Panhard Bar adjustment
07-29-2007, 06:45 PM
#1
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Plano, Tx
Posts: 127
Panhard Bar adjustment
Ok guys; I have officially started my buildup. Special thanks to all of you especially F1Fan and CrazyAl for your inputs.
Today, with the help of my 13 yr old son, I installed the Steeda rear springs, steeda shocks and steeda Panhard bar and brace. It went pretty well, and taking my time, tookabout 4 hours with cleanup.
Interestingly, one of myrear shocks was leaking very badly and was way easier to compress than the other. This is on a car with less than 10K miles.
I do have one question. With the install of the rears, my axel has shifted about 1/8 of an inch to the left. I am too tired to think now, so does anyone know which direction I need to turn the bar to correct this - i.e. do I need to lengthen or shorten the bar?
I will tackle the front springs tomorrow or the next day and let you know how she rides.
Today, with the help of my 13 yr old son, I installed the Steeda rear springs, steeda shocks and steeda Panhard bar and brace. It went pretty well, and taking my time, tookabout 4 hours with cleanup.
Interestingly, one of myrear shocks was leaking very badly and was way easier to compress than the other. This is on a car with less than 10K miles.
I do have one question. With the install of the rears, my axel has shifted about 1/8 of an inch to the left. I am too tired to think now, so does anyone know which direction I need to turn the bar to correct this - i.e. do I need to lengthen or shorten the bar?
I will tackle the front springs tomorrow or the next day and let you know how she rides.
07-30-2007, 08:47 AM
#3
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 92
RE: Panhard Bar adjustment
Ooh! Ooh! [Raises hand] Let's see if I can apply what I've learned in all my reading while I wait for my car to arrive.
The Panhard bar is linda like the hypotenuse of a right triangle with the other two sides being (1) the height of the body above the point where the PHB attaches to the axle and (2) the distance laterally between the axle mount of the PHB and the driver's side of the car. When (1) is shortened, the PHB will swing down and push the left side of the car out. To pull it back into normal, thus shortening (2), the PHB (the third side of the triangle) should also be shortened!
Am I right? Yeah I know Howarmat already said lengthen, but that seems like it would push the car further to the left.
The Panhard bar is linda like the hypotenuse of a right triangle with the other two sides being (1) the height of the body above the point where the PHB attaches to the axle and (2) the distance laterally between the axle mount of the PHB and the driver's side of the car. When (1) is shortened, the PHB will swing down and push the left side of the car out. To pull it back into normal, thus shortening (2), the PHB (the third side of the triangle) should also be shortened!
Am I right? Yeah I know Howarmat already said lengthen, but that seems like it would push the car further to the left.
07-30-2007, 10:11 AM
#4
1st Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Plano, Tx
Posts: 127
RE: Panhard Bar adjustment
lqdslvr,
I think you are on to something here - 9th grade geometry is coming back. I penciled it on a piece of paper this morning and what has happened to my car makes sense. Yesterday I played 3 sets of tennis and then installed the rear, my brain was fried.
1) The ride height has gone down, and the panhard bar has a fixed connection to the chassis on the passenger side rear. Since the panhard bar length is fixed (since I set it to the stock length), my axel has shifted slightly to the driver's side (left when looking at the rear of the vehicle). The other way to look at it is the body has shifted to the right relative to the axel when viewing from the rear.
2) Therefore, I need to shorten the bar slightly to pull the axel back to the passenger side (right when looking at the rear of the vehicle), essentially shifting the body back to the left.
I think you are on to something here - 9th grade geometry is coming back. I penciled it on a piece of paper this morning and what has happened to my car makes sense. Yesterday I played 3 sets of tennis and then installed the rear, my brain was fried.
1) The ride height has gone down, and the panhard bar has a fixed connection to the chassis on the passenger side rear. Since the panhard bar length is fixed (since I set it to the stock length), my axel has shifted slightly to the driver's side (left when looking at the rear of the vehicle). The other way to look at it is the body has shifted to the right relative to the axel when viewing from the rear.
2) Therefore, I need to shorten the bar slightly to pull the axel back to the passenger side (right when looking at the rear of the vehicle), essentially shifting the body back to the left.
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