MM Panhard Bar or H&R SS Springs w/Bilsteins?

BLUE03GT

New Member
Jul 13, 2003
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Sunnyvale, Ca.
Ok i am thinking of either doing just the panhard bar... or the H&R SuperSport springs and Bilstein HD shocks...

Not really trying to do everything at the same time since it is kind of pricey...

My question is this... will the springs and shocks make my ride smoother than stock even though im dropping it 1.7 inches or will the panhard bar make my car ride better?.. what should i do? :shrug: ... im tired of taking corners and having my ass skip around the corners when i hit small bumps :mad: ... its annoying.. will the springs and shocks help me in that situation... i know the panhard bar will... but it wont drop my car either :bang:

like i said... im either getting one or the other for now..
 
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It would be nice if you could do both at the same time but since you can't I would say go with the springs and struts/shocks first. I went with springs and strut/shocks first with mine and there was a huge difference in the way the tires stayed planted to the road. Although the panhard bar was one of the best things I did for handling it had no effect of keeping the tires riding on the road like the shocks did. The panhard bar made sure the rear end stayed put in the lateral direction and made for a great improvement of the back end moving under high lateral g load forces.
 
i just really hate the feeling.. when my rear end goes side to side when im even going straight over bumps... i dont really have to be turning to make the rear end feel sloppy... :shrug: ... and ive been told the panhard bar would help me in that area...

question is.. will the shocks n springs at least help me eliminate the sloppyness over small bumps in a straight line?.. i know its going to greatly improve handling... but what about comfort compared to stock?
 
Purebred said:
First thing I did for suspension was springs + shocks/struts -- the bonus for me there was I could increase handling as well as getting rid of the hideous stock ride height. Now I can move on to the purely performance oriented suspension mods. But hey, that's me :shrug:

How are you liking your H&R SS n Bilstein combo?.... how low is the car? any pics? .... how does it ride compared to stock... is it smoother? bumpier?... :shrug:
 
well you have to think off what the gain is.


panhard rod. helps locate the rear axel better. you need to do something to the rear but I think shocks and struts will do more for you. the stock shocks and struts blow IMO.

I went with spherical control arms instead of the panhard rod as the stock control arms suck as well. They made a huge difference as well but without shocks and struts I still feal the car would handle like ass.

I am glad I did the shocks and struts first. in hindsight I would have done all at once though. shocks, struts, subs, rear control arms. Love the way the car drives now.

as far as ride. It is a bit rougher and bad road for sure but you always feel glued to the road. the stock setup was very smooth but on rough surface it felt bouncy and unprdicable to me.
 
I did the H&R SS with Bilstiens first then the panhard bar next. I think I spent around 1500 to get all that stuff from Maximum Motorsports, panhard bar made a huge difference to me and more people need to know about it. Go with the h&r ss and bilstiens first, get the car handling much better then improve it with the panhard bar, since springs/struts will cost alot more, so get the main part done first. The panhard bar will really help big time in the corners so you definitly should step up and make sure you get that at some point also. Before I bought everything I asked the MM rep which would make the biggest difference, lower control arms or panhard bar? He said panhard bar. The idea in your head should be this, build a foundation and then add onto it. If you got the panhard bar now, you might be more inclined to cheap out on the springs struts later.
 
I would definitally do as most have said already- go with the H&R SS springs and the Bilsteins first. You will see a big difference in handling and overall feel/control of the car. The ride is firm but not bad. Our 89' has this setup and I love it. The panhard bar you will also really love, but do the basics first.
 
BLUE03GT said:
How are you liking your H&R SS n Bilstein combo?.... how low is the car? any pics? .... how does it ride compared to stock... is it smoother? bumpier?... :shrug:

LOVE the combo -- rides more firm, but feels much more in control. Let me see if I can find any pics for you...