Hi guys

Ok, so I was thinking of getting a new adjustable panhard bar, and a new adjustable torque arm. One reason I wanted to get these is because when I lower my car in the future I can make proper adjustments. My first couple of questions are...Are aftermarket torque arms, and panhard bars lighter than stock ones? Also I read that the stock torque arm will flex alot (waste of power). Is that true? Lol my car prolly doesnt have enough power to bend paper, but i want to put a new engine in some day.

Its prolly better to take weight from the front rather than the rear, but this is just one way I thought of losing a little bit of weight. But the main reason i want them is because I just want to make baby steps to make my car better.

I dont know if it matters but I have a 84 Camaro sport couple with a 5.0L

Any comments welcome!
Thanks

 

you can twist the stock panhard with you bare hands, and the torque arm is pretty flimsy. The aftermarket ones weight more, but not a lot more dpeenmding on which ones you buy. you can usually tell by the pics which ones are heavier. Most are made with the same size round tubing, but the webbing between the upper and lower tubes vary from one builder to another.

 

Oh well thats a little lame,I was really hoping that they would at least weigh the same. But I really appreasiate your input.

I also thought of a new question. I read that you need an adjustable panhard bar when you lower your third gen, does the torque arm need to be adjustable too if you lower the car?

 

most lowered cars need an adjustable panhard bar to relocate the rear side to side. torque arm isn't necessary for lowered cars but for the smoothest ride possible as well as the other benefits it gives would be a nice addition.

 

What are some of the other benifits? A aftermaket torque arm will make the ride smoother?

 

i think he meant the adjustable torque arm. Dont waste your moneys on a non adjustable arm. To properly set the pi9nion angle, you need the adjustment.

As for the aftermarket arms weighing more. to be stronger, you sometimes need to be a little heavier, its really not a big deal, and we are not talking a major difference in weight, a couple pounds depending on brand.

It would be interesting to actually get real world weights on these parts, i dont think people generally weight them

 

well when you lower a car the pinion changes which can change driveshaft/rear end angles and produce vibrations. not a big deal moving the rear up an inch or so. i'm used to trucks where i lowered mine 6 inches, or others will lift it 6 inches easy... but the difference is alot more extreme making pinion changes much more necessary. your camaro is built to ride just fine with the stock pinion angle from bump stop to max lift which is a range of like 3 or 4 inches at most.

 

so how do you fix the pinion angle?

 

with an adjustable torque arm

 

Oh, ok. does an adjustable torque arm just change length?

 

no, the rear of the arm, where it bolts to the axle, has an adjuster on the bottom, you can lengthen or shorten the lower adjuster, and that changes the angle of the axle housing up or down, changing the pinion angle.