Projects panhard bar size

I am Building 1/8 mile drag car. I am trying to build car light as possible. Going to use a panhard bar on my 9inch ford rear. I was thinking of use 1/2 chrome moly heims with chrome moly tube. Trying to keep weight under 2400 lbs. Drag car only no street. does this bar sound to light?

 

I'm using 1/2" heims and mild steel DOM for the front of both my Henry J and my '36 Ford pickup with cross steering. The truck has 43K street miles and the J has 14K street miles with no issues.

Gary

 

What sort of power will it be running? The 9" might be a far worse weight problem than any Panhard bar you use.
A light weight car will not need a heavy 9" rear end unless you are making some serious power and putting it down with some very sticky tires. Traction loss will happen before you start snapping axles in a light car.

 

IF...it were my car, and anything much over 500hp., I'd run a CM, tube, 3/4" diameter, as LONG as it can be made with the suspension characteristics in mind.

You NEED to remember... While yes, you are building a drag racer, sometimes...they DON'T go straight, and I would NOT want a spindly little 1/2" piece of tube trying to keep the rear end under my car as it slides sideways down the track at 150mph !

The extra few ounces of weight using the larger tube...don't mean a damn thing..!

BUT in a car that I'm working on, I went with a "wishbone" to keep the rear under my car.



Mike

 

Should be fine , I use 1/2" on my watts link on the street 50k + miles & 21 years

 

Is your life worth a few ounces of weight saving? Rear suspensions undergo a lot of stresses in normal operation, much less than what they will be subjected to if something fails. Thats not the place to worry about a few ounces.

 

What is the ID, OD, and length of your planned panhard bar?

There are several online calculators for the buckling load of a column.
Buckling is one of the failure modes of your panhard bar.
https://tribby3d.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/06/buckling-02-1024x600.png
"pinned-pinned" is the end condition I'd use for cypherin' .

 

Speedway Motors has aluminum and steel pre made swaged panhard bars in a few different sizes I have a aluminum 3/4” diameter in a tube frame sports car which is probably over kill for a 1500 lb car. This is same size they run in open wheel dirt cars

 

Pretty sure two half inch heims and some chrome moly tube will be less than 2400 lbs.