Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

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Turbo231
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Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Turbo231 »

I am building a Plymouth Duster for street and drag racing and need advice on the rear suspension. The MOPAR Super Stock springs have been around forever and obviously work very well. I am leaning toward using them but am also considering the Caltracs. Has anyone here used both and can tell me what they prefer and why?
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by SupStk »

The Caltracs offer adjustability for car/track variables the SS springs don't have.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by tenxal »

As stated, the Cal Tracs offer adjustability. They also have a one hole Low Profile setup that doesn't hang down as far for street cars. You do lose the ability to change the instant center because of the one hole. The preload feature on the Cal Tracs is a big deal for tuning.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Kingbee »

Unless you're trying to squeeze out every last tenth I would skip the Caltracs and use what Mother Mopar gave you. The original Caltrac setup was built by John Calvert for a 68 Mustang stock eliminator car. Like most non Chrysler leaf spring cars the Fords have the rear end mounted in the center of the main leaf causing the front and rear segment of the springs to whip and fight each other under hard acceleration and hard braking. Chrysler mounted there axle toward the front making the front part a lever while the rear part could flex more giving a good ride as well as better manners under power and braking. When it came time in the early 60s for the super/stock wars the Mopar suspension was a natural right out of the box. Tweak it a little and it's even better.

Don't get me wrong, the Caltrac is a good system but for years there has been many super stock leaf spring cars dipping into the 9s and many stock leaf cars into the 11s. The last few years there has been a lot of talk that the new super stock springs are made in Mexico and are junk. All the sets I've used are older American made springs and I have had great luck. If you like to fabricate then maybe consider reworking your stock springs! The basis for this is to find another set of the same springs that's in your car now and cut it up for ad on leaves. Ad a second leaf that ends directly under the front spring eye bolt with the back half ending about 4 inchs from the rear eye. Then clamp the front segment and unclamp the rear segment. There's a little more to it detail wise but it's not difficult and the results are great!


One more option is Tri City Launchers which are basically a blueprinted super stock spring. They ride a little stiff on the street but they hook hard and straight. If interested call Greg at Tri City Competition. 760-591-0362. That number is a couple years old but he is still racing.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by midnightbluS10 »

Calvert Racing also sells split monoleaf springs as well as CalTrac traction bars. Wouldn't that be the better comparison? SS springs vs mono-leafs? Myself, I assumed that's what he was asking about but I'm not a Mopar person so I could be wrong. You would decide caltracs or no caltracs no matter what springs were on it? Or I would think so anyway.

On a side note, there used to be a thing called Battle Bars that were designed better than caltracs, mainly built for S-Series GM trucks. They were badass when they were available. They looked awful similar to the Assassin bars. I'm thinking that may be them.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Turbo231 »

Kingbee wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:59 pm Unless you're trying to squeeze out every last tenth I would skip the Caltracs and use what Mother Mopar gave you. The original Caltrac setup was built by John Calvert for a 68 Mustang stock eliminator car. Like most non Chrysler leaf spring cars the Fords have the rear end mounted in the center of the main leaf causing the front and rear segment of the springs to whip and fight each other under hard acceleration and hard braking. Chrysler mounted there axle toward the front making the front part a lever while the rear part could flex more giving a good ride as well as better manners under power and braking. When it came time in the early 60s for the super/stock wars the Mopar suspension was a natural right out of the box. Tweak it a little and it's even better.

Don't get me wrong, the Caltrac is a good system but for years there has been many super stock leaf spring cars dipping into the 9s and many stock leaf cars into the 11s. The last few years there has been a lot of talk that the new super stock springs are made in Mexico and are junk. All the sets I've used are older American made springs and I have had great luck. If you like to fabricate then maybe consider reworking your stock springs! The basis for this is to find another set of the same springs that's in your car now and cut it up for ad on leaves. Ad a second leaf that ends directly under the front spring eye bolt with the back half ending about 4 inchs from the rear eye. Then clamp the front segment and unclamp the rear segment. There's a little more to it detail wise but it's not difficult and the results are great!


One more option is Tri City Launchers which are basically a blueprinted super stock spring. They ride a little stiff on the street but they hook hard and straight. If interested call Greg at Tri City Competition. 760-591-0362. That number is a couple years old but he is still racing.
I have had no luck finding this company and the phone number above is disconnected. Any suggestions? Do you know Greg's last name? Thanks.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by rebelrouser »

Mopar super stock springs are hard to beat until you get into the tens. I have a lot of nostalgia super stock buddies that swear by the caltracs, if you use the split mono-leaf spring with them. The last few sets of super stock springs I had were made in mexico and were not as good of quality as the older USA made units. When my car started running low tens I started bending them at the front spring eye.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Turbo231 »

rebelrouser wrote: Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:55 pm Mopar super stock springs are hard to beat until you get into the tens. I have a lot of nostalgia super stock buddies that swear by the caltracs, if you use the split mono-leaf spring with them. The last few sets of super stock springs I had were made in mexico and were not as good of quality as the older USA made units. When my car started running low tens I started bending them at the front spring eye.
I am planning to go in the 9's maybe high 8's with this car. It will use a dual turbo Gen 3 Hemi, a 727 trans, and probably a 3.54 gear in a Dana rear. Not planning to do brutal launches like the Super Stock guys do. Is it just the newer Mexico springs that bend or the older USA springs also? What do the Super Stock '68 Cudas and Darts run? Are they all on Caltracs?
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by SupStk »

