Have had a issue with my crossmember. Been holding off from a traction bar.

Wondering what the advantage is besides space. Hows the ride. How does it bolt up i seen them, aint too much to them. Crossmember looks strong where traction bar looks like it is not strong.

I wanted to also use a header on my car for more power, this would enable me to do that.


Just wasnt sure how the ride is or was. im already a pretty stiff ride and all as far as power transfer. just have issue with crossmember and bushings so im considering the bar. it looks like it has no bushing so it would harden the ride up or what.

 

i didn't really feel to much in ride diff. if you are looking into getting one, get the ones that bolt up to the stock holes a tow hook holes. like full race

 

Is that what it is. Some mounted up photos of this system would help.


I looked at them and saw limited bolting options so wondered where they mounted.

I do have welding knowledge so i figured i could just weld on some tow hook or fabricate some parts and just tig weld it on.. i have thought of making my own but could not find correct "turnbuckles" sold seperatly. At this point it seems easier to just buy a traction kit thing. Im not sure. Want to know the truth about them. Sold old guy i met who had a pretty nice track civic said to stay away from them and what not so .. i have tried to get the part at a yard.(crossmember) seems easier to replace with a kit. I bought new innovative mounts and all and they were blown. i had a spare set i put in but im just scared. the car has a wobble and i discovered its the axle. probably not seated correctly. i have alot of work ahead of me, i just want to get it all right. the blown crossmember has to go. in order to determine any other issue. the axle may need to get pushed in. i believe its out of balance and creates a high speed wobble. car is capeable of much much more. i cranked it up to 90-100 many times easy. this 65-75mph sht is got to go. its unsafe. i dont have a problem spending the money getting it right.

 

My car came with a traction bar when I bought it. I don't have anything to compare it too, but I like it. Gives quite alot of room in the bay. The only problem that I have with it is that it sat up my half size radiator abit more than I would've liked, and I had to cut my hood out slightly.

 

there have been more than a few threads asking your same questions...search around. as for me, i started with stock and went with full race. i'll never go back!! the handling is superb. i think it lowered the car just a little, but i have coilovers so that wasn't an issue.
my nephew hit a chimney and bent the LCA, no damage to the bar. i've used the tow hooks to pull it out of a ditch in the snow...strength is not an issue. there are other options out there, but you can't go wrong with full race.

 

Im definatly looking around. There are a few diffrent companys that make one from square tubing, and some round rock.

Still dont see how they mount up. Im going to just guess and say buy the old, side TOW HOOK areas. IDK.

Not sure what the two have diffrent between a full race and a regular plane jane looking one.

at this point install looks easy and im leaning more towards one of these setups. hope it works for everytihng

 

I too have been contemplating making my own traction bar for my crx. Tho the links are going to be the most challenging part to make. The actual joints are universal parts you can get at any custom offroad shop and the rest is mostly raw materials cut down. You would have to figure out something to make the link out of so that its long enough and its threaded on both ends. Thats the challenge for sure.

 

Yea machining the alum. would be the harded being everyone does not have a lathe large enough to do this type of threading.

I have fabricated enough things in my dayknow know how these are made. Yea i should make my own now that am a little more firmillar but w.e ill just buy one


Anyway Some one has one on offer and when i heard full race i think its like a type of spesfic setup. Pro-street..... Full-race... Well i know know full race is a Company. I thought full race had factory mount holes like the OEM crossmember. After i have seen i know now. didnt see so i had only a idea. I completely know what FULL RACE is now after reading about. I just thought it was stock bolt holes or factory.


So yea one is on offer and the guy is going to get back to me. It looked like it was missing the end links to connect the turnbuckles to the lower control arm. he said they never came with them but after looking at FULL race website looks like they offer a newer ef style traction bar which does bolt to the one area that i would want it to, where the 2 bolts are Underneath. looks liek it fastens on the sides as well. The End links are also shown on website. he said they never had them or came with them but i can look up any cheap ebay kit and they all have this part i am talking about. utilizes both holes on LCA

 

you can weld a nut on a pipe and get a threaded tube...
anyways there are only a handfull of traction bars out there that use the 2 vertical and 2 horizontal mounting holes. <~ these are usely the ones sought after. fullrace, jimfab, ect

 

I have Full Race traction bar on my crx and you can tell a huge difference I went from stock to innovative and then sold the innovative to get full race I recommend full race I could tell a huge difference on launches and wheel hop was minimal to none with either of the bars but the quality is way better on full race. the mounting locations on full race traction bar is the tow hooks and also the factory location under car where the stock hooked......... check out my Build thread theirs pictures of the full race traction bar

 

Yea i think im goin with full race.

