panhard bar/corner weight ??

[pav8427]

any adverse effects of having a rear panhard bar angled in the top view? (5 degrees or so)

also, any preference on which side is mounted to frame?
if a person has a weight distibution issue, would this serve as any form of fix?

regarding corner weights, i would like to know if anyone has a gm a-body chassis around(semi bare).
could a person compare bare chassis' (factory v.s. tube/custom), and have any idea as to whether one of them would more appropriate for a given application.(drag,road,circle track,autocross, etc.)

doug

[Norm Peterson]

The closer that you can get it to perpendicular to the car centerline the better off you'll be. That small fore/aft component of PHB direction will tend to work in opposition to the LCA's. The factory solution would involve bushing compliance if perpendicularity could not be achieved.

Consensus on the attachment of the PHB seems to be to the chassis on the driver (left, looking forward) side. In this configuration, the PHB angles down from horizontal with respect to the axle pivot in right turns, and the reduced lateral load transfer (from RR to LR) that occurs (because of the lowered rear RCH) tends to offset the driveshaft torque reaction that unloads the RR wheel. Or at least make the rear tire loadings more symmetrical with respect to left turns, when slightly more lateral load transfer (from LR to RR) opposes the torque reaction.

As the drag racers become increasingly aware of the benefits of chassis torsional stiffness it's only going to get more difficult. It'll come down to the details of suspension arrangements (basic types, link lengths and locations/angles/inclinations), and I'd expect more reinforcement in a few places for the drag-intended chassis. Most OE chassis can be adapted to better dragstrip performance with less effort and expense than it takes for better handling up toward the limits of lateral acceleration because the adverse side effects of most of the cheap/simple/common mods don't matter much as long as you're going straight.

Norm