Caltracs vs Long Bars
 

I dont know if this is stupid or not, but can you put both on a truck? :confused: Or would the caltracs have no purpose with the long bars in place? Sorry, lol, just throwing some ideas since i have nothing to do at work. :emb:

they are both the same thing, just set up differently.

ah ok thanks!

Not exactly

a caltrac is basically a really fancy pinion snubber because it uses the front spring perch as a pivot point, long bars on the other hand use a much longer leverage arm to lift the front of the truck up and transfer the weight to the back tire, the caltracs don't really do shit for weight transfer but they keep the wheel hop out cause they prevent your leaf springs from looking like this under load ~ caltracs have a habit of actually lifting the rear end under load instead of squatting

Actually the Caltracs move your instant center much farther forward than just using the leaf spring . If your having problems with to much separation you need to stiffen the shock extension. Caltracs are just a crude 4 link, but they do wonders for weight transfer. while keeping the leafs from wrapping up at the same time. you do need to have a minimum of 5" of front end travel to get the most out of them though and the looser the better for a truck.

So does the front and rear have to be loose or just the front?

Just the front

I keep hearing this, but nobody has said if it's 5" total or not. In other words, at the starting with the vehicle at ride height, do you need 5" of travel downward? Or do you just need the front suspension to travel 5" total, like 2.5" down and 2.5" up?

5" of travel from ride height. Measure the fenderwell at ride height and then jack it up till the tire is just ready to leave the ground and measure again. Most truck have plenty of travel over cars

So in the end are long bars or caltracs better or does it depend on the situation.

Right on. :) So how do you make your front suspension more loose?

I think removing the sway bar helps a lot.

How bad does it lean without the front sway bar? Is it tolerable or rediculous?

I removed it from my camaro and it was noticable but not bad at all.

bout the same, if its lowered i think its more noticeable cause it may bottom out, also depends on wheels.

any idea how much it weighs?

I remember my old '89 s-15 didnt even come with one.