end of the spring to slide? What do you physically mean, when you say "you want the spring to work"? What are "flats" for preloading the springs? What is the antisquat line? Not sure how the floater ladder bar works... if the spring supports the weight of the car, how can the ladder bar transfer weight to the chassis
Mikhail Paremski thanks so much for your comments! Checkout ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WcA5xQGWpuY.html Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Great video.. i'm putting caltracs on a 62 plymouth this weekend (and probably next weekend as i'm moving the springs a bit), The car is just gonna be for stoplight fun on the street, any issues with them on the street? Keeping shackles in the back, figured slider noise would be annoying.
Kevin, I need advice installing spring sliders on my 67 Camaro with Caltracs. How far apart? What angle? Where should the leaf eye bolt sit in the slider while car is at rest? There's not much info available for installing these properly. Thanks in advance.
Also don't forget about the Assassin bars. They give you a bit more adjustment, which yes can get some people in trouble, but the key thing we and others have found is that when you start putting big/more power down, the Caltracs tend to bend the leaf at the contact point where the Assassin's do not as the contact point is moved to the spring eye.
Dave67 thanks so much for your comments! The Assassin bars absolutely are good products! My bad for not including them in the video. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!
@@KevinWilsonSBC Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the video. Your explanation was very easy to follow and should help take some of the fear of chassis tuning away. Good on ya for giving real tech and got yourself a subscriber! 👍
the idea is to maintain preload evenly on the wheels pushing down without bouncing, shocks do that. bite?, this bar.. essentially locks the rear end and only allows axle wrap, and twists the frame, especially with solid mounts.... simple geometry
So my main question is what is the difference between the Cal track system and running a rigid ladder bar instead of a pivoting Cal track system? To me the only difference is you’re not letting the pivot hit the leafspring to work off that it’s rigid to keep it from flexing to push the car forward correct
I have a nose heavy dodge Dakota that I'm about to relocate the leaf springs into the frame. I'm wondering since I have options how the length of the spring should be chosen? I can make multiple options in my setup.
Joe Schmo thanks so much for your comments! Checkout the video I just released for Part 2 Leaf Springs. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WcA5xQGWpuY.html Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Roger Veal thanks so much for your comments! In various social media outlets, as well as the comments on this video, I have commented about stacked springs working fine when a mono leaf spring is not in use. Actually, one of the most engaged audiences for me has been leaf spring drag cars, some even running 4 links, but most with ladder bars and many with a CalTrac type setup and I would even say about 50% of those were running stacked springs. However, if I had the budget, the purpose built mono leafs are definitely the way to go! Most of the time with stacked leaf springs, we do try to remove 1 or 2 of the heavier helper springs, generally the most stiff spring(s) as the main job of the leaf springs is supporting the weight of the car and we want some rotational action on the hit. Not too mention, many of these cars have shed some weight. Regardless, thanks for commenting and I hope you have a great weekend! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
By far the best channel I’ve ever seen at describing and explaining race stuff. Wish I had someone like you nearby to consult and talk to about race cars😂although I know absolutely nothing compared to you
@@KevinWilsonSBC I watched a couple more of your videos and I really like the content on your channel. I found you yesterday and I subscribed and hit the bell so I don’t miss any of the videos that you upload. This is in my top three favorite channels and I look forward to catching up on your other videos because I’m relatively new to the drag racing scene. Until this build I never had an engine that put out over 350 horsepower. Not that this one is going to break records but it should be about 750-800 with a shot of giggle gas and that’s a lot of power to me right now and I don’t have anyone with a bunch of knowledge to help me out so I’m hoping to buy into one of your plans in the spring.
Chevy 2 Adam thanks so much for your question! Great question by the way. I highly encourage you to scale the car using caltracs. Here is what I mean though. If you have scales, or access to scales, scale the car with the caltracs neutral, just off the springs and equal distance from the springs then document all scale weights, including front weights. Then, while the car is on the scales, adjust the caltracs as Calvert recommends, recheck scales and document scale weights. Then make a pre-load change and document scale weights again. My point is, use this as an opportunity to see exactly what is happening at each change point so if you have to make changes when not sitting on scales, you know what is going on with each change if you are having to correct something on the hit. I can say we have had some tremendous success with caltracs and 90% of the time we have rarely had to get too far past what they recommended on a starting point. Regarding weight equal left to right, I am not sure if you are shooting for the same corner weights on the rear. If that is what you mean, I would be careful trying to balance left and right rear to equal weights unless you are correcting an issue with how the car is driving on the hit. Not in all cases, but most cases, you will be a little heavier on the left rear to help make sure the car drives straight on the hit. If you need more info shoot me an email at samsalignmentsc@gmail.com and we can go into more detail with your car. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Tom Smith thanks so much for your question and a good question! Many bars will have a hex head welded or manufactured in into the bar to allow using a wrench to turn the bar vs using pliers/channel locks. A Turnbuckle will most likely have a hex built in also. A hex head as 6 sides so generally 2 flats will be around 1/8 of a full turn. Hope this helps explain 1 to 2 flats of a turn. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
I have really bad axle wrap and wheel hop, just took my 65 Dodge to the track for the first time last weekend in Julesburg. I want to purchase the Caltrac system kit with adj shocks. However, I’ve heard that Mopars don’t typically use Caltracs, is this true? I have a grand now to spend but not sure if to buy HD springs or Caltrac kit with adj shocks. Any info would be much appreciated. ( it’s a 14 second car now, goal is to mid 12’s someday)
Kevin Wilson I thought if you don't have scales to adjust by corner weight, you are suppose to sit in the drivers seat and then preload the Caltracs evenly. I put an empty 351C bare block with caps in my drivers seat and a set of bare Cleveland 4v heads on the floor board in my 70 Cougar. I'm 230lbs so I figured that would be close enough weight to start with.
