The Jegs bracket arrived today. It lowers the panhard bar so it is level.

It's function is to level the panhard bar for those of us who have added a panhard bar relocation kit. With most kits the panhard bar relocation kit lowers the panhard bar on the passenger side but not on the driver's side. As a result the panhard bar is not level with the driver's side.

The Jegs bracket also adds additional clearance between the panhard relocation brace bar and the panhard bar for those of us who have lowering springs. After I lowered my car with Strano springs the panhard brace bar was touching the panhard bar when the suspension was loaded.

The bracket appears to be engineered very well. I doubt at my horsepower level and type of driving it will rip out of the stock panhard driver's side bracket. The bracket is held in place with three bolts. The kit does include a brace for those who want extra protection but it must be welded in.

The instructions are very good. The brace appears to be powder coated. All bolts were included and they are plated. The bracket was smartly designed in that the panhard bar mounting holes are sized correctly for the stock panhard bolt (larger on the bolt head end and smaller on the bolt threaded end) - no slop at all.

The bracket fit almost perfect except for just a little of bit of grinding to allow perfect alignment of the bolts. It's an easy two hour job with a jack and jackstands. Make sure you have a very good 7/16 inch drill bit. The metal in the bracket was very hard. Perhaps tempered abit because of the welds on the bracket. I did not have to readjust the length of the panhard bar. The holes aligned perfectly.

I would have liked to have purchased this bracket from a sponsor, but since it isn't available from any I bought it from Jegs.

Here are some pics of the install. Ignore the stock lower control arms. I am testing for noise between stock lca's and my Spohn delrin spherical rod end lca's. It sounds like a bucket of rocks coming from the rear end area. BTW - it's not the Spohn lca's. Sound is still there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...57631182967276

 

good install.......what is you exhaust setup? double magnaflow?

 

ARH 1 7/8 LT's with their catted y pipe back to a Magnaflow catback.

I got tired of rasp so cut off the Magnaflow exhaust tips and welded in two 14 inch straight thru Magnaflow mufflers. No more rasp.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...57623345499537

Magnaflow exhaust tips - I removed these.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...7623345499537/

And added Magnaflow straight thru muflers - one on each side - with Magnaflow tips.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...57623345499537

Power adder is an ATI D1 SC (3.38 pulley - 9 lbs of boost) with custom alum piping to an EPP FMIC and a custom SD tune (98 pcm). RWHP is a modest 565 to the wheel. With Kansas heat it likes very conservative timing. Still a stock shortblock with H/C, LS6 intake etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1835930...7623345499537/

The line to the intake piping is for the Alky control kit which for the time being is not operational. Still looking for a reliable shop who can install it professionally - no hack jobs by hack shops. Been there done that.

 

Actually it's mainly used for people who want to lower their PHB, which lowers the cars roll center. Lots of people on FRRAX with lowered PHBs.

It obviously helps here too and levels the bar out as it should be.

 

Yep! I bought my drivers side bracket from Summit and made my own pass. side bracket because I wasn't gonna spend what Unbalanced Eng. wanted for their set. My PHB is just at the bottom of the diff. Lowering the PHB made one of the biggest changes to the feel of my car. And I did it for under a $100 bucks since I welded it all up myself. She's pretty ugly underneath!

 

Have you driven with it yet? How does it change handling? Can you post the part number or a link to the jegs part?

Also, if you find out what that "bucket of rocks" sound is please post as a friend of mine has this problem with his car.

 

Part # for the Jegs bracket is:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Jegster/550/41055/10002/-1

550-41055 PANHARD LOWERING BRACKET 72.99

I haven't driven the car hard enough to notice if handling changed any because I installed the lowering springs recently as well when I notice the two bars were hitting each other.

My primary concern was to get some clearance between the panhard bar brace and the panhard bar since they were touching each after I installed the Strano springs.

Way back - years ago - Sam Strano commented about the effects of the panhard if it is not level. Since Jegs had a bracket and it was easy to install, I installed it because I wanted to lower my car.

As for the bucket of rocks sound. These are the items that it is NOT.

1)Rear end - same noise with the Moser 12 bolt that I removed. I re-installed my 10 bolt with quiet 3.23 gears - entire rearend was rebuilt - the works. Same noise with both.
2)Panhard bar - I reinstalled my stock bar. It didn't make any difference.
3)Sphon delrin spherical rod end adjustable lca's. I reinstalled my stock lower control arms. No difference in sound.
4)Exhaust - nothing is touching anywhere on the chassis or axle components.
5) It doesn't appear to the heat shield next to the gas tank. It has been in the same place since stock and all screws are tight. There is some insulation between the shield and the gas tank. I added rubber hose. Didn't make any difference.
6) Tires on ZR1 rims. Switched recently from Nitto 555R drag radials to Nitto 555's. No difference.
7) Rotors and Pads - new EBC slotted and dimpled rotors with new Hawk pads. No difference.

When the noise started I don't recall but I think about the time I installed the phb brace kit.

I am wondering now if the sound might the panhard bar brace itself. I am tempted to remove it and take it for just a short drive. Just a block or two will determine if its the brace bar or not.

I can't reinstall my stock panhard bar brace because there isn't any clearance now because of my 3 inch over the axle Magnaflow catback exhaust pipe.

If it is by chance the brace bar, then I will modify the stock brace to fit in the new mounting hole that is orginally for the panhard bar.

I welcome responses or suggestions.

 

Interesting. I've considered doing a WATTS link for a long time. I"m interested to hear how lowering the panhard bar helps.

 

There's a lot of info on frrax on it. I think I am going with a watts link though. I'd like to keep the rear in place, and you can still lower the roll center with the watts. Just not as low as the phb lowering kit

 

With a panhard bar that has already begun it's arc - not level to the ground - it can cause weight hacking. This is when the body of the car will raise up due to suspension load. The result can be odd weight transfer behavior during cornering. Making the bar level once again with this part reduces the vehicle's tendency to weight jack. A Watts link is certainly the ticket, but this is a good idea for bargain hunters looking to correct their geometry, should they relocate their panhard bar and get into handling.

 

I had the same problem with my previous stang. The phb and phb brace were both loose when I checked.