Who has Traction Bars?

[BCMoto]

So Ive been looking at the rough country traction bars to help keep the axle where it should be. My question is who has these or other brands? Right now just looking at RC or BDS

[Jacoby]

I have my RC traction bars on order. Hopefully have them on this weekend or next. 

[1SLOW1500]

Call track and smithracecraft assassin bars are the best.
Depending on your skills and resources there is also a center link you can buy that has taps to weld to top of rear differential and then also taps on cross member in frame.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[BCMoto]

5 hours ago, Jacoby said:

I have my RC traction bars on order. Hopefully have them on this weekend or next. 

Let me know what you think of them when you get it, build quality and strength types of things and a pic of them once installed please!

 

4 hours ago, 1SLOW1500 said:

Call track and smithracecraft assassin bars are the best.
Depending on your skills and resources there is also a center link you can buy that has taps to weld to top of rear differential and then also taps on cross member in frame.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Thanks I will look into that, its not out of my skill level

[midwestdenaliguy]

18 hours ago, BCMoto said:

So Ive been looking at the rough country traction bars to help keep the axle where it should be. My question is who has these or other brands? Right now just looking at RC or BDS

Definitely following this thread. I've had my eye on the RC traction bars, but haven't pulled the trigger due to lack of reviews. The only ones out there are on the Rough Country website (https://www.roughcountry.com/gm-traction-bar-kit-1069.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwkK_qBRD8ARIsAOteukAbKbOgssD6UFmomYxoZmqpJZhT94Cx9lyKX1rioCAtFiXdxD47q_MaAmojEALw_wcB). Only negative comments are around the paint quality, but that's an easy fix. Everyone else seems to like them.

 

I'm not getting a crazy amount of wheel hop when punching it, but I read somewhere that it smoothed out the overall ride of the truck because it better planted the rear wheels/axle (less vibration on bumpy roads). I'd love it if these traction bars improved both aspects. I've got a tuned 6.2L with Borla exhaust and upgraded CAI. On the list to eventually do are traction bars, high flow cats and/or new headers, and upgraded driveshaft.

 

Would love to hear from a forum member with first hand experience on the traction bars...

Edited August 8, 2019 by midwestdenaliguy

[BCMoto]

The paint doesn't bother me as I have a lot of access to fix things like that. I do however get a lot of wheel hop with these bigger wheels and tires, its either full wheel spin when I hit it or I get a fair amount of wheel hop. I was looking at the BDS one but I haven't heard anyone running those either yet. One of my biggest concerns is that when im out on the trail the bars would keep the axle where it should be if im up against some rocks or what not.

 

Like you I have the 6.2 with a Corsa exhaust and AFE intake and tuned on a hypertech for now

[300 Blackout]

Thanks I will look into that, its not out of my skill level

I’ve been eyeing this one for some time. You only need one welded adjacent to your drive shaft. Just make sure your pinion angle is properly set before welding it in place.
http://www.chassisunlimited.com/product/link-suspension-kits/traction-bar-kit.html

[Mileguru]

BTW, 1SLOW1500 meant CalTracs if you have a hard time looking it up.

https://www.calvertracing.com/index.php

 

CalTracs is what I've always heard to go with. I might get some someday, what with the supercharger and meth and all

[Darksky]

I’ve got the Rough Country Traction Bars on my six inch lifted 2015 Silverado High Country CCSB 1500.

I can heartily recommend them for anyone that has done performance mods or does any sort of “spirited” driving.

They reduced spring wrap to almost nothing. I was really amazed at how much spring wrap our trucks experience taking off from every stoplight. There are you tube videos taken with a GoPro mounted above the differential, it’s horrible to watch.

The rear wheels feel so much more “connected” to the ground upon acceleration. It is very noticeable.

Wheel spin during acceleration is all but eliminated.

Even though they are not connected Left to Right, because of their connection to the frame, they function a lot like a sway bar. The lean out or diving on the rear of the truck is Very Much reduced.

I got my set for a little less than $300 from one of the big online vendors, during a sale. I don’t know if they’re supporters of the site. So, all I’ll say is that they like America. They have a little wiggle room on prices over the phone if you ask. Especially for veterans and First Responders.

 An Absolute YES for a 6” lifted 2015 Silverado 1500. For impact on drive-ability, I will say almost  best Mod ever. That’s how much of an Impact they’ve had. I use my truck as a truck, driving gravel and ranch roads daily, on my way to the highway where I drive at speed for twenty five miles every time I go to town.

 

The picture is from Rough Country’s website. I will take a few pictures of my own truck tomorrow. 

