Midgets with (Pan)hard rods?

[Renrut]

Thinking ahead again (thats why I'm not doing anything right now ) to rear axle location on the midget. I've seen fancy 4 link setups, spring conversions, shock conversions and all manner or weird axle control stuff. But I'm thinking of keeping it simple cos I is stupid and incompetant. So a simple shock and panhard rod setup seems to give the most value for my efforts with maybe some anti tramp bars too at a later date.

But all the panhard rods I've seen have been rose bushed even on road cars. Won't this introduce lots of vibration or will it simply not be transferred as its not as tightly bound as a typical wishbone?

Or would a different setup be better? I've looked over a lot of the setups and they all look a bit extreme, although I may change my mind when I flip the car over to do the underside.

[Renrut]

Exhibit A - Frontline Kit

http://www.frontlinedevelopments.com/products/midget/panhardrodkit.shtml

Pricey for what is essentially a long rod, a couple of rose joints and some brackets.

But then it will save me a lot of dicking about with suspension which isn't something I'm fond of

General consensus from trawling the various midget forums seems to be that:
- a well setup 3 link rear end is much better than any fancy 4 links due to weight saving,
- watts and mumford linkages are heavy because of all the extra braketry you need and doesn't give much better than the lightweight panhard setup,
- removing the LA dampers is worth the effort unless you're tied to some racing regs and is very easy to do DIY,
- designing your own is a waste of time as no matter how clever you are someone will have already tried it.

[mjslonergan]

I don't know, if you take the cost of your own time in gathering the bits, working out where they go, the odd mistake, and the bits themselves... that kit not too pricey, if it works well...

[Renrut]

I don't normally cost my time but I'm not scared of splashing £50 or so if it saves me a weekend of faffing around and I'd still not do as good a job e.g. repair panels.

No one ever seems to have anything bad to say about Frontline other than they're a bit pricey.

[mjslonergan]

I suppose the ideal situation would be if you could find a good secondhand version of their kit, at a good price, best of both worlds...
You should always cost in your own time, and at a high rate, theoretically I am a multi-millionaire, if only I would pay myself...

[Renrut]

You should always cost in your own time, and at a high rate, theoretically I am a multi-millionaire, if only I would pay myself...

Bad debt is a bitch

[owelly]

Having just prepped the father-in-laws A6 for MOT, he asked how much he owed me. I told him he can't afford me, in fact, I can't afford me.......

[mjslonergan]

It's a source of constant argument between myself

[Renrut]

What you need is a union. They seem to fight hard for your rights to be paid a fair amount. And if you won't pay yourself fairly you should go on strike.

[mjslonergan]

I concur and disagree with you

[MFrV1]

Having just prepped the father-in-laws A6 for MOT, he asked how much he owed me. I told him he can't afford me, in fact, I can't afford me.......

Surely Jaffa Cakes and/or beer is enough?

[Relentless Rob]

Okay sit down for this one. I bought a Daewoo Matiz. For my sister but it has a very interesting rear suspension set up. Beam axle with a Watts-esque four link set up. It could be easy to replace the beam with a live axle. I'll take some photo's if you like.

[Renrut]

Photos please.

[fha772]

I just googled it...

[owelly]

Hmmm, no sign of a Watts set-up there, just your standard panhard rod and no four link.