Traction Bars.. how do they work/are they worth the money?

[Captiva_Blue]

As the title says, how do they work and are they worth it, if so, at what point do they become worthwhile (in terms of stage-wise performance increases like those sold by most tuning shops)?

I understand that they give better traction for launch and stiffen up the front sussy like an undercar brace would but do they give any real gains in terms of traction out of corners or is it mainly off the line traction for traffic light Grands Prix :D ?

Are there any real downsides to them aswell?

Cheers.. Cap.

[tinkerbell]

no, not out of corners really - they are of most benefit for drag racing, if you are experienceing axle tramp (what the traction bars help reduce) out of corners, you might need to look at how all your stock bushes are holding up...

[bennjamin]

Traction bars can aid durability, improved traction and will apparently eliminate wheel-hop. The underbrace design links several flexable points and gives extra stability, enabling a harder/more confident launch . It really is a mod only for drag racing.

downsides = reduced undercarriage clearance (from the ground and from header b pipe etc) and I would think this would create a less dynamic front end and more so tendency to understeer...

[BLKCRX]

Actually Traction bars are nothing more than just adjustable "caster" bar's they push or pull your wheel into positive or negative caster. You will find the older gen2 crx’s and preludes 97 onwards have caster bars, just you can’t adjust them.

Caster Bars, or dumbed as traction cars can be used for both drag, track and sa treet setup, of course the caster setting does change depending on application.

Regards James

[bennjamin]

looking thru some HT articles they look nothing more than a older prelude or ED civics front lower tie rods and front support cut out :)

[tinkerbell]

see here for a more technicial explaination...

http://www.full-race.com/articles/traction_bars.pdf

they ARE actually a bit more than just castor adjusters ;)

[BLKCRX]

see here for a more technicial explaination...

http://www.full-race.com/articles/traction_bars.pdf

they ARE actually a bit more than just castor adjusters ;)

But essentially thats what they are ;) caster adjusters ;) i run use them for both street drag and track

[tinkerbell]

geometry adjusters could also be another (better) way to describe them ;)

you couldn't just change (add/subtract to) the castor of a EG to make it handle like one with proper traction bars - could you?

[ginganggooly]

the suspension in the dc2's looks as though it was reversed when compared to a da- if my memory serves anyway. it seems like a good enough concept on paper. although i have a feeling that a stiff set of bushes would have a similar effect.

i'm yet to try them at the track/strip, but they certainly gave the front end of my car a freshen up through the old road. it feels much more together now. it certainly hasn't exacerbated the cars tendency to understeer.

[Captiva_Blue]

Interesting article you posted tinker.. informative, thanks.. :)

So what I'm getting out of this so far is.. traction bar basically just minimise the amount of deflection in the geometry of the front sussy that results from the movement inherent in rubber or urethane bushes... how is the outcome any different to switching to a rose-joint set up? Wouldn't adding a traction bar massively root up the compliance in the suspension giving a really dodgy ride quality? Wouldn't it also place stresses on the suspension arms/links etc that they weren't designed for causing them to fail prematurely?

I seriously don't see how anyone would put stresses on their suspension on the street that would make those ultra-hard urethane bushes go so squidgy that it throws the geometry out enough to make a noticeable different in cornering or launch traction..

[tinkerbell]

yes, increase NVH is certainly an outcome of using any rose joint/traction bar style suspension modification...

you really need to have a 'problem' before trying to 'solve' it by using such modified suspension systems...

[tinkerbell]

the suspension in the dc2's looks as though it was reversed when compared to a da- if my memory serves anyway.

nah, DA is a completly different design to DC sussy...

i.e. radius rods VS cast lower control arm...

[EG5]

the traction bar is not castor rods. (u dont simply adjust eg/dc/ek castor by using that, it is not recommended and will put too much streen to the control arms etc, we simply tighten it with adding + or - )

we use it in circuit racing and they perform beautifully as well as drag racing. understeer? what is that? :P

[wynode]

But essentially thats what they are ;) caster adjusters ;) i run use them for both street drag and track

I didn't know you could just adjust castor on an EG/DC2 chasis with just rods ?! ?

[SHWCARCIVIC]

This has been very helpful as Im looking to get one for my civic :thumbsup:

[ginganggooly]

nah, DA is a completly different design to DC sussy...

i.e. radius rods VS cast lower control arm...

what i mean is, that the dc2 setup has what looks like radius rods coming up from the rear-facing side of the control arms, which is what i meant by a reversed setup. very different, but conceptually similar. i think i might need a picture of a da to refresh my memory- as i could well be completely mistaken...

the traction bars to not effect ride quality in the slightest, partly because they mount onto lca bushes. as such, you can't really use them (not my ones anyway) to adjust castor as they'll just end up tearing the lca bushes. they more or less keep the wheel allignment at whatever it was set to.

[string]

They are hardly castor "adjustors". They simply replace the radius rods, which can cause movements because of bushings; with a solid unit so castor changes are impossible.

[tinkerbell]

wayyy to bring up an old thread :thumbsup:

[string]

Holy shit I really did... Thats really weird.. I have no idea how I didn't realise this, since if I was searching for something I would have checked the date..

Strange Indeed...