Just finished putting on tokico shocks and strut. Made a world of a difference compared to the worn old ones. What is the next good handling upgrade? Are sub frans connectors that good? Strut tower braces?

 

They will reduce body flex and they don't cost much.

 

A good set of rear lower control arms help too.

 

Do you know about what it would cost for install of subframe connectors?

 

Not much. Usually exhaust shops are the best places to get them done.

 

So, as far as handling goes, would you consider it the "best bang for your buck"?

 

That and good tires make all the difference.

 

I have Kumhos (idk if that's how you spell it), I plan on getting new tires along with rims come summer time. Mine now came with the car when I bought it used. They are in good condition however.

 

I would go with BFG G force kdw tires. As far as suspension, do you have lowering springs on it? Those are normally your best purchase for handling

 

I kinda wanted to hold off on those tell i get the rims because i think the stock 17s will look funny with the car lowered..

 

Rear suspension, the foxbody/SN95 cars leave much to be desired in this department. Those 4 links are tasked with to many jobs. Seperate those tasks (ie parallel 4 link and panhard rod w/ coil overs or use a torque arm rear) and you solve alot of inherent handling woes.

 

Can you explain the panhard bar to me? I searched it on google and it is confusing

How hard is it to install, ect.

 

Its a bar that laterally locates the rear axle (keeps it shifting from side to side or rather as it swings through a prescribed arc the rear end only shifts slightly to one side).

On the Fox/SN95 cars the upper and lower control arms aren't parallel and swing through different arcs keeping the rear end centered as it travels up and down and while it reduces the number of components used on the rear suspension in order for the arms to do thier job you have to use relatively soft bushings in order to minimize bind as the arms swing through their arc or use spherical rod ends of some sort.

When you change to either a torque arm or parallel four link, you need a device to locate the rearend preventing it from moving side to side either in the form of a panhard rod or a watts link (a better solution since it doesn't swing through an arc as the suspension travels).

A panhard rod or watts link is part of that division of labor I mentioned earlier. By adding this link, the control arms no longer have to keep the rearend centered and instead control the up and down movement of the axle and allow it to rotate. This also allows you to use stiffer bushings without having to resort to using spherical rod ends since the bushings dont bind as the control arms swing through thier arcs.

As for installation it all depends on how the panhard goes on. It may or may not involve welding? Its been awhile since I've checked out a suspension kit for the older cars so I dont know if you can find the panhard rod as a seperate item (although it seems to me at one time you could and the trick there was to remove one of the upper arms since the panhard rod did the job of locating the axle). For the most part it seemed to me that the rod was part of of a more comprehinsive kit.

 

Consider Camber/Caster lowering plates as well if you are thinking about dropping the front end about an inch or so. The lower your car is to the ground, the better it sticks to the road.