Adjustable Pan Hard Bar ?
08-30-2009, 11:05 AM
#11
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ventura, CA
Posts: 69
There are 101 factors in choosing your spring rates, your bars being just one.
I knew something was fishy. I looked up the H&R kit you are talking about, and it uses conventional springs. That makes the rates make a lot more sense. A loose rule of thumb is to halve those numbers in comparison to coilover springs, giving you roughly* 315/250, which isn't too bad, maybe a little soft up front in my experience - but those big bars are going to hurt you. If it were me i'd put stock bars back on, or at least take them with you. One wheel bumps will really upset the car with bars that big, and you sacrifice grip for a reduction in body roll, which isn't really a good trade.
Soft springs or soft bars - pick one.
I knew something was fishy. I looked up the H&R kit you are talking about, and it uses conventional springs. That makes the rates make a lot more sense. A loose rule of thumb is to halve those numbers in comparison to coilover springs, giving you roughly* 315/250, which isn't too bad, maybe a little soft up front in my experience - but those big bars are going to hurt you. If it were me i'd put stock bars back on, or at least take them with you. One wheel bumps will really upset the car with bars that big, and you sacrifice grip for a reduction in body roll, which isn't really a good trade.
Soft springs or soft bars - pick one.
His philosophy when he designed the car for mostly street performance, had fairly soft springs for a nice ride and beefy sway bars for handling and predictable control.
Chevy put thick performance springs and milder sway bars for, some reason. Dunno what they were thinking!
I always liked Herb's suspension plans because they were usually well thought out and fairly easy to incorporate, in stages too so you could go as far as you wanted for whatever ride you wanted.
My 2 pennies. (Sorry, I realize that I'm invoking the "C" word here, but that's where about 90% of my present knowledge resides! Still learning about the Ford, and Mustangs in particular!) :lol:
08-30-2009, 09:01 PM
#12
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: CA
Posts: 1,700
BOTH. Change just the rear and you will be driving a 300 horsepower snowplow.
08-30-2009, 09:04 PM
#13
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: CA
Posts: 1,700
That was the fundamental difference between the Chevy engineers and Herb Adams at Pontiac (he designed the suspension system for the TransAm, Chevy copied and altered/modified most of his work).
His philosophy when he designed the car for mostly street performance, had fairly soft springs for a nice ride and beefy sway bars for handling and predictable control.
Chevy put thick performance springs and milder sway bars for, some reason. Dunno what they were thinking!
I always liked Herb's suspension plans because they were usually well thought out and fairly easy to incorporate, in stages too so you could go as far as you wanted for whatever ride you wanted.
My 2 pennies. (Sorry, I realize that I'm invoking the "C" word here, but that's where about 90% of my present knowledge resides! Still learning about the Ford, and Mustangs in particular!) :lol:
His philosophy when he designed the car for mostly street performance, had fairly soft springs for a nice ride and beefy sway bars for handling and predictable control.
Chevy put thick performance springs and milder sway bars for, some reason. Dunno what they were thinking!
I always liked Herb's suspension plans because they were usually well thought out and fairly easy to incorporate, in stages too so you could go as far as you wanted for whatever ride you wanted.
My 2 pennies. (Sorry, I realize that I'm invoking the "C" word here, but that's where about 90% of my present knowledge resides! Still learning about the Ford, and Mustangs in particular!) :lol:
08-31-2009, 01:33 AM
#14
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 486
after reading this thread i did some more of my own research and came up with nothing. all the other threads i read were split opinions and arguing over each others posts...checking different manufactuers marketing just got me stuck thinking i need this.
according to sam strano the panhard bar will not make the car feel anymore stable over rough roads...but besides centering the rear axle what benefit would this have to the car? stiffen the chasis? is the brace or bar more important?
with steeda sway bars..pro kits and d specs...i love the way my car handles...however...if the adjustable panhard bar and or brace will stiffen the chasis or improve something im definately on board...i just cant tell with all these different opinions on whether this is worth while...
according to sam strano the panhard bar will not make the car feel anymore stable over rough roads...but besides centering the rear axle what benefit would this have to the car? stiffen the chasis? is the brace or bar more important?
with steeda sway bars..pro kits and d specs...i love the way my car handles...however...if the adjustable panhard bar and or brace will stiffen the chasis or improve something im definately on board...i just cant tell with all these different opinions on whether this is worth while...
08-31-2009, 09:22 AM
#15
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Ventura, CA
Posts: 69
The panhard bar's job is to center the body over the axle. That's all it does. It's only connected to two hard points laterally across the car, so stiffening the chassis is not it's job.
However, the better the manufacturer of the bar, the more stiff the bar will be, and less deflection under load.
You need an adjustable bar to re-center the axle if you have lowered the car, or otherwise upset the stock geometry. Your only other alternative is to make your own, and if you don't make that one adjustable, you will be making other complete bars for every inch you lower or raise the car. It's simple trigonometry.
Just get one of the ones suggested above and be done with it. They're not that expensive, and the right one will go a long way in assisting other components to do their jobs.
However, the better the manufacturer of the bar, the more stiff the bar will be, and less deflection under load.
You need an adjustable bar to re-center the axle if you have lowered the car, or otherwise upset the stock geometry. Your only other alternative is to make your own, and if you don't make that one adjustable, you will be making other complete bars for every inch you lower or raise the car. It's simple trigonometry.
Just get one of the ones suggested above and be done with it. They're not that expensive, and the right one will go a long way in assisting other components to do their jobs.
08-31-2009, 08:05 PM
#17
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,692
When choosing a Watt's link consider whether they have bushings or rod end. My FAYS2 is great on the track but a little noisy around town as it is all rods ends. If you can live with the noise it provides the best bang for the buck. I got mine from Sam Strano.
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