So.. i have been asking many people and keep getting conflicting answers.

Do we need an adjustable pan hard bar to lower the vehicle?

I have ask about 20 people who have lowered their S197 and over half do not use it and have no issues..

So confused!!!!

 

As your informal survey has indicated, there is no set answer for this that covers all situations. You'll just have to lower it and see. Whether it's worth ordering one in advance or waiting until you actually lower the car and know for sure is a separate matter. However, mild lowering with tires that are reasonable close to the stock sizes generally does not require re-centering.

Most people wouldn't ever notice the rear axle being half an inch off-center just from driving it, so it'll be more likely that those who "needed" one needed it from an appearance point of view. This would be particularly with taller/wider rear tires because the difference in the tire to fender gap is exaggerated when the "fit" gets tighter.


Norm

 

You don't need an adjustable PHB to lower the car, that's what springs do. You don't never *need* an adjustable PHB because you lowered the car. You might, you might not... it's not the absolute, across the board, gotta have it or you might die thing it's made out to be.

My best advice, is what I tell all my customers. If you don't want to just get one anyway, then put the springs on and (hold onto your hat for this shocking bit of thinking), see if your car is shifted, and by how much. A PHB is easy, easy to install at any time. You can always add it later.

 

Norm, Sam,
I lowered my car with Eibach Pros, it is a heavy quarter inch off center. It is not really noticeable since I am running a stock wheel/tire setup. My question is there any issue with the car being that small of an amount out of square? I was planning on adding an adjustable PHB, your answer will determine the speed in which I do.

 

I'm curious if you checked your car before you lowered it - I'm guessing from people's reports of results after lowering that factory tolerances are probably greater than that.

I certainly would like to hear the experts' answer.

 

My car was lowered 1.5" rear and I was off center by .375 inches. I believe the car is as close to center now as possible with installing the Adj Panhard Rod. I used the UPR double adjustable panhard rod and steeda panhard rod brace.

You can get a wrench in the passenger side of the panhard rod to tighten the adjusting nut.

I bought a cheap 1 1/8" (28mm) wrench and cut out the box end like a flare wrench. Worked great.

 

For a quarter of an inch - unless you're out to try keeping Sam Strano from winning another SCCA national championship coming up at the end of this month, there's no hurry from a performance standpoint.

The treads on your tires move sideways more than that relative to the wheels once you're cornering at least moderately hard.

One other question is how well whatever you're referencing your measurements from is itself centered. I think Ford's official measurements to the control points have tolerances up to 1/8", and the sheetmetal would have some tolerance stacked on top of that. IOW, getting the gaps to the sheetmetal even side to side is no guarantee that you've centered the axle to the vehicle centerline and front tires, even though visually it's better that way.


Norm

 

Good idea. I'll have to file that idea away for future use, even if it's for a different fastener entirely. Thanks.


Norm

 

Norm, I taped a weighted string to the outside of each fender and measured to the wheel, not the tire. Where should I measure to to verify the car is centered or not?

 

I would expect that the diagonal measurements from the chassis side pivot of one LCA to the axle side pivot of the other should match within 1/8". That should get the centering to within 1/16". I am not aware of any intentional mismatch.

You could also measure the main diagonals from the front ball joints, which should also be equal.


There are a number of body control holes for which measurements between should be available. See "Unibody, Subframe, and Mounting System", Underbody Misalignment Check in the repair literature.


Norm