Is a panhard setup actually superior?

[Pavmentsurfer]

Ive been eyeing up a couple of my rigs with panhard setups and am starting to wonder if there is any benefit to this setup other than just hiding the servo. Seems to me it moves weight up higher and adds a bunch of unnecessary complexity. My trucks are JUST crawlers, not trying to be scale replicas by any means. I don't really care about the aesthetics of an axle mounted servo. So whats the better setup technically and performance wise?

The only truck I actually think I NEED the panhard on is the one with the GCM front mount motor... which is the only truck that I actually feel the panhard setup works correctly on anyway.

[DrDiff952]

In my opinion....

NO

They are just for those who want scale appearance/function

I get less travel on my SCX-10 with CMS / Panhard than when it was 4 link. But I couldn't get the 4 link to work with Mt ToyZuki motor mount.

My wraith is 4 Link.

[z50king]

The panhard is not a performance upgrade to a rig. It is a way to improve the performance of a chassis mounted servo. The chassis mounted servo is not a performance upgrade to a rig. Servo on axle is the best for performance.

The panhard bar pushes the axle to one side through it's travel. This is because the link's end rotates in a circle. It will eliminate bump steer when running a CMS if it is the same length and same angle as the drag link. Many setups do not match the length and angle of the drag link and will still cause bump steer

[Pavmentsurfer]

Thanks for that info. This was the impression I got... but I got sucked onto the whole "CMS with panhard" train. I think I'm going to go back to an axle mount on my rigs. Ive spent more time trying to get the CMS/Panhard setups sorted out than any other single thing on the trucks.

[Eric0424]

No, the panhard is required for those who prefer their servo mounted to chassis instead of the axle. It's an appearance issue, not a performance minded modification. There's no performance gained or durability added, and as mentioned above, can restrict suspension movement. So it's a pointless mod unless you simply want your servo relocated to the chassis.

[Meatwad]

Just here to echo, appearance only not for performance. And in some cases less performance, articulation-wise. But man does it look cool

[DickyT]

Originally Posted by Meatwad

Just here to echo, appearance only not for performance. And in some cases less performance, articulation-wise. But man does it look cool

I have never got less performance out of one. I have had to put a slight bend in more than one to keep the articulation the same as running 4 linked.

I do agree, for scale looks, it does look great

[IronGut]

Noob question but if you have a 4-link, can't you run a CMS without the need of a panhard?

[Dostradamas]

Originally Posted by IronGut

Noob question but if you have a 4-link, can't you run a CMS without the need of a panhard?

Not without binding issues.

If you go CMS, 3 link with panhard takes care of bumpsteer and binding (if set up correctly.)

[Szczerba]

You can run a 4-link and CMS with minimal bumpsteer but you'll have to spend hours getting the perfect upper/lower links, servo arm and drag link lengths correct. Easier for a 3link-panhard/cms or just straight 4link and axle mounted servo.

[Greeley]

As others have rightly said, theres no performance gain at all, it just looks more scale having a chassis mounted servo, i run a scx10 with servo on the axle for more perfomance related outing's, rock crawling etc etc, i then run one of my g2's which has panard setup for trail running i do prefer a more scale look but im happy to sacrifice that with scx as it performs better with it on the axle.

[kgb424]

My first used SCX10, had the Hand Bro's CMS, and was three linked with the Hard pan, and I hated it, to me it seemed to limit the travel on one side of the chassis, it just never tracked right, removed the CMS and hard pan, four linked the front axle and put the servo back on the axle with in the first day of owning it, and there is a night and day difference between them, all my rigs got the servo's on the axles and much happier with there performance

[Eric0424]

Originally Posted by kgb424

My first used SCX10, had the Hand Bro's CMS, and was three linked with the Hard pan, and I hated it, to me it seemed to limit the travel on one side of the chassis, it just never tracked right, removed the CMS and hard pan, four linked the front axle and put the servo back on the axle with in the first day of owning it, and there is a night and day difference between them, all my rigs got the servo's on the axles and much happier with there performance

One of the inherent problems with a panhard set-up is axle shift (side to side) during suspension movement. Generally the axle is set to center at ride height, if it's not the truck will dogtrack. Could have been why you were having tracking issues, could have been many other factors as well.

[johnnyh66]

Originally Posted by Szczerba

You can run a 4-link and CMS with minimal bumpsteer but you'll have to spend hours getting the perfect upper/lower links, servo arm and drag link lengths correct. Easier for a 3link-panhard/cms or just straight 4link and axle mounted servo.

I somehow stumbled on that magic formula with m my C2 and tried to replicate it for C3... didn't work.

[Szczerba]

Originally Posted by johnnyh66

I somehow stumbled on that magic formula with m my C2 and tried to replicate it for C3... didn't work.

Nice. It's tricky and time consuming. The best setup would be a 4-link with a chassis mounted servo and an axle mounted bell crank. Geometry is key on that as well.

I was able to do it on this ol cherokee a few years ago. I think custom mounting the servo on the frame rail down lower helped. Worked great. I would just cycle the front suspension, trying to see the bumpsteer. Maybe, like 0.0034mm of movement. I do remember tweaking on all the links to get it right.

Szczerba's Cherokee (Minus some doors)

...

[DrDiff952]

I would have stayed 4 link if I could have.

[Pavmentsurfer]

Just got done converting my deadbolt back to a 4 link with an axle mount. My Dingo was never converted and my Cherokee needs the CMS to work with the front motor mount so its staying the way it is. It actually works pretty good though. Good articulation and almost no bump steer. Its a GCM kit and I think the way its designed makes good sense. If I end up not liking the front mount motor/trans and go back to a centre mount ill also convert back to a 4 link at the same time.

[Jimmy1971]

I just got my first SCX10 last week and was planning on installing a cms kit. After going through this thread I've decided to go with a 4 link kit instead. So thanks to all who have posted!

[gottorque]

I have never had a bolt on 3 link/cms kit work correctly out of the box. Not any particular manufactures fault, but it happens. I end up making new panhard bars and drag links and on 2 occasions, custom horizontal chassis mounts for the servo (rather than the standard vertical mount). The horizontal setup has worked great for me.

That said, a properly functioning CMS requires trial and error. Once you figure it out, you wont go back to axle mounted

[Pavmentsurfer]

Ive now converted all my trucks, other than my cherokee with the GCM front motor mount, back to axle mounted servos. Honestly, it saved ALOT of complexity and the steering is better on all of them as is articulation. The CMS/Panhard on my Cherokee is pretty good and seems to work correctly, but it ads alot of extra parts and, from what I can tell, really doesnt offer any tangible benefits.