Panhard bar/ torque arm set up and dimensions

B.mad · Feb 18, 2015

Ok i have a couple of questions. Does anyone happen to know the dimensions of the MM panhard bar? i am trying to see if itll fit without modifying my tailpipes. I do not have the panhard bar yet. Also will lowering the car affect how well the tail pipes clear? I have the magnapack catback and everyone says it wont clear.. but it looks like it will? idk. so dimensions please??
and also the TA will clear with the BBK O/R h pipe right? it looks like the stock mid pipe so i think ill be ok. any other things i should worry about?

DavidBoren · Feb 18, 2015

Call or email Maximum Motorsports. They are more than willing to help you with anything regarding their products, or suspension tuning advice in general.

RichV · Feb 19, 2015

I have my race car in the air right now, can you tell me what dimensions you need? I only have the PHB, not the T/A. The bar itself would not be an issue, it essentialy sits below the rear axle. It's the PHB support bracket that will be the exhaust killer. I've only run dumps on my 94, but may be putting in full sized pipes if I can find a catback by the time I dyno for the season.

From what I see, over the axle exhaust should not be an issue, but I know whey are not all the same. I'm thinking OEM-ish.

mcglsr2 · Feb 19, 2015

When I installed my panhard bar I took photos of the potential clearance issues - where clearance was tight for me. I'm using normal 5.0 tailpipes from LMR. My situation is of course probably a little different than yours, so I don't know if these photos help but here they are. I basically copied the images and text from a post I made in my build thread.

This picture is on the passenger side and shows the exhaust pipe going over the chassis mount:

Same location, different angle:

There is plenty of room as the pipe starts to go over the chassis mount. Where the trouble might begin is just to the left of the green circle in the above picture, where the pipe starts the downward turn to go out under the rear bumper. This is the space that I had in that area:

I could fit my gloved fingers between with no extra room. My fingers fit, but I was touching exhaust pipe and chassis mount on both sides. I don't have huge troll hands or small dainty hands, they are pretty normal I think (how's that for a unit of measure) - so take that into consideration.

Moving to the center of the car and chassis mount, this is what it looks like:

As you can see, the chassis mount gets pretty close to the bottom of the spare wheel well. But since both items are fixed, there's plenty of room IMO.

Over on the driver side, there is plenty of room where the pipe starts to go over the axle and the chassis mount (my finger is touching the chassis mount in this picture):

However, as the pipe comes back down to go out underneath the rear bumper, the clearance is even less than on the passenger side. I can just barely get my finger through:

As far as I'm concerned, there is plenty of room in what I show above. The chassis mount is fixed to the frame, so it isn't moving. The exhaust can move some, since it's on rubber hangers, but I have new hangers so it's pretty stiff. I gave the pipes some shoves and they didn't move very far, and did *not* contact the chassis mount. Having said that, it's possible it might make contact while driving it. If it does, I'll just dent the pipes a little out of the way in those tight clearance areas and it should be good to go, though I don't expect to have to do that.

One last thing, YMMV!! Part of the installation of the chassis mount requires you to position the mount based off measurements of the shock mounting portion on the axle - this is to make sure the bar is perpendicular to the car (and not at a severe angle, where binding will occur). There is some fudge room per the instructions, but at 1/4" it's not much. Because your car is probably a little different than mine, your chassis mount might end up in a slightly different place, and thus your clearances might be a little better or a little worse. I'm happy with what I ended up with so far.

Z06killinsbf · Feb 19, 2015

The instructions say that "stock design" pipes will clear. I had some exhaust shop pipes on mine and had to cut them off. Another guy had to have his Bassani cat back modded to go around the brace. I know the Pypes tailpipes clear as that was what the car had that my panhard came from. I think I'm going to get some of the LMR tail pipes though, I hate dumps on a daily driver.

thetrex · Feb 19, 2015

I have an MM Panhard sitting at my house waiting to be installed and I can get the dimensions this afternoon if you are still interested. After mocking it up on my car it looks like I'll have to modify the exhaust if I want to run tailpipes. I'm also running magnapacks on my 01 GT and they contact the rear axle with eibach pro-kit springs, but its only on the drivers side.

DavidBoren · Feb 19, 2015

Side exhaust... problem solved.

B.mad · Feb 20, 2015

All these photos were taken from the rear. meaning if i was under the car, my legs will be where the gas tank is
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B.mad · Feb 20, 2015

thetrex said:
I have an MM Panhard sitting at my house waiting to be installed and I can get the dimensions this afternoon if you are still interested. After mocking it up on my car it looks like I'll have to modify the exhaust if I want to run tailpipes. I'm also running magnapacks on my 01 GT and they contact the rear axle with eibach pro-kit springs, but its only on the drivers side.

RichV said:
I have my race car in the air right now, can you tell me what dimensions you need? I only have the PHB, not the T/A. The bar itself would not be an issue, it essentialy sits below the rear axle. It's the PHB support bracket that will be the exhaust killer. I've only run dumps on my 94, but may be putting in full sized pipes if I can find a catback by the time I dyno for the season.

From what I see, over the axle exhaust should not be an issue, but I know whey are not all the same. I'm thinking OEM-ish.

awesome! thanks guys!

