NDN GQ

Hi Folks,
I'm about to spend some money on supsension upgrades and was looking at panhard rods. I see that BMR has two different adjustable kinds, one is a non tubular polyurethane bushing and the other is a tubular with rod ends. The latter is also more expensive.

Whats the difference between the two? Which one is better than the other in terms of longevity, quality etc?

Sleeper_08

Going from the factory rubber bushings to poly increases NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness). Going from poly to rod ends increases it more. It all depends on how much NVH your are willing to put up with.

Generally rod ends are only tolerated on the street by us crazy guys who are more concerned about how the car handles on the road course than NVH on the street. If you care about handling enough to use rod ends then ditch the panhard bar completely and go to a Watt's link.

DRock

The rod ended one is better. I actually just ordered one. Since the panhard bar is so far away from the body it is said to not increar too much NVH if any at all

NDN GQ

Thanks for the info guys. This is my first RWD car and this info helps a lot.

DRock

Here ya go. This thread helped me out alot. The second page has the best info i think.

https://mustangforums.com/forum/s197...-rod-ends.html

Sam Strano

UMI products are on sale through today for 15% off the prices on my website. But that ends today. I use UMI stuff and have helped them design some things as well. I would be happy to help you pick out appropriate parts if you want to give me a ring.

steelcomp

Spohn has a nice compromise (as well as others, but I like Spohn). They have what they call their combo bar...a poly bushing on one end, and a rod end on the other. They have LCA's the same, and both are adjustable. I really dislike the bars with the adjuster in the center. FWIW, I have over 100k mi. on my Spohn LCA's and PH bar. I replace the rod ends about every 50K mi. with Spohn-only rod ends. They look exactly like QA1's only Spohn makes their own, and they're way better than the others. The PH bar, and the UCA are going to be responsible for the most NVH increase with rear suspension mods, the UCA being the worse of the two. With the combo bars, you're insulating the car from the bars, but still have a deirect connect with the suspension and it's an excellent compromise allowing full articulation and zero roll resistance. I found very little (if any) disadvantage over 100% heim joint bars on the track, and a world of difference in noise on the street.
Spohn's quality is top tier. Suspension is what they do.
JMO

Sam Strano

You mean a PHB like these?

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...D=79&ModelID=5
or
http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=79&PartID=244

Well, it's not exactly an uncommon setup as you can see.

But I'd recommend a setup that uses the serviceable and rebuildable Roto-joint over the versions that have the non-serviceable and non-rebuildable rod-ends, PHB's l such as this one, which is also adjustable on the car, without having to undo one or both ends of the bar to adjust it.

http://www.stranoparts.com/partdetai...=79&PartID=705