Okay, this is going to sound totally stupid, but up until a few weeks ago, I have been totally ignorant to how the rear suspension in our cars are built. Somebody was telling me I should upgrade my panhard bar, and upon showing me what it is, I don't think I have one. My car was wrecked on the rear passenger side several years ago before I bought it, so is it possible that the thing got bent and they never put it back on?? I know this sounds stupid, but after looking at a car that has one, I just don't remember seeing one under my car, and I'm a couple hundred miles away from it, so I can't just go out in the garage and look. It handles fine, and I've never noticed that the axle is off-centered. Maybe I'm just being stupid and nothing is wrong, but if it is missing, what do I need to get to install a new one? Is the passenger side bracket welded or bolted to the frame? Does anybody have P/N's for the bracket or the panhard brace? I know this question sounds totally ridiculous, but can anybody shed some light on this for me?

Thanks,

Eric

 

Okay, I think the stupid attack is over. Am I correct in saying that previous to 1988 the panhard bar was angled up to the passenger side, and that after 88 they installed a bracked on the passenger side that made the whole thing level? If this is true, I probably don't remember seeing the one under my car because it is too high under the car to see unless I crawl under there looking for it. As long as I'm talking about it, which way is better: angled, or level?

Eric

 

They're all the same.

Take a pic and post it, it shouldn't be too hard to identify what you have or don't have under there.

It's pretty certain that you have a Panhard bar; without one, the inside of the tires would rub the wheel wells around every corner. It's the only thing that keeps the rear centered under the car. You'd know it, unmistakably, if it wasn't there.

Ideally, you'd usually want it as close as possible to level with the car in its normal operating position, whatever that is. The NASCAR guys move it up and down to tune how their cars go around the corners for example: its ideal height depends in part on where the suspension deflects to as they go through the corners. Since they don't care what the car does when it goes straight or turns right, they tune it for hard left turns only.

 

Its mount location certainly does make a difference in handling- it effects the roll axis of the car. Roll axis is greatly effected by body weight transfer and how it is distributed to the front or rear tires. Whether its mounts are placed lower or high, RB is correct to say that the panhard rod should be as close to vertical when under cornering loads as to minimise deflection. The stock mount locations are fine if the car is lowered to the level of a vertical panhard rod and all other geometry is corrected because of lowering- otherwise I believe Ground Control offers an upper relocation brace that lowers the panhard rod to level or vetical if the ride height remains stock.