The main takeaway is to be consistent on how you check the preload. That establishes a baseline from which you can now make educated changes. Then test and evaluate. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!
Hi Kevin. I apologize if this is a silly question but I searched and didn’t quite see the answer. What is the main benefit of sliders over a stock type shackle? The way I see it they both allow for and aft movement of the spring eyelet, so I don’t quite understand why a slider is better. Is it because the slider doesn’t move on an arc like a shackle, or maybe because you’d be losing the rubber bushings? I’m currently working on a Dakota that will be running mono leafs and cal trac bars and your video got me wondering if I should look into the sliders. Appreciate all of the info you’ve been kind enough to share.
Jason Pipkin thanks so much for your comments and question! The main goal of the slider is to allow the spring to have smooth lateral movement as the suspension goes through its travel on the hit and eliminate the arc of the shackle type setup. Trying to put all the energy into launching the car and not have wasted motion and/or binding of the spring on suspension travel. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Definetly checkout my additional videos on leaf springs. Start with this one next: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WcA5xQGWpuY.html Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!
Kevin my name is Kevin I'm located in Greencastle PA I have a 79 blower Roadrunner that I'm making it drag car out of I need a video or I need to know what do you go by to locate where your plates are welded to the frame and on the rear end for your 4 Link setup thank you also I'm amusing pillar plates for my four link setup
this is what i have been looking for in a video. i have been power watching your rear set ups for leaf springs, i have a full size F150 and the springs are over the rear housing. i have latter bars on it now and it hooks up very well, ( they are NOT mounted in a traditional manor, upside down and split mount.) my question is this, how would you make a latter bar work on this setup? would you use the slider in the same way on the spring?
Not sure I am following you exactly. Can you shoot me an email at samsalignmentsc@gmail.com so we can discuss more. Sounds like you have ladder bars now that are working well but you are wanting to know more about sliders regarding springs on top of axle. This will be easier over email and you provide pictures of your current setup. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!!
What if I'm running 3 inch lowering multi leaf springs from hotchkis can I still run a Caltracs set up or should I ditch them for a mono leaf spring ?? Awesome explanation. Subscribed!!
Moses Andres thanks so much for your comments and question! I have not ran the hotchkis leaf springs before so I would recommend you give them a call. I did check out their documentation and that don't really address the caltrac type setups. I am big fan of the mono leaf springs for full track use. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
I haven’t build my shock mounts and got shocks on it but my Isuzu pickup the single leaf bows in the center with weight on it. Will getting my shocks added to the rear remedy that or do I need to look at getting some new leaf springs?
I encourage you to get the 4 corner weights and then talk with the leaf spring manufacturer. Installing shocks will not remedy that. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!
Only one bit of information for you. If you have any kind of power and torque. With the caltracs you will be looking at stars. Ripped the bumper off my 72 Nova at the track.
Thank you very much. I am new to drag racing (had tons of fast cars). I have a '72 Nova, 461bb, th400 w/ tb, 3.90 gears running 275 radial pros. Due to being new, I went to a pro to set the car up for me, but I know that in order to get the car to work on different surfaces, I'm going to need to know how, why and when to make adjustments. The car has caltracs, split mono w/ sliders, afco big gun DA's in the rear and menscer DA's up front. I consider the car slow (100mph 1/8 w/ bottom 1.5x 60s).Bar is in the top hole. But I'm using this year to learn as much as possible, because we've already started building a 582 for next year. I haven't touched the caltracs, the car goes straight. But I felt accomplished last time out because I made adjustments that worked immediately. The front extension was tight, not much lift, and the rear extension was loose, separating immediately causing the tire to grab, unload, spin, then grab again and go. I loosened the extension quite a bit and tightened the rear extension a little and my next two passes were my best 60s yet.
I have been watching your videos on leafsprings and was wondering what you might be gaining with adding a hole in the calvert spring plate under the leaf springs above the factory one they use? Just trying to get all the separation I can get and wanted to know since you spoke about it but didn't really say what it could do.
Generally the more uphile the caltrac bar is from the rear end going toward the chassis, the more you will help with separation of the chassis and pushing the rear end toward the track. If you flatten the bar getting it closer to level, the less upward tq being applied to push the chassis up and the more you are helping drive the chassis forward. However, the big factor is the location of the front spring mount and if you are allowing enough motion on the rear leaf spring mount. So if you are really wanting more separation, make sure the rear leaf spring mount is free to move and there is enough movement in the rear to allow for more separation. If the rear spring mount cannot move forward or forward and down more, then you are effectively done separating. This is really key hence all the focus on sliders or hangers that are canted back at ride height so you have more movement to allow the rear end and spring to continue down toward the track more. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!!
