[recnepswilliams]

how can i tell if i have traction problems in my 1980 el camino. i've got an open differential, it's got a 2.73 gear in it, and i have a 350 with edelbrock e street heads, performer rpm air gap intake, and performer rpm cam. i shift at 4500 rpms when i want to run it hard and it will bark the tire at 3500 if i shift there too at half throttle.

I've been trying to take care of my tires and i usually don't drop the hammer until about 2000 rpms when i want to open it up, but i've noticed even without spinning the tires on the take off my rear tires have less and less tread all the time. (and by tires i do mean just the right rear tire that spins) but i rotated the tires and it only took a few months of driving to wear the tread down, and i only open it up in first gear maybe twice a week and i don't even always shift at 4500 if i do

does this sound more like i just have a set of tires that aren't round or do i need to think about getting a posi rear end to prevent myself from burning the tires off?

[SSedan64]

Your right foot weighs too much.
A Posi Carrier would help even the tire wear out. Also decrease the amount of wear.

[matts37chev]

I think a set of caltracs might help a lot

[SSedan64]

The ElCo's use a 4-Link suspension & Coil Springs.
Just boxing the Control Arms & using Poly bushings will do wonders.

[recnepswilliams]

so is it just that my tires are spinning when i take off even though i can't hear it?

[SSedan64]

Originally Posted by recnepswilliams

so is it just that my tires are spinning when i take off even though i can't hear it?

Basically yes.
Not all but, the majority of the torque load is on that one tire with the Open/Non Posi Diff. A Posi will reduce the rate of wear by distributing the torque load to both tires allowing less tire slippage/better traction = less wear.

[el pollo]

Have the alignment checked also. A bad thrust angle can chew away the back tires.

I say this at the risk of being burned to the ground. It's been a few years since I performed my last alignment...

[GMCTRUCKS]

My little brothers truck has a 4 link suspension and it hooks up good in fact he ran a 9.3 in the 1/4 mile with no spinning at all.