My axle was noticeably off center after a mild drop.

 

I was also off before the drop.
None of those cars have rear axle centered from the factory...
Usually, it's off by 1/4" before any drop.

 

hmm, 1/4" won't be noticeable, especially if the car is tracking straight anyway. Now, will the drop make that number alot larger? That being said, wondering if I should order the PHB anyway, or wait till afterwards and see if it's off and by how much.

 

A little trigonometry says no, it won't.

I'd wait and see, unless you have a separate reason for changing it out. Even if that's the case, there is no technical reason that you'd have to do the PHB at the same time as everything else. That also leaves you with the option of getting a Watts link instead.


BTW, one of the reasons I suggest doing springs first is that their choice also affects ride height in addition to handling balance.


Norm

 

Agreed! As for the Watt's link, isn't that overkill for what I'd want to do? Also, I thought it was pretty expensive...

 

They are quite a bit more than PHB's. I think that in hard street driving it would be more a question of how it makes the car feels to drive hard rather than providing any hard performance benefit. Other than telling you that left and right turns might feel more similar with a WL than with a PHB if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, I have no idea how to advise any further.


Norm

 

I've had my double-rod-end adjustable panhard, LCA's and upper CA on and off the car 4-5 times with different suspension setups, swapping the stock one back on and feeling/listening. I've come to the conclusion that ANY rod-end component on the car has a noticable feel, and more noticable NOISE. Even with all poly/stock bushings and only one rod-end on the chassis side I could hear/feel it.

The difference with my mild rear drop (1-1.5) is only about 1/4 to 1/2'' rear offset and makes no difference to me other than analness about my suspension setup . I have the stock unit on-car now, it's whisper quiet and works 85% as well as the rodend chromemoly aftermarket one. I can detect the extra firmness of the aftermarket one in tight turns and it has the ever so slight more stiffness and ability to articulate IMO but it's not night/day or anything.

I've been researching watts-link setups and when I find one with poly bushings I will purchase it. Steeda appears to be the only one that advertises "poly bushings for quiet operation". Haven't made my mind up yet. I wouldn't even consider a watts link until you have your dampers/springs/swaybars upgraded. You will see a WORLD of difference with just those upgrades.

 

... until you get wider rims at the back, mounted on tires flush with the body work.
It will be flush on one side and not the other...

 

Very true. With my 305/35 DR's on 18x9.5'' rims and the correct offset it's noticable but not crazy offline from the fender lips, thanks to the huge wheelwells that Ford provided us with. I'm now looking at different watts link setups and won't need one very soon.

 

Never bothered me with the 8.5" wide at back...
When I got the 10", it really jumped at me.

I thought I bent my axle by jacking the car from the pumpkin, lol!
Kiddin'...