lowering - adj. panhard rod & rca's & panhard bushin

[Apolan]

Hi,
i'm lowering my car with some apex springs (-35/-35) and i'm wondering if i need the adjustable panhard rod and rca's up front? From my calculations the panhard rod should be lenghtened for 0.7 mm which im not sure if it makes any sense?

And on a side note, i have a set of prothane bushings - i'm wandering how to get them into the panhard rod, do i need to smack the steel sleeve out from the original bushing? And how to get the 1 piece bushing into the large side of the panhard, as original bush was 2 piece - do i cut it n half or just press it inside or what..

tnx for your time,
cheers

[Bubble_Drift]

I had mine on Apex springs. Everything else stock. It was fine.
Way better then the stock springs.

About the prothane bushings....no idea, but you can cut them, thats OK.

[HybriD07]

You can just press the panhard bushing in, no need to cut it in half, with mine it went in fairly easy.

[jondee86]

Yeah... the adjustable panhard rod thing is pretty much pure BS !!
I did a similar calculation and found that the amount of adjustment
required was tiny. The only time you would ever notice is if you were
running the sidewall of your tire real close to the bodywork. Then you
might get a fraction more tire rub on one side than the other.

FWIW, since 1985 I've been driving an AE86 on lowering springs with
Koni yellows and the OEM panhard rod, and it drives perfect

Cheers... jondee86

[Rosedrift]

with my apex springs I never saw 35mm lowering! I would say about 20mm is more realistic. No need to change your panhard, it will be fine even with 40mm lowering. I have the rca's but I don't thing you really need them with apex springs. If you have trouble with the bushes you can burn them,they will come out much easier.... For the new ones use WD-40 and you are out of trouble

[Apolan]

Hey guys thanks for the replies, you've cleared most of the things up for me.. only the small "eye" of the panahard bugs me - i have burned all the old bushings out, but the metal ring/sleeve of the old bushing is still there (in the small hole of the panhard rod) - do i need to remove it to fit the prothane bushings, or do i just press them in with the sleeve in there?

tnx, regards

[jondee86]

You need to press/hammer/nuke that metal sleeve out before you
press the poly bush in. Either use a suitable sized socket and a vice,
or if desperate, slit it with a hacksaw (carefully) and then prise it out
with a screwdriver.

Probably easier to cut the one for the other end in half, since it is
compressed by the nut and washer when installed.

Cheers... jondee86

[Apolan]

Cool, thanks!