Caltracs

[Richard F]

I'm thinking of ordering Caltracs for my '65 Falcon.  Do they help on the street at all with street tires, or are they just for the strip with slicks? 

[fastback 427]

They helped my fastback on the street. Made it more manageable. It will not pull the wheels on the street like it does on the track but its better. The ride is stiff. There is a lot of tuneability with the cal tracs so you can set how hard it hits and the preload will change the ride quality. They were great to work with and even helped me set mine up on a Saturday at the track over the phone. I'd buy em again.

[jayb]

I like mine on the street, and between my Mach 1 and my Galaxie I've got thousands of street miles on them.  They seem to increase rear roll stiffness, which is good in my opinion, and the ride is a little harsher with them installed, but I wouldn't go back...

[Richard F]

Thanks guys; I had read some stuff that they didn't help much on the street, but I knew some of you had real world experience.  Just wanted to make sure I wasn't wasting money.

[Qikbbstang]

Friend of mine has a set of Caltracs made up for a street BOSS 302 w/Yates headed NASCAR motor. Talked it over with Caltrac and they came up with set of Caltracs that would be open-track road course friendly. He just bought set of slicks 60ft times coming.

[cjshaker]

On the street the big benefit is no wheel-hop, which can destroy tailhousings, U-joints and anything else in the drivetrain. Like the others, I found the ride is stiffer, but unless you live in an area with really bad roads it's easily livable. If you want to retain some spring action for a highway drive, just back them off so there is room for the spring to move.