Which locator is best

Have narrowed 9" rear end, 4 link rear suspension with coil overs. Car will be mostly street driven. Trying to decide on which housing locator to use, diagonal link, panhard bar, or wishbone kit? Kind of leaning towards the longest panhard bar I can fit in, but still undecided.

I use a diagonal track locator on mine, but the wishbones sure seem trick.

If it sees any actual "real" street/highway use ("real" meaning taking hard corners at decent speeds) then a locator that can handle heavy side loading by mounting to the housing/chassis at a 90* angle to the car's nose/tail centerline (like a long panhard bar, watts link, etc) should usually be used.


Panhard bar........Fairly simple to install & adjust, few moving parts. It does a very good job of holding the housing centered against side loading forces since it attaches directly to the housing & one frame rail at a 90* angle to the car's nose/tail centerline. But because of this it travels in an arc, and this arc pulls the housing to one side (a small given amount) during suspension travel. The longer the panhard bar can be made, the less it will pull the housing to one side. Needs to be made of a larger OD tube and/or thicker wall as it's lenght increases.

Watts link.......Much harder to install & adjust, a lot more moving parts. But does a great job of holding the housing centered against side loading forces since it attaches directly to the housing & both frame rails at a 90* angle to the car's nose/tail centerline. It does not pull the housing to one side like a panhard bar's arc does (when installed correctly). But a Watts setup takes up a lot more space under the car than a panhard bar does.




If it's a "drag only" car that never sees street use, (and therefore less side loading) then any of the non 90* locators (diagonal link, double diagonal link, wishbone, X-link, etc) should be more than enough for most any straight line/drag use.


Diagonal link......Can be used on both ladder bars or 4-links. Bolt-on style can be used on both, weld-on style can only be used on ladder bars. Easy to install & adjust, few moving parts, but easiest to bend under side loading. The shorter they are and/or installed at a 45* angle, the less likely they are to bend under side loading. As they get longer & longer and/or farther away from being installed at a 45* angle, the easier it is for side loading to bend them. The smaller the tubing OD is the thicker the wall needs to be, thinner wall can be used as tube OD increases.

Double diagonal link......Harder to install & adjust than a single diagonal link. But can handle more side loading. Great for a ladder bar setup, but might/might not work on a 4-link depending on how it's mounted, and if it's design uses rod-ends or clevis at the mounting points.

Wishbone (or "A" frame link).........Uses two rod-ends at one end, and one rod-end at the other. More aimed at 4-link use since it's design uses a slip/slider joint at the single rod-end. The s/s joint allows the wishbone's arc lenght to change/match the 4-link's arc as it changes when different 4-link holes are used. The joint must be kept clean & greased at avoid binding it up.

X-link.........Similar to a wishbone but stronger because it has two rod-ends at each end (2+2 instead of the wishbone's 2+1). And just like the wishbone it also has a slip/slider joint that must be kept cleaned & greased. The X-link's s/s joint is located in the center of the unit instead of one end like a wishbone. And because it has a s/s joint it too is more aimed at 4-link use.


The "drag use only" centering devices can at times be used on the street. But you have to be carefull how you drive/how aggressively you take corners.

Thanks, Barney and Dave,

I have a A.R.T. wishbone kit, but didn't know how it would hold up on the street as Dave said about side load. It would put a lot of stress on the single end of the wishbone heim joint in the right conditions. Looks like panhard bar it is.

That's great information. I do have a question on the wish bone. What type of rod ends are best for this application? Also does it matter if they are installed above or below the drive shaft?
Any pics of an X link style? Haven't seen one of those.

HorsinAround wrote:That's great information. I do have a question on the wish bone. What type of rod ends are best for this application? Also does it matter if they are installed above or below the drive shaft?
Any pics of an X link style? Haven't seen one of those.

Here's a link to Chris Alston's site, it has all 3 styles Dave mentioned. My wishbone kit came with heim joints, I don't think you could use any other joint, rigidor poly, it needs to piviot some as rearend rolls some. The X style is on the same page. I have seen the wishbone installed below and above, it is each owns preferance, most that are installed on the bottom are because of lack of room on the top. Mounted on top it gives more access to driveshaft, etc. than on the bottom. I have also seen the wishbone mounted with the single end on the rearend housing and also with it attached to chassis.

https://www.cachassisworks.com/c-410-lateral-locaters.aspx

racnrick wrote:https://www.cachassisworks.com/c-410-lateral-locaters.aspx

In that Alston link what they are calling an "X-locator" is really in effect a double diagonal link, and not what I'm refering to as an "X-link". A true X-link, like from R2B2 race cars (designed by Jim Geese of the old Vanishing Point race cars) is beefier & has a slip joint in the center.

Jim Geese's X-link......


Jim's true X-link is in effect like two small beefy wishbones facing each other & joined at the center mounted slip joint. It allows for arc length change & diagonal roll at the same time without binding.


As far as what rod-ends to use with a wishbone, I have seen them with both dirt cheap rod-ends & the high dollar ends too. All I can say is if you want to save a few bucks on a wishbone setup don't use the cheap rod-end on the slip joint end. You can put a wishbone either above or below the housing. The guys that put it above the housing say they do it to make changing rear gears easier, and that it can be made shorter (and therefore supposedly stronger). But a wishbone lenght that's alot shorter than the 4-link length will have to have a longer & longer total slip joint travel length built in to it as the differences in arc length increase between the wishbone & the 4-link. And top mounting supposedly raises a cars rear roll center, bottom mounting supposedly lowers it.

But both the wishbone & the true X-link could end up being a pain in the ass for street use anyway since you have to remember to keep their slip joints cleaned & greased all the time.

Thanks for the great info. I picked up the supplies needed to put a pan hard bar in with my 4 link, but now I'm thinking the wishbone or x link might be the ticket.

Rick,
You got that thing in the garage yet? Would love to check it out.
Dave

NO FAIR wrote:Rick,
You got that thing in the garage yet? Would love to check it out.
Dave

Not yet, shooting for the end of the month, Falcon is gone, just have that pickup in the far stall left to get done. Spend the last 2 weeks getting stuff ready for last weekends swap meet, were you there I didn't see you walk thru? I had the same 2 spots in the Cenntenial Building again.

racnrick wrote:

NO FAIR wrote:Rick,
You got that thing in the garage yet? Would love to check it out.
Dave

Not yet, shooting for the end of the month, Falcon is gone, just have that pickup in the far stall left to get done. Spend the last 2 weeks getting stuff ready for last weekends swap meet, were you there I didn't see you walk thru? I had the same 2 spots in the Cenntenial Building again.

No I plum forgot about it, I was out of town anyways

Dave