With and without the swaybar isnt that big of a difference. My dad drove the truck today and didn't even notice I took it off untill he saw it laying in the shop floor.

As far as tire spin... by taking the sway bar off im getting rid of it! Thats all mine does, on F-T-W I have a picture of me leaving a good 100+ feet of burnout just from stalling to 2k. When I went to the track, all i did was spin the first 60' untill the auto shifted in 2nd gear(2.5+ 60' time). I have no idea what im going to do when I get my 4.10 gears in there. Thinking about narrowing the front rims to 6" and putting 235 tires up front and widing the rears to 9" and putting some 285's back there. Even then I think ill have traction problems untill I can get some 18x10's or so and run the nitto 305's. I think this sunday i'm going to make some slapper bars for the truck to see if that helps any on launching. Probally install one of my optima yellow tops under the front passanger rear well to help get more weight to the back.

 

to each his own!! if FATHERFORD is looking for traction, hes on the right track. and he seems smart enough to know that the handling characteristics arent the same. if you know how to drive without a sway bar, having one is no safer than not having one. its all about how you drive it

youre also on the right track with the sway bars. slapper bars work, but if youre going to make something from scratch, you may as well make something closer to a solid mount bar, that mounts to your axle plate and forward to the front spring perch. slapper bars dont work until the snubber hits the leaf, and you have to have it just right for that to happen. a solid mount system triangulates it, so its always keeping the leafs from moving. using urethane bushings on the end will still allow for normal leaf spring movement

 

I was trying to look at what all the lightning guys are doing, see if I can copy their stuff. Us poor boys have to make our own stuff

 

i know just what you mean man. im going to try to fab up some solid mount trac bars soon, i have access to the tools. if you get yours done first let me know!!!!! and vice versa

 

Rafa,
Did you ever find any traction bars for your truck? I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find anything for the 04-06 except for superlift.

 

The way I got my best 60' times was doing the same thing mentioned above.

Remove front sway bar, remove spare, lower tailgate.
I'm running 295 series tires, and I lowered the PSi in the rear to between 22-25 PSI. Took me about 6 runs to get the PSI low enough to not spin (alot).

This set-up got me some 1.94, 1.97, 1.98 60' times.

I still have not made any traction bars. No time.

When I get em made, I'm gonna get some drag radials... scared to used drag radials now.. don't want to snap U-joints or anything else.

 

McDover did you find the traction bars ?

 

I never found any true traction bars, but I did get the Roadmaster RAS. Cured the terrible wheel hop and I get much better traction on the stock tires. If I decide to take it to the track, I probably run it in 4wd then traction isn't an issue.

 

What do you mean for "TRUE TRACTION BARS" ?
Thanks.

 

Having spent the time and money installing a SC, don’t half a$$ it with slapper bars. Spend the time and money on a legitimate rearend traction solution. Slapper bars are for teenagers in their rusted out, hoodless, 76 Camaro with 4 different tires. A 4-link is the obvious best choice. A ladder bar suspension will net similar results with more cash in your pocket.

As far as tires, stay away from the Nittos if you’re anywhere near serious about traction. The absolute best radial out there for traction is the MT ET Street Radial. I used to use Hoosier Quick Time Pro’s and NEVER had a traction problem. Because the Hoosier was a biased ply tire, it posed a bit of a problem on the street. Last season I tried out the MT ET Street Radial and am 100% pleased. Same traction with a better feel on the street. You won’t find a single Nitto on ANY car/truck in NHRA/IHRA that is serious about traction. The BFG used to be the first name in DOT traction, but the MT is now the best solution.

Having dumped the wad of cash that Rafa has into his 6000lb truck, I seriously doubt he would cut corners w/traction bars. That’s analogous to putting octane booster in a True Street b/c it’s cheaper than 118.

 

RMS8 you are saying that installing a 4 link will be a lot better than installing traction bars.

Who sells a good 4 link rear suspension for 04-up 4WD trucks and what are the advantages over the stock suspension with traction bars ?
Thanks.

 

4-links and ladder bar setups are not generally vehicle specific. They are “generic” kits which are put together for the specific application. The major components are weld into place to the rearend. The 4 link is much more tunable than a ladderbar and gives a better ride too. I have a ladder bar suspension on my mustang.

Traction bars on a 6000lb mass won’t benefit you much more than the simple weight of the vehicle itself for traction.

 

Traditional traction bars that mount to the leaf springs. I wanted them to cure my terrible wheel hop when I got on the gas just playing around. Axle wrap was a big issue for me, not necessarily traction. Like I said, if I want traction, I'll just put it in 4wd.

 

Does Rafa still have that air suspension on his truck? If not, what did he go with?

 

Hi McDover, i saw on the Roadmaster catalog that they have 2 models for our 4X4 trucks:

2392 / MK II - XSFF: regular loads
2492 / MK II - XXSFF: For heavy loads

Which one did you buy and how do you like it ?
BTW nice video:

ROADMASTER VIDEO

Thanks,
Raf.