Ok so what i want to know is
1. how close to the axle does it sit
2. from where the bar bolts up the frame and dips down, what is the distance from that dip to the body.or trunk.on both sides
3.) and anything else you can think of to see if my pipes will fit. if i can tomorrow ill measure how my pipes fit relative to the axle.

B.mad · Feb 20, 2015

mcglsr2 said:
When I installed my panhard bar I took photos of the potential clearance issues - where clearance was tight for me. I'm using normal 5.0 tailpipes from LMR. My situation is of course probably a little different than yours, so I don't know if these photos help but here they are. I basically copied the images and text from a post I made in my build thread.

This picture is on the passenger side and shows the exhaust pipe going over the chassis mount:

Same location, different angle:

There is plenty of room as the pipe starts to go over the chassis mount. Where the trouble might begin is just to the left of the green circle in the above picture, where the pipe starts the downward turn to go out under the rear bumper. This is the space that I had in that area:

I could fit my gloved fingers between with no extra room. My fingers fit, but I was touching exhaust pipe and chassis mount on both sides. I don't have huge troll hands or small dainty hands, they are pretty normal I think (how's that for a unit of measure) - so take that into consideration.

Moving to the center of the car and chassis mount, this is what it looks like:

As you can see, the chassis mount gets pretty close to the bottom of the spare wheel well. But since both items are fixed, there's plenty of room IMO.

Over on the driver side, there is plenty of room where the pipe starts to go over the axle and the chassis mount (my finger is touching the chassis mount in this picture):

However, as the pipe comes back down to go out underneath the rear bumper, the clearance is even less than on the passenger side. I can just barely get my finger through:

As far as I'm concerned, there is plenty of room in what I show above. The chassis mount is fixed to the frame, so it isn't moving. The exhaust can move some, since it's on rubber hangers, but I have new hangers so it's pretty stiff. I gave the pipes some shoves and they didn't move very far, and did *not* contact the chassis mount. Having said that, it's possible it might make contact while driving it. If it does, I'll just dent the pipes a little out of the way in those tight clearance areas and it should be good to go, though I don't expect to have to do that.

One last thing, YMMV!! Part of the installation of the chassis mount requires you to position the mount based off measurements of the shock mounting portion on the axle - this is to make sure the bar is perpendicular to the car (and not at a severe angle, where binding will occur). There is some fudge room per the instructions, but at 1/4" it's not much. Because your car is probably a little different than mine, your chassis mount might end up in a slightly different place, and thus your clearances might be a little better or a little worse. I'm happy with what I ended up with so far.

Ok im starting to get somewhat of an idea. I think my pipes unfortuntely will need to be modified. unless i can get some mounts differently and clear up some space

mcglsr2 · Feb 20, 2015

B.mad said:
Ok im starting to get somewhat of an idea. I think my pipes unfortuntely will need to be modified. unless i can get some mounts differently and clear up some space

Some "massaging" of the pipes may be in order. Keep in mind you can dent the pipes a bit if you need a little extra clearance. It won't affect performance (as long as you aren't severely denting the pipes). You could also go with the pipes from LMR if there's just no hope of your current ones fitting. But I'm not sure how in love with your current pipes you are.

The best thing to do, if you are for sure going to get the panhard bar, is just buy it, have a helper get under the car, and hold the chassis mount piece in place. And then you move around checking clearances. That's essentially what I did prior to the install.

B.mad · Feb 20, 2015

mcglsr2 said:
Some "massaging" of the pipes may be in order. Keep in mind you can dent the pipes a bit if you need a little extra clearance. It won't affect performance (as long as you aren't severely denting the pipes). You could also go with the pipes from LMR if there's just no hope of your current ones fitting. But I'm not sure how in love with your current pipes you are.

The best thing to do, if you are for sure going to get the panhard bar, is just buy it, have a helper get under the car, and hold the chassis mount piece in place. And then you move around checking clearances. That's essentially what I did prior to the install.

I would really love to keep those pipes, because they are stainless steel. and i paid 600 bucks for that dam catback haha. But ya looks like thatll be my best shot. i hope ill be getting it within two pay periods (thats 2 weeks a pay period)

ReplicaR · Feb 20, 2015

I had to modify tail pipes. My setup was 2.5 inch tubing for the exhaust. If you are not too lazy to come and see, I could show you my setup. The car is in Northridge.

B.mad · Feb 20, 2015

ReplicaR said:
I had to modify tail pipes. My setup was 2.5 inch tubing for the exhaust. If you are not too lazy to come and see, I could show you my setup. The car is in Northridge.

hmmmmmmmmmm. I might actually take you up on that offer. Northridge wouldnt be tooo bad of a drive on a saturday or sunday. Off of what freeway. How far away are you from Mulholland? We can take a canyon cruise and make a day out of it

ReplicaR · Feb 22, 2015

I don't do Mulholland anymore. Partially because I don't want any attention from the police or some other numb nuts, partially because the car always sits on track rubber and pads, so those trips are unnecessary heat cycles. I'm off either 118 or 101, pretty much right in the middle. If you want a rough ballpark of where I'm located, you can punch in location of CSUN.