do you have worn tie rod ends? If they’re tight, then I wonder if your wonder is coming from track/drag. When I chased a similar description, I found good tires, a good healthy steering damper, and the castor arms wound up making a good impact.
the HD panhard in front, the HD track & drag didn’t do what I was hoping. (Then sprinkled in there was a failing wheel bearing - which naturally didn’t help anything)
I can easily commute several hours of highway driving at 80, as quiet & controlled as it should be. While still maintaining technical offroad use.

I share because when I first began building, a veteran D2 mechanic explained this should be achieved- when I thought as I built it up, it was really never going to ever be (close to) the stock ride again.

cvhyatt, what track & drag setup are you going with? Just curious. RTE just started offering a stainless setup - which is attractive fir my neck of the woods.

 

I ordered the Terrafirma one which was relatively affordable. Should be here later this week and I will get it installed on Saturday. I will post when I get it installed.

 

Coming from the Jeep TJ Wrangler world, it seems odd that a panhard bar conversion is looked upon as being an amazing mod for the Disco 2. In the Jeep world everyone sees it as a limiting factor and are ditching them for a triangulated rear 4-link long arm kit. Had anyone ever considered doing a 4-link on a Disco 2?

 

It has been done, though not commonly.

The D2 stock suspension works a bit better than stock TJ suspension because the arms are quite a bit longer, which is more the limiting factor of the TJ than having a panhard. The real down side to a panhard bar is that it doesn't quite keep the vehicle centered over the axle as it articulates, but the longer the panhard the better that gets.

And in truth, the factory LR watts link works pretty good until you lift. Once you're lifted the watts gets bound up on the center bracket. The watts has the benefit of keeping the vehicle centered over the axle throughout it's range of articulation.

 

Thanks for the response. I'm trying to learn as much as possible. Would you recommend some of the curved watts arms that some companies provide for lifted Discos or a panhard bar? I figure it probably depends on the amount of lift. It would seem that the panhandle bar would be cheaper and easier to maintain.

 

That's really a case by case basis. I think the angled watts link is a novel solution, but I generally lean towards the panhard due to ease of finding parts should a repair need to be made. That said, I may be making my own high clearance watts link on my current wheeling rig instead of converting to panhard. Haven't decided yet.

 

I would consider Your driving style in the decision. After doing both, If your a wrencher & don’t mind the fabrication, and maintenance, off-road your truck technically - the panhard conversion is really nice.

And then- Having cranked watts links arrive at your doorstep and bolting them on is nice.

The panhard ultimately is a commitment. You’ll cut your watts link bracket clean off. Grind, Weld & Paint a bracket(s) - ( careful not to get a red hot weld in contact with gear oil interior) I found existing bracket on passenger frame side eventually really wasn’t “heavy” enough for the weight and stress for the off-roading I was doing. So after year 1 I cut that out and fabbed in heavier receiving bracket. I blew threw a few hiem joints. So I went to ballistic joints (from ballistic fabrication) to rebuild and maintain with issue. Even kept a rebuild kit on hand for them.

I couldn’t notice any off center issues with travel. And it seemed smoother then watts - now trying the extended watts - Its not too bad, i need to log some more time to see if I’ll do a panhard on this most recent truck


( using. 3”+ lift with wide tires, full drawer system & fridge, roof rack, rear bumper (and this is without tire swing & spare - truck weight: 7200lbs - which is an easy additional 1k lbs over rear axle from stock)

 

That's some great insight since you've tried both. Curious, have you also had issues with the factory front panhard not being heavy duty enough?

 

I've been using the darkcrowdesigns bolt on pan hard bar for the last year or so now. Zero issues and performs great. Drives perfect on the street as well I don't notice any ill effects.

 

Front stock panhard seems well built and solid.
I use an HD panhard largely because it’s adjustable- when I lifted the truck, I need longer length to keep tracking centered. Front stock receiving brackets & bar, and poly bushings have been very solid.