Edited August 10, 2019 by Darksky

[midwestdenaliguy]

On 8/10/2019 at 5:32 AM, Darksky said:

I’ve got the Rough Country Traction Bars on my six inch lifted 2015 Silverado High Country CCSB 1500.

I can heartily recommend them for anyone that has done performance mods or does any sort of “spirited” driving.

They reduced spring wrap to almost nothing. I was really amazed at how much spring wrap our trucks experience taking off from every stoplight. There are you tube videos taken with a GoPro mounted above the differential, it’s horrible to watch.

The rear wheels feel so much more “connected” to the ground upon acceleration. It is very noticeable.

Wheel spin during acceleration is all but eliminated.

Even though they are not connected Left to Right, because of their connection to the frame, they function a lot like a sway bar. The lean out or diving on the rear of the truck is Very Much reduced.

I got my set for a little less than $300 from one of the big online vendors, during a sale. I don’t know if they’re supporters of the site. So, all I’ll say is that they like America. They have a little wiggle room on prices over the phone if you ask. Especially for veterans and First Responders.

 An Absolute YES for a 6” lifted 2015 Silverado 1500. For impact on drive-ability, I will say almost  best Mod ever. That’s how much of an Impact they’ve had. I use my truck as a truck, driving gravel and ranch roads daily, on my way to the highway where I drive at speed for twenty five miles every time I go to town.

 

The picture is from Rough Country’s website. I will take a few pictures of my own truck tomorrow. 

Thanks for the info, always appreciate first hand experience. Would you say you noticed better overall driving? I'm curious if it'll take away some of the rear end bounce I get depending on the road conditions.

[Darksky]

On 8/10/2019 at 4:32 AM, Darksky said:

 An Absolute YES for a 6” lifted 2015 Silverado 1500. For impact on drive-ability, I will say almost  best Mod ever. That’s how much of an Impact they’ve had.

They will make the back end stiffer overall, by decreasing the Springs’ ability to bend down in the back and up in the front, which causes the yoke to move upward as a result of the spring’s twisting. This is called axle wrap when it takes place during acceleration. By creating a “constant” dimension between the mount point on the differential (where it mounts to the Springs) and the mount point on the frame. It decreases the ability of the axle to move by keeping the spring from flexing (twisting). Doing this stops the tires from lifting up off of the pavement during the spring flex. During that flex, with the tire lifting up slightly... it allows the wheel being driven to slip. Causing the “breaking loose” loss of traction. At times you can even hear the tire chirping as the spring flexing causes wheel hop. The traction bars all but eliminate that.

 

If the “bouncing” issue you are having is taking place during acceleration, especially hard acceleration with the tires breaking loose even just a little.  Then the traction bars are your fix. Hence the name “Traction” Bars.

 

If your rear suspension feels too soft to you or sags under load, you may consider a simple modification to help out.

This is what I did;

When I picked out a lift kit for my truck, it replaced the front coil overs with a taller and heavier “strut”.  The shock had a larger piston and bigger fluid reservoir. The actual coil was replaced with thicker diameter, heavier, taller and possibly better grade of spring steel. The springs themselves were made by Eibach. With replacement uniball  upper control arms, it was a good setup.

 

The rear however was lifted with a block. Period. A block. The kit did come with a really good replacement shock, but no further modification was made to the leaf springs. It seemed odd to me to beef the heck out of the front end and do almost nothing to the rear. If you think about it, the block actually makes it potentially weaker by separating the spring mount from the axle. The block’s only real good point is that it had a small wedge designed into its shape, which pointed the differential’s yoke more towards the transmission’s tail end. That angle will help to minimize the flex that the u-joint must correct with every rotation.

The absolute best fix would have been to purchase a replacement set of leaf springs with the correct arch to provide the six inch lift without using a block at all. You could  take the spring specs from the front coil overs and have a spring shop determine the correct spring rate to match the rate of the front ones, adding a “wedge” under the springs to improve the angle just as the block had done. Bing, bang, boom... you’re off to the races.

 

But, I didn’t do that. I wasn’t sure if the OEM Springs “needed” replacing. I already had the shiny new block, U-bolts and hardware. I improvised or maybe compromised is a better word. The OEM stack on a 2015 1500 truck seemed awfully puny. The main eyelet spring and three little leaves under it. I called a local suspension shop. 

*Before I go any further, let me clarify. I mean a “real” truck suspension shop. Preferably one with the word SPRING in the name. A place where they build springs and suspensions.

