Traction...or the lack of it...

[68Stepbed]

Hey guys. I recently did an Ls1/700R4 swap in my 68 C10. This past Friday, I finally got the 4.11 gears/Eaton LSD installed. First off, the lower gearing made a HUGE difference compared to the 3.07 gears. The problem now is minimal traction. Even with the big 275/55/17's, I can't get any bite.

My question is what can be done to gain traction? I've been looking at either the Hotchkis Anti Squat kit http://www.hotchkis.net/c10_truck_re...et_system.html and the trailing arm x-member from Porterbuilt. http://porterbuiltstreetrods.com/cat...m-crossmember/

Both of these have different mounting positions to raise the instant center. Has anyone used these? Have you used something else?

[hotrod 80]

3.06 x 4.11 drivetrain has alot of leverage .

[Super73]

I made the adjustable rear LCA brackets before Hotchkis did and put the up several places on the web. 6-8 months later, who do you think released a kit.. Yup, you guessed it.

I am going to warn you that raising your ICG on the street with a street tire is only going to make traction worse. Raising the ICG you effectively hit the tire harder.

If you want more traction:
1) Get a different tire (if not a wheel and tire combo, 17's aren't helping)
2) get some different springs and shocks so you can make adjustments.
3) lower your truck more which would affective lay lower your ICG (but use a long light front spring to store energy, not a heavy coil short spring)
Posted via Mobile Device

[68Stepbed]

Originally Posted by Super73

I made the adjustable rear LCA brackets before Hotchkis did and put the up several places on the web. 6-8 months later, who do you think released a kit.. Yup, you guessed it.

I am going to warn you that raising your ICG on the street with a street tire is only going to make traction worse. Raising the ICG you effectively hit the tire harder.

If you want more traction:
1) Get a different tire (if not a wheel and tire combo, 17's aren't helping)
2) get some different springs and shocks so you can make adjustments.
3) lower your truck more which would affective lay lower your ICG (but use a long light front spring to store energy, not a heavy coil short spring)
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks for the advice. How did you make your LCA brackets? Also, how does this affect pinion angles? For the better or worse?

What do you mean by hitting the tire harder?

I won't be doing much (if any) drag racing, but I do plan to do some autocrossing in it. I have considered going to a 275/50/17 drag radial for street use, but I'm not sure how drag radials work on hard cornering. I may have to look into different sets of wheels/tires for what I plan to do(That's gonna get expensive!).

As for springs/shocks. I eventually plan on coilovers all around, but most likely on the rear first. I'll probably go ahead and spend the extra for dual adjustables when buying.

[RWB-713]

Originally Posted by hotrod 80

3.06 x 4.11 drivetrain has alot of leverage .

I don't think "leverage" is the right word. But a 12.57:1 Final drive sure isn't helping your gription level in a 3500 lb truck! Why 4.11's out of curiosity?


Don't get me wrong, not judging ya by any means, there's 4.11's in the rear of my project right now too, but I am regretting that decision of younger me every day, and I haven't even drove the thing yet.

[68Stepbed]

Originally Posted by RWB-713

I don't think "leverage" is the right word. But a 12.57:1 Final drive sure isn't helping your gription level in a 3500 lb truck! Why 4.11's out of curiosity?


Don't get me wrong, not judging ya by any means, there's 4.11's in the rear of my project right now too, but I am regretting that decision of younger me every day, and I haven't even drove the thing yet.

Sorry for the late reply, but don't check this subforum as often and had assumed this thread had died.

The LS1 engine has a slightly rowdy cam, and the 700R4 has a 2800 stall to match up good with the cam. The 4.11's was just a better match than anything else. I think my hard 420TW tires are more to blame than anything. After they get warmed up, they tend to grip just a tad better.