Panhard Bar

[Brown_Muscle]

Has anyone ever installed an aftermarket panhard bar on their box, or aero for that matter? Now that I have stiffer springs, better shocks, poly bushings and of course the police sway bars, and bigger performance tires, I can feel the rear end lag behind the front during quick steering maneuvers. I'm assuming it's the rear end experiencing lateral movement and then coming back to center, and I'd really like to correct that because the rear end feels disconnected to the body, almost like it's a trailer being towed behind the front of the car.

I was looking at this bad boy: https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com...xl4BenjgGXDe7A

[Arquemann]

Boxes come with a triangulated 4-link, which is in one way "superior" to a parallel 4-link by not requiring a panhard bar/ watts link.
You should ask someone knowledgeable in suspension engineering, if it's wise to install a panhard bar to a triangulated 4-link. Might do something funny.

I wonder if there's anything gained from stiffer rear arms, unless you already had the ADTR arms, can't remember.

[sly]

For stock and poly bushing setups, the rear will have a little sway (more with the stock rubber). The ADTR adjustable control arms will help tighten things up just a tad bit more, but to stop the sway, yes, a panhard bar is required and the most economical route. It does not, however, keep the axle centered during compression/extension. It will move side to side in according to the movement arc of the bar itself. The length is used to minimize this and may only amount to about half an inch at the extremes, but it's something to be aware of.

[gadget73]

In theory they don't need it. In reality the axle moves around back there pretty good. Fox Mustangs do it too, and its an essentially identical system, just slightly shorter arms. If the bushings are tired its vastly worse though. If you haven't done bushings in the back, do that first and see if it sorts the issue enough for you.

The axle does travel in an arc but if its set up so its basically level when the car is at normal ride height, the arc of movement is relatively small, especially if its most of the length of the rear. I suspect if done right, the actual lateral movement in total would not be greater than what it is in stock form with somewhat tired bushings.

anyway let us know if this works out, a panhard rod is something I've been interested in for a while for exactly the same reason. Especially on slightly uneven curves, hit a bump and the back end jumps side to side noticeably and uncomfortably.

[Brown_Muscle]

Yeah a lot of fox body guys have done it with great results. After some additional research the amount of lateral movement the panhard bar causes at the extreme end of suspension movement are very slight if set up correctly, far smaller than the amount the rear end moves during hard cornering. I have stock police arms with poly bushings top and bottom.

How about the axle play? I know they move in and out a bit, and surely that's not good for handling either. Would C-Clip eliminators stop this, or is it just what it is?

[gadget73]

C eliminators should give you a retainer at the end that doesn't allow for any float. Not sure how much, if anything, it does for handling though. I suspect if you did that without locating the rear the difference would be pretty insignificant.

[sly]

yeah... the axle shaft play is what 1/8 an inch in and out? Shouldn't matter a hell of a lot in the grand scheme of things. That said, every little bit helps.