 

I walked into the spring shop with my make, model and VIN#. In five minutes they looked up my OEM spring specs. Then they cut me a leaf. Not an Add-A-Leaf. A full length leaf with the correct arch and spring rate to be added into my existing OEM stack. It was designed to fit directly under the “eyelet” leaf and above the other three. They gave me a heavier  “pin bolt” and two “keepers” for each side, to ensure the stack stayed straight. They cut, drilled, arched and painted those two leaves while I went next door bought us tacos. Us eating was the longest part of the process. Here’s the kicker, it’s been a few years. But, IIRC the whole thing was less than $100 or so.

 

I drove back to the 4x4 shop that was installing the lift kit.when they dropped the rear diff, we disassembled the spring stack, slipped in the new leaf and bolted it all back together. The new stack did make the rear end of the truck about 3/4” taller. 7/16 or so, due to the thickness of the new leaf, the rest due to the additional support of the new leaf on the stack. 

 

Here it is four full years later and my truck performs like a champ. A few years ago, a friend and I both with 2015 1500 trucks went to the gravel yard and filled our truck beds with pea gravel for his wife’s yard project. His Sierra with a ProComp 6” lift, 35” tires on 20x10 wheels squatted pretty hard. My Silverado with the FabTech 6” 34” tires on 18x9 wheels did better, wasn’t squatted anywhere as much and rode like a champ. I did have the RC traction bars installed at that time.

 

In Summation.

For me; traction bars are an absolute win. The Rough Country bars I bought are perfect. The install was straightforward and relatively simple. Their performance is 10/10. The truck is better connected to the ground after the install in a remarkable fashion. You will no longer break a tire loose and kick on the traction control or DSC  under daily driving. (This alone is worth the price of admission). The rear end is slightly stiffer, I think this is a good thing. To me it feels like it should have from the dealer. As I noted before, the traction bars are not connected Left to Right. Both sides are mounted independent of the other. But, because of the connection to the frame, it feels like I have added a rear sway bar, possibly setting it up on the “soft” tip.

 

1SLOW1500 mentioned a brand that he is familiar with, and has used. Anything he recommends will be solid, as he is solid. I bought the Rough Country because they were readily available, were drop shipped to my door and were made specifically for my application. I have always had good luck with Rough Country With the sale pricing, I got them delivered for about $300. Which to me was a smoking deal.  They just work. They look cool too.  

 

Like I said before, I won’t call them the Best mod I’ve done to my truck, but they are right up there.              Dark

.

Edited August 12, 2019 by Darksky
Sorry for the wall of text. I still can’t type.

[midwestdenaliguy]

Awesome detail Dark, super helpful. Would love to see pics of the traction bar and leaf spring setup you have. I do get axle wrap if I gun it, so it's nice to know that'll get fixed but I'm also looking to solve the bounce issue I get. I have a lift kit from HaloLifts on my truck that completely replaced the stock suspension/shocks on all corners. It definitely improved the trucks overall ride, much smoother over washboard dirt roads. The problem I'm trying to solve for is over certain sections of highway I get a bounce in the truck that's pretty obvious. It's when I'm traveling over highway that has cement poured in 10 foot sections that has a black tar strip over the section splits. If I travel over black top highway it's smooth, but the truck doesn't seem to like sectioned, concrete highways. It's feels like I'm on a seesaw. It happens regardless if I'm accelerating or not, so I know it's not wheel slippage. When I drive my wife's Ford Edge over the same section of highway there is no bounce. It sounds like the added leaf spring you did might help, but I'm wondering if the traction bars will help keep my rear end a little tighter when traveling - reducing the bounce.

[Darksky]

They will change it, for certain. I would try putting a bit of weight over the axle and see if it changes anything. Maybe a bag of concrete on each side towards the tailgate and try it again. Post your findings.

Edited August 13, 2019 by Darksky

[lucas287]

On 8/7/2019 at 6:54 PM, Jacoby said:

I have my RC traction bars on order. Hopefully have them on this weekend or next

Would you mind sharing your experiences with them? Install, efficacy, noise? Much appreciated!

[lucas287]

On 8/8/2019 at 1:50 PM, BCMoto said:

The paint doesn't bother me as I have a lot of access to fix things like that. I do however get a lot of wheel hop with these bigger wheels and tires, its either full wheel spin when I hit it or I get a fair amount of wheel hop. I was looking at the BDS one but I haven't heard anyone running those either yet. One of my biggest concerns is that when im out on the trail the bars would keep the axle where it should be if im up against some rocks or what not.

 

Like you I have the 6.2 with a Corsa exhaust and AFE intake and tuned on a hypertech for now

Did you ever get a set of these RC traction bars? Thoughts?