Hi, Folks,
thanks for all the feedback.
I was wondering why everyone was telling me ( correctly ) that panhard rods
do not control axle tramp ( they don't ) and then I went back and re-read
my post. I see now that my wording implied I was simply looking for a
means of controlling axle tramp.
To clarify, I'm am interested in BOTH controlling axle tramp and the
lateral movement of the rear axle.
I believe that Kas Kastner made mention in his tuning manual that for
racing ( the TR4 ) he highly recommended a linkage assembly that connected
at the plate that goes underneath the axle and connects to the frame.
This would control the axle tramp of course, but not locate the axle laterally.
The lateral control of the axle would be left to the panhard rod or watkins
link.
Someone mentioned traction bars. They do neither. They attempt to shift
more weight onto the rear axle on your typical American behemoth with a
70/30 front/rear weight distribution.
I'd be interested in what those folks autocrossing and \ or roadracing
their cars have to say on the subject of live axle rear end preparation.
It is entirely possible the panhard rod is not needed, but I've seen them
fitted to many other cars larger and smaller with a live axle and was just
curious if anybody out there had one on their solid axle TR.
I don't have any American iron under the hood putting undue stress on the
suspension or rear end, rather, I simply want to employ as much modern
suspension technology that has evolved over the last 38 years since my TR
originally hit the road.
To date, I've done the following:
Installed 205/65 15 Pirelli P600s on a set of 5.5 x 15 minilite knock-off
rims. ( the ones Moss, TRF and VB sell )
( The tires fit and look great in the rear. I'd go with 195s in the front
if I had it to do over again because of clearance problems, though they can
be eventually solved. )
Installed Koni shocks up front
Re-bushed the front end with urethane bushings
Installed an Addco swaybar up front
Modified ( shortened ) the upper a-arms to change the front wheel camber
from about 1.5-2 degrees positive to about 1.5 degrees negative.
The car drives completely different from before the fitment of the above
items. Beforehand it was running on 165 SR 15 Michelin XZXs on the stock
steel disk wheels.
I talked to a few racers who discouraged me from increasing the spring rate
if I was going to drive the car on the street, so for now I'm doing all of
this based around a stock spring rate.
Thanks for all the feedback, it's a hoot to talk to folks who don't look at
you funny when you tell them you're working on a 40 year old Triumph.
-jeffrey
Jeffrey J. Barteet, System Administrator
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis
735 State St., Santa Barbara, CA
barteet@nceas.ucsb.edu 805.892.2508
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