This one dont have the 2 under the frame where i would want them this looks like a older version. How about them end parts do you have them?

Person selling it never got back to me they said they were going to call full race and see what the deal was. I know for a fact its missing them parts.


Thanks

 

I actually made my own. I'll try to get some pictures of it soon so I can give you the ideas that I used. I'm going to get it powdercoated soon so i'll take pics while it's off. Including the spherical bearings and all the metal it cost me about $40 to make. About $60 once you consider all new hardware. However, I also had access to a lathe for the strut rods.

You asked about the purpose and function of a traction bar......From the factory your car has 2 strut rods with rubber bushings for deflection when the car hits bumps/ potholes/ curbs ect.just general every day to day stuff. It allows the lower control arm to be located axialy while still allowing for slight movement laterally for a smoother ride.

When you go to a traction bar thats in question you completely stiffen the lower control arm. It will no longer absorb the bumps by deflection in the rubber. Therefore the bumps with be felt much harsher through the chassis. The benefit though is reduced wheelhop on launch because it will plant your LCA and not allow it to "bounce" back and forth laterally due to torque. Lastly it will give you a better feel on the road through the wheel because some of the "slop" built in from the factory for comfort will be removed. It will definately be a harsher ride that you will notice.

 

Heres a picture where you can see some of it being fabbed, the pic was of progress of a manifold I built also but it gives a slight view of the trac bar not finished. I'll get some better ones soon

 

wow looks good.


I forgot to mention i had a bad expirece when i first bought the car. i bought it, than it had sat for a year or more. maby 2 years. ANAY WAY... had to put it on the road eventually. Long story short this part must have been previously looked at and not tightend correct. I remember having to come to a emergency stop and had to jam on the brakes. doing that the passanger side wheel came back into the well rubbing and scouring the inner fender well.

With that happening it was clearly messed up. by the time i got to the thing the bolt was loose and the bushings were blown. to add the rod had egged the inside of the area where bushings go. I had replaced this with Innovative inserts, a harder replacment and had picked up a spare set for next to nothing not to long ago. well dumb move putting the 50 or whatever out on the innovatives cuz they beat. now im at this toss up with the traction bar or just get a crossmember out of the yard, and put my spare bushings in.

car pulls super hard now that i just installed the pressure gauge. bumped it up 12 psi more than what it was and what a diffrence this was yesterday but im not going out beating on the car. were going to have another monster snow storm here and it will be parked untill further clearing of weather.

You say i will feel more road/pot holes becasue this lacks the rubber bushings more of a rigid system. the guy never got back to me on the Used full race setup.

 

i can't tell a difference with my Innovative bar vs stock, but i don't "launch" my car. i didn't want a traction bar but needed on for my downpipe. great quality and price. mounts in the stock location and great ground clearance. what ever you do, don't get the replacement crossmember.


here's a review of it
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/new-ef-innovative-traction-bar-review-2232301/

 

there you go, that looks nice How much power you making on that type of setup. looks like a LS.. i can see how much free space you have. still using a full size rad.


I really dont want to go with the tract bar, but i might as well becasue it seems like a easy thing to do. As soon as i find a good deal on one or the guy gets back to me on the ful race item.

My car launches pretty hard but as soon as i hit 75 there is so much wobble and vibration i can not break 80 at all. seems like everything is rattling loose.


Thanks everyone for posting your imput looks like everyone who adds power and wants traction goes with a reputable traction bar. Now there are revised versions from the earlier ones that were first made adapting the "factory mounting". I will source one out not no blox or ebay 100 dollar items, but i do want a good deal and im trying to pick up the full race one for 250-

 

It’s a stock LS with a Skunk2 intake manifold. My dyno numbers are in my sig. There are some traction bars in the classifieds, but they generally don’t stay long. I’ve never launch my car, mostly b/c I don’t drag race. I stick to the road course, and on the street I drive like a granny

 

i have an IM crossmember on my 91 dx. made room for my b series header but it sits too damn low and hits everything.

 

If you're still looking in a few months hit me up. I'll be leaving school soon and will have my welder/ shop setup hopefully I can make you a custom one much under $$ what full race ones cost. Going to try to get my name out there in the fabrication portion of motorsports.