adj panhard rod
02-15-2005, 11:04 AM
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Re: adj panhard rod
In the stock setup, the panhard rod sits at an angle, rising slightly from the axle anchor point on the drivers side to the body anchor point on the passenger side.
http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun.../DCP03637a.jpg
As the body drops, since the rod is rotating about the pin on the drivers side, the passenger side body mount follows an arc, and moves the body to the right, relative to the axle assembly/wheels. If you do the math, it indicates that for a 1.25" drop of the body, the body will move to the right less than 1/10th inch. That might be enough to throw off the spacing of the wheels/tires to the body, and cause the passenger side tire to rub on the inner fender, or the drivers side tire to rub on the fender lip.
Whether you need to adjust the rod length when you drop the car will depend on how well the body was centered over the axle before you started. You need to measure the clearance on both sides between the inner edge of the tire and some fixed point on the body, like the subframe. If they are not "equal" you would benefit from recentering with the adjustable rod. On my car, after I dropped the back 1", the body was centered and no adjustment was made. When I returned the body to stock ride height, and went to 315's on 17x11 wheels (and 28" slicks for the track) I had to use the adjustable feature to correct for the tires rubbing on one side.
My thinking is that if you are going to buy a panhard rod, just get the adjustable one for the few extra dollars it will cost. That way you will have the adjustment if you find you need it.
http://cjcfo.fbody.com/members/injun.../DCP03637a.jpg
As the body drops, since the rod is rotating about the pin on the drivers side, the passenger side body mount follows an arc, and moves the body to the right, relative to the axle assembly/wheels. If you do the math, it indicates that for a 1.25" drop of the body, the body will move to the right less than 1/10th inch. That might be enough to throw off the spacing of the wheels/tires to the body, and cause the passenger side tire to rub on the inner fender, or the drivers side tire to rub on the fender lip.
Whether you need to adjust the rod length when you drop the car will depend on how well the body was centered over the axle before you started. You need to measure the clearance on both sides between the inner edge of the tire and some fixed point on the body, like the subframe. If they are not "equal" you would benefit from recentering with the adjustable rod. On my car, after I dropped the back 1", the body was centered and no adjustment was made. When I returned the body to stock ride height, and went to 315's on 17x11 wheels (and 28" slicks for the track) I had to use the adjustable feature to correct for the tires rubbing on one side.
My thinking is that if you are going to buy a panhard rod, just get the adjustable one for the few extra dollars it will cost. That way you will have the adjustment if you find you need it.
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