Rear Panhard Rod

Rear Panhard Rod 

One of the key elements in my recently improved handling is the Panhard Rod at the rear of an Austin 7 to reduce the oversteer on a corner. The oversteer is produced when the spring bends relative to the chassis as you load it up on a corner. I have tried various arrangements over the years however this is my latest and most successful attempt. The ideal Panhard rod starts off at the end of the spring at the rear and terminates on the bodywork at the same level.  If the attachments are not level with the car at both ends then a movement sideways will be induced into the rear suspension when the suspension is loaded up on a corner.

To achieve the optimum  I fabricated a special clamp on the rear spring and a ball joint on the chassis.

Ball joint on the Chassis

Mounting on the end of the spring

Spring Mounting from below

The spring mounting was fashioned out of two 6mm steel plates held in tension to the spring using 6mm ss cap screws with shims to make the sandwich a tight fit. Locktite was used to assemble on to the spring. This arrangement has been in place for some time now and has not moved.

General Arrangement

Note the kink in the rod to avoid the prop shaft.

The final test was on the track see Video

Here is an Index page for the build