GNX Traction Bar

[Turbo Keith]

We know the GNX had the traction bar that ran parallel with the drive shaft. My question is that being a fairly new owner of a GN ,bout 4 months, and reading all I can read about these wonderful cars , I have never seen anything aftermarket like what was on the GNX cars. Maybe they didn't work that well. just a thought

 

[EVIL]

They actually work very well planting the car to the ground. There are aftermarket versions that cost around $2500.

Too bad there isn't an inexpensive version. I'd buy one.

D

 

[Turbo Keith]

They actually work very well planting the car to the ground. There are aftermarket versions that cost around $2500.

Too bad there isn't an inexpensive version. I'd buy one.

D

Holy S$^T, that's craxy high

 

[pacecarta]

the 82 up firebird /camaro all used a similar torque arm setup with panhard rod ( setup is not called a traction bar) but on the F body the rear has cast are to attach the torque arm and the front end of arm attached to the 700r4 transmission (89 tta used a 2004r which doesnt have provision for a toque arm so they had a special mount off the trans mount plate),
on the Gbody the gnx used a special cast aluminum rear axle cover to mount the torque arm and a box steel crossmember for the front end of the arm
the $2500 setup (parts only not including shipping and install which requires welding to frame and axle ) is aftermarket but its almost an exact replica of the original gnx parts and then you need a gnx design exhaust system to work around the suspension (900.00) and after that you are still on the stock rear swaybar unless you upgrade that

its nice but the HRpartsnstuff rear swaybar with proper setup of the upper control arms will out hook a torque arm

heres the aftermarket gnx setup and the stainless 2.5" exhaust needed to clear it (less mufflers)
oh and the GNX suspension setup without exhaust counted in adds about 50lbs to the car

 

[buddy]

Does anybody have a video of the traction bar setup lifting a car before launch. I've seen videos of it in the past. I was trying to find a video to show my employee but couldn't find one. Thanks !

 

[pacecarta]

here ya go at 19:46 into the video

 

[buddy]

Cool thankd

 

[tlap]

I know ATR once developed and sold a torque arm bar kit similar to the Camaro/Firebird design.
It was a lot longer than the GNX bar, ATR's torque arm bar bolted to the transmission cross member.

 

[Turbo Keith]

Thanks for all the info , havent been on the site very long and its great

 

[charlief1]

You forgot the first use of this design Paulie. The H body cars (76-78) had the same set up starting in 76. While it works well in the GNX it has issues in the H and F body cars. Watch a later F body (82 up) When it takes off under high power and you'll see how it can cause traction issues. On the GNX the bar's shorter and helps traction quite a bit, but on the uni-chassis cars it can cause traction issues. It has to do with the position of the springs on the axle as well as the length of the bar.

 

[trbogn]

My GN had a setup that the previous owner modified from an f body. It had a torque arm bolted to the trans crossmember and connected to a set of plates installed behind the rear end cover and in front of the pumpkin. It still had the factory upper and lower control arms. Here is a video of my car launching. The front would raise up when boost was applied at the line. I have since removed this setup and installed an HRparts rear swaybar. Waiting for warm weather to test it out. My best 60' times with the torque arm setup were in the low 1.6 range.

 

[trbogn]

Here are photos of the setup.

 

[trbogn]

More photos

 

[novaderrik]

i don't see a panhard bar in those pics, just the torque arm that goes from the rear axle to the trans crossmember, which is supposed to take the place of the upper control arms and uses a panhard bar to control the side to side motion of the rear end.. look at an 82-02 F body rear suspension to see what it's supposed to look like.

also, the F body didn't have the front pivot point bolted to a solid point at the back of the trans, it slid inside of a bushing to allow a little fore/aft movement as the rear end moves up and down. aftermarket setups that hook the torque arm to the trans crossmember instead of the trans tailshaft usually have a shackle like you see on a leaf spring to prevent binding.

in the F body, the torque arm controls the up/down angle of the pinion and the front/rear instant center of the suspension, the lower control arms control the fore/aft location of the housing, and the panhard bar controls the left/right location of the housing and the vertical instant center.. with aftermarket parts, you can adjust each of them separately to tune it for handling, braking, or traction off the line..

it's a very good design as done from the factory on the F bodies- much better than the GNX overall, which was something they put together to fit under a G body with minimal effort and in a short time frame.

 

[trbogn]

Ahhh, you are right, I called it a panhard bar instead of a torque arm. There is no panhard bar on my setup. Ill edit my oroginal post to avoid confusion.

 

[1986 Buick GX1]

It looks like a kit. Are the upper control arms used with the torque arm? They must be.
Seem like a lot of work to eliminate wheel hop.
Kind of a neat set up though, for back in the day.

 

[tlap]

More photos

That is the kit that ATR made for a while back in the day. It utilized a Camaro/Firebird torque arm, attached to custom mounting plates and tubing with a round urethane bushing at the front.
I was working for them from '87-'90 when they were in Roseville, Ca., We had just developed it then. I'm not sure how long it was made after I left.

 

[tlap]

It looks like a kit. Are the upper control arms used with the torque arm? They must be.
Seem like a lot of work to eliminate wheel hop.
Kind of a neat set up though, for back in the day.

It was mainly developed with the theory of transmitting as much weight distribution to the rear at launch.
Combined with boxed control arms and urethane control arm bushings, wheel hop was drastically reduced too.

 

[buddy]

My GN had a setup that the previous owner modified from an f body. It had a torque arm bolted to the trans crossmember and connected to a set of plates installed behind the rear end cover and in front of the pumpkin. It still had the factory upper and lower control arms. Here is a video of my car launching. The front would raise up when boost was applied at the line. I have since removed this setup and installed an HRparts rear swaybar. Waiting for warm weather to test it out. My best 60' times with the torque arm setup were in the low 1.6 range.

Wow that's a cool setup. And that is atr?

 

[tlap]

Wow that's a cool setup. And that is atr?

Yup, its ATR's, I would recognize that anywhere.