JR HAWK 9

iTrader: (3)

I will be swapping my Spohn poly/poly non-adjustable panhard bar for Spohn adjustable one....just not sure if I want to go with a poly/poly one again or step up to a poly/rod one or even a rod/rod one. What do you guys suggest I run? My main concern for the rod ended ones is additional noise and/or vibrations.

thanks,
Paul

Turo

iTrader: (23)

I have a billingsley rod/rod phb (and lca's) on my car and they make no additional noise over the stock phb. The rod ended suspension is noticeable only when:

a) if my rear tires fall into a large pot hole, the rear end seems much louder as it slams down

b) when I run over things on the road at speeds >30mph, you can feel them much more than with stock rubber-ended suspension

But in normal driving, there is no change in noise whatsoever. No clunking, no squeaking, no vibrating, nothing. I believe it was Mitchntx who mentioned in another thread that the key is the quality of the rod ends used. I'm not sure about Spohn, but I think he mentioned that BMR and Spohn components he had used in the past made quite a bit of noise.

LS69TA

iTrader: (30)

I have a poly/rod UMI adj. PHR and like it, althouh the spherical rod end did seem to make a little more noise.

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

Understand what a rod-end is.... it's a metal ball bearing inside a metal race. Good ones like UMI buildst their stuff with have teflon liners in between those parts, but it's a metal on metal bearing guys. Noise comes from slop, cheap ends have slop. Good ends develop some over time. We are talking thousandths of an inch here, which is much less deflection than you have in *ANY* kind of bushing.

Cheap-*** parts rattle like hell and can leave a bad taste. Eventually you might get a little noise from a good quality part, but it's not much and I know my radio at any volume more than whipser quiet would cover it. Also, you have the option of putting in new rod-ends to quiet things up again.

Bushings are quieter (if they aren't squeaking), but deflect a lot more. Rod-ends can be noisier (and I'm not talking a lot with quality parts), but deflect not at all. A PHB's purpose in life it to keep the rear axle located within the body properly. The more slop you have the more it moves around under side loads. Pick your poison.

And incidentially, if you have a poly/rod unit... put the poly end on the body side of the car, that will take care of most any noise since you are isolating the rod-end on the axle and not connecting it right to the body.

JR HAWK 9

iTrader: (3)

AFAIK, Spohn also uses Teflon/Kevlar lined QA1 rod ends as well.

SJM Manufacturing Inc

iTrader: (5)

Performance doesn't always go hand-in-hand with OEM characteristics. Rod ended components will feel more “harsh”. Not necessarily noisier, but you will feel the road more. You may also hear other noises develop through the chassis since vibrations can be transmitted through the road to your chassis easier. Rod-ended suspension parts are certainly superior in performance then non-rod-ended components. You can/do feel a vast difference in comparison to non-rod-end setups.

Rod-ends will reap most benefits regarding suspension control. I can state with a high-degree of certainty, most if not all the companies on here are using Teflon rod ends. With that being said, I think you'll find most companies LCA/PHR equivalent in performance.

What to look for that a companies design may lack...if they use zinc/bronze sleeves and state to use stock OEM bolts, you're introducing tolerance deficiencies. The problem: i.e. using a 1/2" zinc/bronze sleeve (metric is not available) sliding a 12mm bolt through it, you introduce end-play, just like you would if a rod-end is worn. The end result is a noisier design.

So which company to choose from? Talk to the manufacture or representative. Compare products to see if they meet your goals. Compare pricing to see if they meet your budget.

Due to popularity, we are still running a special on our kits. Complete rod-end/rod-end components including upgraded bolts…

For the Lower control arm (LCA) AND Panhard rod (PHR), the special is 329.99. www.sjmmanufacturing.com/deals.html

peterlawl84

iTrader: (12)

I have a umi poly/rod adj and like mentioned above, it only made alittle bit more noise if i hit a pothole. My neighbor has a rod/rod end and said he noticed alittle more "harsher" ride when he put his on, but he mostly uses it for track and not a DD like myself.

00 Trans Ram

iTrader: (5)

I've got an early model BMR phr. Initially, I had poly/poly. It was quiet, but let my 18x9.5s rub. I upgraded to rod/rod - but used ones (another guy and I simply swapped ends). They were noisy, but kept my 315s from rubbing. I've now got quiality QA1 teflon lined ones. No noise and no slop.

I've also go no interior - so I'd hear it if there was a squeak!

BMR Suspension

iTrader: (6)

[QUOTE=SJM Manufacturing Inc]

To allow for metric tolerances, we supply CNC machined 304 stainless steel spacers with all of our race parts and like Steve mentioned, we also use QA1 XM series rod ends.

LS69TA

iTrader: (30)

Now that I think about it, mine has the rod-end on the body side. I may switch it around and see if that gets rid of what little noise I do have.

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

I noticed ZERO difference in NVH when I switched from poly/poly to rod/rod many years ago. IMHO, rod/rod is the way to go with a PHR (of course I feel that way about most things, so take my opinion with a grain of salt).

FstBlkz28

iTrader: (13)

I used to have a poly/rod and it was noisey and rattled. I'm with a poly/poly one and see no need to go to rods unless I seriously started autocrossing the hell out of my car.

BitViper

iTrader: (63)

Who sells an adjustable Poly/Poly bar

Sam Strano

iTrader: (41)

I have some left over from when Addco was making them, and I need to move them out of here. $99.

bad6as

iTrader: (17)

sphoun (sp0

Carlos01SS

iTrader: (4)

That's a HELL of a deal!

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

I had (still have in the corner of the garage, actually) an adjustable rod/rod PHB from Herb Adams. Bought it in the late 80s. Worked, but rattled like crazy. I used it on my '85 Firebird, that I lowered with Koni (yes, Koni) springs.

When I lowered my '96 Z-28, I cut the ends off my stock PHB, and fabbed a correct length piece of DOM tubing to make a 1 piece PHB. I used poly bushings on both ends. It's worked well for the last 10 years....

Bud M

iTrader: (1)

I've had poly/poly and rod/rod. On a DD i'd go poly on at least one end. Rod ends, no matter how high quality, will let you know they are there occasionally.

FirebirdStud

iTrader: (5)

hey, pm sent sam strano!

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Great deal to jump on. I think mine was like 170 when I got it new