Having traction issues with my lowered manual F6 ute. Tyres are still 245/35r19, when it wasn't lowered I had better traction as the rear could squat, however now its 50mm lowered with reset herrod leaf springs and an anti-tramp leaf on the top I just can't get traction in 2nd even only on the 98 tune with 327rwkw and new tyres. Does the stiff rear end reduce traction significantly? Might be worth checking out a wider rim/tyre I'm guessing

Also broke the water pump pulley last night after being humiliated by a BMWs1000rr 

One variable you've taken out of the mix with the lowering has been arresting shock.   If you hit a bump in the road now you have reduced the time & distance you have to work with arresting that energy, therefore you get a firmer or rougher ride.

 

Similarly you are trying to rapidly load the tyre and with the way geometry & physics work, you are loading that axle.  Without some of the distance & flex you originally had, the tyre will still only handle so much torque but you are getting to the friction limit of the rubber really quick.   You don't reduce the traction so much as make it difficult to feel when you are coming up on that limit.  Once you've smashed through the limit of friction to the road it becomes a loosing struggle.  Basically if you can get your head around friction, adding more tyre grip will only offer so much.  See static & kinetic friction here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friction#Static_friction

Also think about a top fueler, they have no rear suspension and they bring on way more power quicker than you can dream of.  But the tyres go through all sorts of crazy deformation.  Have a look at the video below about bike frame stiffness, semi relatable?  

 

Hope if haven't confused anything for you.   In answer to your question, yes a wider stickier tyre may help with more overall grip. However if you think of that graph of friction you potentially still break traction and still loose heaps of grip very quickly.  I would lift it and make it a little nicer ride, but that's just me.

Stickier tyres will fix it. As wide as possible helps. If it tramps then get some caltracs or mal woods anti tramp kit.

@powelmac very interested in whether the half leaf got rid of your tramp 100%

Thanks @FiftyOne that's some good insight, I guess it's looks vs performance. Im going to try a set of wider rears and see if that works first then I guess I'll need to revise the suspension height if that fails.

@camo86TI tried new revalved bilsteins, and different bushes etc which did nothing, half leaf got rid of it 100%, can accelerate and dump the clutch now and just spins compared to a trampoline like motion previously 

go buy some decent tyres, or go get some 18x10s with fat sticky tyres. no bob jane specials.

 

end of the day its a ute with 1950's rear end dont expect it to be all that great.

 

whats this half leaf wizardry? pics? 

Edited April 20, 20188 yr by Ford Freak

Yep coil springs were used in cars since 1906. Ford obviously just loved the horse and buggy.

this guy knows^^

 

ford ute suspension carried over from these

 

no joke

 

If you want to be specific to how old, half of the bushes for the utes rear end are XT parts. Farking old.

yer they havent spent a cent on the rear end. really dissapointing. but they always saw the ford ute to be a workhorse to carry a load, where h.olden see the ss ute as a 2 door sports car hahah. 

Edited April 20, 20188 yr by Ford Freak