BIG wheelhop! Please critique my launch

684mulas said
The cal trac setup is about $350 and the cal trac mono-leaf spring is another $350. Thats a lot more than a set of $300 SS springs. Even if you spend a bunch of time resetting your pinion angle without fixing the spring/shock problem then you probably wont see much of an improvement. Then when you get (whichever) new springs, you will need to re-check or re-set the pinion angle again anyway.

I would not put anymore time or money into the old 6-cyl leafs. I say, change to SSs (or XHDs) and new shocks and then set the pinion angle. The SS springs work great (all the way into the 10s - 9s or maybe even faster) with the correct shocks and pinion angle. If you have your heart set on Cal tracs, It will be much more money but no doubt a good investment if you plan to go to the track a lot.

Maybe you already said and I didn't see but here is another question: Do you have subframe connectors?

caltracs do not have to be used with their monoleafs, which is why i asked how they would work with a factory spring...obviously 600+ dollars is nowhere near 300 bucks, i was comparing just straight caltracs only to SS springs

as far as SS springs go, im not ready to put my money into them plain and simple...ive seen far too many guys run fine with stock 6cyl springs or xhd's (Which i attempted to mimick by adding a leaf under the main leaf on each spring...also unclamped the rears and clamped the fronts) to spend the money on the SS springs...like i said, i will fix the pinion angle and launch it...same problem, then i will change the shocks...if it occurs after that, only then will i decide on SS springs/ caltracs...i dont have money to splurge on all this stuff at once, so im going to go step by step trial and error and see what it needs...the car does have subframe connectors as well

I have some axle shims on order to get my pinion angle correct, which should be here by Tuesday...once i get them installed i will be taking the car out for some launches in the country just to see if im getting the same problem and then go from there