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Pan hard bar????

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So I just bought some new wheels to me....thanks Neema!! 18x11.5 and 18x12 for my Boss 302.

I want to get an adjustable pan-hard bar to center the axle. I'm considering the roll center relocation kit from Kenny Brown. This is mostly a street car, but if I'm under there, I might as well do some upgrades. LCA's are on the list too. Should I just do an adjustable pan-hard bar?? Thanks for the input.
 

Grant 302

basic and well known psychic
I'm considering the roll center relocation kit from Kenny Brown.
I don't think that's a bad idea...but I'd suggest digging in and understanding *what* this kit does for your rear geometry *before* pulling the trigger on it.

Otherwise, I think an adjustable panhard should be stiff as you can make it. Poly should be okay on the street, And this is perhaps the one place in the rear suspension that I think poly is okay. But if you can tolerate a bit more NVH, then some sort of spherical would be better.
 
So I'm not an engineer, but lower roll center means more roll means more traction....as far as the geometry, does it take......actually the more I'm reading the more I'm getting confused....its not too uncommon!!! So maybe just a spherical panhard bar and better LCA's will get me way better than what I have!
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
So I'm not an engineer, but lower roll center means more roll means more traction....as far as the geometry, does it take......
Where were your thoughts headed at the instant you typed that? Can you run through the thought process again, this time thinking more in terms of what might get changed than in the specific parts that would cause such change/changes?


Norm
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
The CG lies somewhere around 58" forward of the rear axle line and about 21" above the ground and be entirely close enough for your purposes here. You could use 3" for the front (geometric) roll center height.

For the second part you might get involved with rear LCA inclinations and plan-view skew.


Norm
 
I agree with @Grant 302 and would probably just install an adjustable panhard bar and call it a day. Now if you get serious about tracking your car, and by installing those super wide wheels I suspect you'll be there soon, then look at the other options. The Kenny Brown products are very good. For a better understanding of what they do and how they work I'd give them a call. Who knows, you might even get KB on the phone.
 

Norm Peterson

Corner Barstool Sitter
939
712
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
a few miles east of Philly
Best to measure with the car sitting on its tires on level ground. The PHB swings in an arc, which shouldn't introduce too much error based on geometry alone (something like 0.0x inches). But things like OE bushing compliances, a change from the OE PHB with rubber bushings to an aftermarket PHB with poly or sphericals, and wheels not dropping by the same amount (think axle tilt and "rear wheel cambers" here) perhaps could.


Norm
 
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At least it's not a Watts...
Biggest deal with a PHB is to try and make it parallel to the diff at normal ride height...that being said, there is a lot more to it but that's a general rule of thumb place to start. and 1 change at a time is not a bad way to go either, this way you sort of learn setup as you go. While opinions are important, and it can keep you out of trouble, it's more important to know the how and why you do stuff.
If you really want to mess with people, tell them you're gonna run a Jacob's Ladder on it.

http://kb.fmiracing.com/panhard-bar-explained
 
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Awesome thanks for the light reading blacksheep and your guys’ opinions on set-up. At this point it’s more about attempting to center the axle in the wheel wells. As money permits I might go off the deep end....
 

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