RT Racing thanks so much for your comments! That was an oversight on my part. Good point. Yes, all preload should be race ready with driver in the car. Thank-you for taking the time to mention this! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
I really need to pick your brains. I’m just starting a build, a 55 Chevy Wagon and I’m wondering which direction to go in regards to rear suspension setup. If staying leaf spring I have to relocate them inboard to make room for a 10” tire and I figure at that point I may as well just go coil overs, also a ladder bar is appealing to me for it’s simplicity, I can easily fab up the mounts/crossmembers for both in my home garage. My dilemma is where should the front mounts for the ladder bars be height wise in relation to the axle centre line and should I also run an anti roll bar along with a panhard bar or watts linkage?
@@KevinWilsonSBC i definitely will. Thank you for replying. Plans have changed s little I sold the wagon and am going to look at a 48 Austin A40 sedan. I’ll email you with my plan.👍
Derek Mckay thanks so much for your question! Those are going to be tough to find for sure. You may want to check out some ford forums for sure. Sorry I am not much help to you. The Calvert Split mono's definitely work!! Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Thank-you so much for taking the time to leave a comment and for supporting my channel! I don't take your views and support for granted. Please check out the Part 2 video at ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WcA5xQGWpuY.html Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!! Kevin Wilson KevinWilsonSBC
Your video is awesome. I have a question though, why would you need to change holes to make it "bite" less or more by going up or down those holes. Wouldn't you need to have as MUCH possible bite ? Sorry for that dumb questions, I'm at the learning curve (no pun intended) so I'm trying to understand I wish I had a Tel number to call you with all my questions. 😆
Zoi Spiropoulos thanks so much for your questions! Many factors are involved, but for example, there are times depending on the surface prep, you may need to take bite away with a slick to help wheel speed. Each car is unique so having the options to change bar angle is a nice to have. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Could you explain what situation where you would take bite away on a Cal Trac car? I've always run mine in the upper hole, never enough time to experiment on race day and street legal track prep is lacking to say the least.
yarrdayarrdayarrda thanks so much for your question! The only time I would take bite away is on a very strong prepped track with a slick. We have had the best success with running the top hole on the spring shackle side on the cal tracs. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
I encourage you to checkout this Playlist from my channel. It is full of most every video you can think of for drag racing suspension tuning, including scaling a car. ru-vid.com/group/PLK2JQ7QIgx_JRQMKBZMkx_tu0W4MDUxZQ Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!
Scott Justus thanks so much for your comments! That depends on your setup. I always start with what calvert recommends as a starting place. Barely touching or very thin (sheet of paper then) gap. Then test and adjust. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Alhail Alhail thanks so much for your questions! It absolutely is mainly supporting the weight of the vehicle, but it needs to be more flexible so the suspension, 4 link, ladder bars, or Cal Tracs can put the energy to use to create bite. These single/split mono leafs for drag racing have a good bit of engineering in place other than just supporting the weight of the vehicle. Hope this makes sense. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
1997LT1Camaro thanks so much for your question and comment! We have used Calvert leaf springs a bunch with great success. Here is a link, but give them a call and discuss your application, calvertracing.com/product-categories/springs#Dodge Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
any advice on what would help on a drift truck? i have a 91 toyota pickup, welded differential, belltech 3" drop leafs, and kyb shocks. while sliding sideways im not feeling wheel hop but as soon as i come out of a corner and have to transition to a straight, then back into a corner, i catch so much wheel hop that i have to almost brake to a deadstop and clutch kick again to swing out the rear. i know caltracs help with keeping that pinion angle correct but will they help with lateral movement? would a set of caltracs paired with a HD sway bar help? im going to go 4 link with watts later on once i finish piecing together my v8 swap/ford 8 inch SAS. but for now id like to stay true to leafsprings since im only making around 120 hp/135 ft lb of torque. i appreciate your time Kevin.
Kevin an I correct in understanding from your videos that if you were setting up a new car from scratch and had your choice of rear suspension types 4-link would be your #1 choice?
Ed Oetzel thanks so much for your question! At a high level, yes it will work. Of course, there is a good bit more about the car that goes into this equation, but sounds like a pretty common setup. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
I am in the process of setting up my 64 Plymouth with Caltracs and Split Mono Leafs, You really have taken the mystery out of this set up. Thank You for your time and video, It will be a massive help.
Do you have a video o coil springs.. not coil overs, but coil springs separate from shocks. Say 69 Riviera.. Gm Xframe, shocks behind axle, springs sit on top.
Jon Ellwanger thanks so much for your comments! I have not made one just for coil springs other than the coilover spring video. I will add that to the list. Go fast, go straight! Be Safe!!
Ed Miller thanks so much for your question! Definitely get with a good leaf spring company for your application and based on your setup and weight they will help you get the right spring setup and combo of parts to ensure the springs are performant. Go fast, go straight! Be SAFE!