Turbo231 wrote: Fri Nov 09, 2018 9:07 am
rebelrouser wrote: Thu Nov 08, 2018 9:55 pm Mopar super stock springs are hard to beat until you get into the tens. I have a lot of nostalgia super stock buddies that swear by the caltracs, if you use the split mono-leaf spring with them. The last few sets of super stock springs I had were made in mexico and were not as good of quality as the older USA made units. When my car started running low tens I started bending them at the front spring eye.
I am planning to go in the 9's maybe high 8's with this car. It will use a dual turbo Gen 3 Hemi, a 727 trans, and probably a 3.54 gear in a Dana rear. Not planning to do brutal launches like the Super Stock guys do. Is it just the newer Mexico springs that bend or the older USA springs also? What do the Super Stock '68 Cudas and Darts run? Are they all on Caltracs?
The SS/AH cars look like Pro Stockers under the back end. The competitive Hemi cars haven't put power through those leafs for 30 years.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by BradH »

SupStk wrote: Fri Nov 02, 2018 8:36 pm The Caltracs offer adjustability for car/track variables the SS springs don't have.
CalTracs have not only been slightly quicker (.03) in the 60-ft, but have also been more consistent for me than my old SS springs, even running the same dampers. My junk is only in the mid-10s, but the difference is still there.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by engineczar »

Turbo231 wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 2:20 pm
Kingbee wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:59 pm Unless you're trying to squeeze out every last tenth I would skip the Caltracs and use what Mother Mopar gave you. The original Caltrac setup was built by John Calvert for a 68 Mustang stock eliminator car. Like most non Chrysler leaf spring cars the Fords have the rear end mounted in the center of the main leaf causing the front and rear segment of the springs to whip and fight each other under hard acceleration and hard braking. Chrysler mounted there axle toward the front making the front part a lever while the rear part could flex more giving a good ride as well as better manners under power and braking. When it came time in the early 60s for the super/stock wars the Mopar suspension was a natural right out of the box. Tweak it a little and it's even better.

Don't get me wrong, the Caltrac is a good system but for years there has been many super stock leaf spring cars dipping into the 9s and many stock leaf cars into the 11s. The last few years there has been a lot of talk that the new super stock springs are made in Mexico and are junk. All the sets I've used are older American made springs and I have had great luck. If you like to fabricate then maybe consider reworking your stock springs! The basis for this is to find another set of the same springs that's in your car now and cut it up for ad on leaves. Ad a second leaf that ends directly under the front spring eye bolt with the back half ending about 4 inchs from the rear eye. Then clamp the front segment and unclamp the rear segment. There's a little more to it detail wise but it's not difficult and the results are great!


One more option is Tri City Launchers which are basically a blueprinted super stock spring. They ride a little stiff on the street but they hook hard and straight. If interested call Greg at Tri City Competition. 760-591-0362. That number is a couple years old but he is still racing.
I have had no luck finding this company and the phone number above is disconnected. Any suggestions? Do you know Greg's last name? Thanks.
I know I'm misspelling it but it believe it's Greg Luneack

If you're running radials the Caltracs will let you run more air pressure and still hook well as opposed SS springs. This is however on a 9" wide slick in Stock Eliminator.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by fdicrasto »

The original mopar super stock spring setup involved more than just the springs, which were configured making the front half of the spring extremely stiff incorporating an extra half leaf from the spring pad forward and an adjustable pinion snubber that was barely above the flat nose of the differential housing along with a very special set of rear shock absorbers. That coupled with the proper front torsion bars was very effective in its day.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by autogear »

engineczar wrote: Mon Nov 12, 2018 8:14 pm
Turbo231 wrote: Tue Nov 06, 2018 2:20 pm
Kingbee wrote: Sun Nov 04, 2018 7:59 pm Unless you're trying to squeeze out every last tenth I would skip the Caltracs and use what Mother Mopar gave you. The original Caltrac setup was built by John Calvert for a 68 Mustang stock eliminator car. Like most non Chrysler leaf spring cars the Fords have the rear end mounted in the center of the main leaf causing the front and rear segment of the springs to whip and fight each other under hard acceleration and hard braking. Chrysler mounted there axle toward the front making the front part a lever while the rear part could flex more giving a good ride as well as better manners under power and braking. When it came time in the early 60s for the super/stock wars the Mopar suspension was a natural right out of the box. Tweak it a little and it's even better.

Don't get me wrong, the Caltrac is a good system but for years there has been many super stock leaf spring cars dipping into the 9s and many stock leaf cars into the 11s. The last few years there has been a lot of talk that the new super stock springs are made in Mexico and are junk. All the sets I've used are older American made springs and I have had great luck. If you like to fabricate then maybe consider reworking your stock springs! The basis for this is to find another set of the same springs that's in your car now and cut it up for ad on leaves. Ad a second leaf that ends directly under the front spring eye bolt with the back half ending about 4 inchs from the rear eye. Then clamp the front segment and unclamp the rear segment. There's a little more to it detail wise but it's not difficult and the results are great!


One more option is Tri City Launchers which are basically a blueprinted super stock spring. They ride a little stiff on the street but they hook hard and straight. If interested call Greg at Tri City Competition. 760-591-0362. That number is a couple years old but he is still racing.
I have had no luck finding this company and the phone number above is disconnected. Any suggestions? Do you know Greg's last name? Thanks.
I know I'm misspelling it but it believe it's Greg Luneack

Here's a recent post with a different phonenumber http://classracer.com/classforum/showth ... p?p=576580
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Jeff Lee »

If you want to avoid the Cal-Track split leafs & bars, Call Gregg Luneak @ 760-630-9094. He builds “Launcher” leaf springs along the lines of the SS Mopar springs; only better.
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Re: Mopar SS springs or Caltracs ??

Post by Turbo231 »

Talked to Greg last week. He has gotten out of the spring business. His supplier's prices were getting too high.
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