panhard rod - is it needed?

[CMF_tris]

hey i was planning on buying some new shocks and springs that will lower my micra a little bit (not too much) is it necessary to get a new panhard rod? or will it cope with the stock one?

also would you reccomend a front or rear sway bar or both?which will improve handling most?
thanks

 

[CMF_jay85]

yeh you will need a panhard rod....

are you talking about strut brace??

 

[CMF_tris]

no i mean sway bar

 

[CMF_Yom]

Yes you should get an adjustable panhard rod.

Swaybars - do the front first. Don't care what anyone says. The front one first is where you'll notice the most difference. I've compared the differences and front upgraded swaybar makes the most difference to the car's handling. Rear swaybar makes a noticeable difference but really just turns it into an oversteering pig.

In saying that you'll be happier with the money spent if you upgrade both at the same time.

 

[CMF_mipcar]

A standard Micra understeers a lot. If you increase the size of the front bar alone you will make the situation worse. You need to go up a size at the rear also.
Remember there are also the variables such as tire sze and the pressures you run in them.

Mychael

 

[CMF_Yom]

Thats what I thought (and that was the case with Pulsars) but I can assure you I'd rather an upgraded front swaybar on my micra than the upgraded rear it currently has!

gtrholic's micra was much, much nicer to drive. Most noticeably the steering response was improved and bodyroll was decreased significantly.

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

Yom, don't know how you got a Micra to oversteer! Must have had the handbrake on! Or really bad tires or greasy road?

I've got an oversize rear swaybar (as well as uprated front one) and never get oversteer?

 

[CMF_tris]

hmmm.... ok well if it helps, i dont drive my car on the track mainly jus roads (almost like jap roads) with tight bends and long sweeping corners, so i need it to be quite nimble and hook into corners sharply. a bit of oversteer wouldnt hurt haha bit of fun!! so id probably say the rear first ay.... would you be able to tell me what size up you would reccomend aswell. im planning on getting a whiteline one.
let me know what you think
thanks

 

[CMF_mipcar]

I cannot recall the Whitline one I purchased. Sort of the "intermediate" one. Not the really heavy one. It is adjustable and I found the middle setting worked best with the heavier front bar.
If your only changing the rear I'd try the softest setting first.

Mychael

 

[CMF_tris]

ok thanks alot mychael ill see what i can sort out! hopefully it will make a huge difference to the handling of the car!

 

[CMF_Yom]

Nissanmania WROTE:

"Yom, don't know how you got a Micra to oversteer! Must have had the handbrake on! Or really bad tires or greasy road?

I've got an oversize rear swaybar (as well as uprated front one) and never get oversteer?

Tyres aren't much chop right now but even with tyres which had grip my rear end kicks out with absolutely no help from the handbrake hehe. On a greasy road its quite a handful but the ABS keeps it under control (another oddity I have - I can be be sliding, hit the brakes which will bring the ABS into action. the car will literally pull itself straight when this happens. If i try and steer out of the slide with the abs pumping it'll spin me around. go figure.. apparently the bosch abs system fitted to the k11 has a degree of driver aid in its program)

I have a whiteline HD adjustable swaybar. Currently set on medium as thats what keeps the droplinks at the right angle. Set on the softest setting it did literally nothing. Even on a quick wheel articulation test it had the same wheel travel as the standard swaybar. So its set on medium to keep the droplinks healthy and for now I'm just living with having to be super cautious in the wet.

it was free so I don't regret putting it on. The handling will be much more balanced with the upgraded front sway.

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

So is this oversteer or a brake balance issue? FWD's will get lift-off oversteer but yours sounds like its happening while you are braking into or through a turn. I've thrown mine around in the wet and can't get the back end to step out.

There's no doubt a stiff rear sway bar will decrease the rear-end grip and make oversteer a possibility, I just wasn't aware it could happen so easily in a front driver.

If you don't have an uprated front swaybar your roll resistance up front will be low which will give you more front-end grip. This will make oversteer much more likely with a stiffer rear sway bar fitted as its the balance between the front and rear that is critical to the handling.

 

[CMF_Yom]

The issue is as you said in the last part there. I think the whiteline rear sway just kicks the balance of the car out of whack. On the softest setting the rear is no stiffer than with the original sway. The car simply doesn't feel right with the swaybar i have set on the medium setting. It actually handles better with the original rear swaybar. I'd put it back on but I really can't be bothered. I'll be purchasing a front swaybar in the near future anyway and this will most definately help balance it out. In the meantime I'm just living with having to be really careful if the road is greasy and I don't let anyone else drive it. Its fun for most people who drive it but its not the safest little car to drive right now with its back stabbing sideways tendancy.

A though: The whiteline swaybars all differ in their construction slightly. They can be made with slightly different bends, different batches of steel and also the location of the drilled holes for the droplinks seems to vary a bit as well. There's a distinct chance that I wouldn't have the issues I have with mine with another swaybar.

Just my experiences, if I were buying again, I'd get both bars at the same time. If funds didn't allow i'd be buying the front first up. I really liked the way GTRHOLIC's car handled with just the uprated front sway. It felt much more composed and solid in corners AND in straight lines than mine with the uprated rear.

 

[CMF_Nissanmania]

I'd agree with you there - and I know Whiteline would as well. Don't just upgrade the rear bar or your car will be out of whack or worse be handling dangerously.

The worst that could happen upgrading just the front swaybar is to induce a bit of understeer which, as most manufacturers know, is the safest way to set up a car for general consumption.

 

[CMF_tris]

so pretty much double or nothing.....
righteo well ill have to start saving hah!!
thanks for your help guys

does anyone know of anybody selling sway bars?