Ground clearance is an important factor for successful off road driving. The lowest points of the vehicle will inevitably make contact with the ground at some stage while driving in ruts or negotiating rocks and tree stumps. The steering rods on live axle Land Rovers are particularly vulnerable and can easily get bent seriously affecting front wheel alignment and steering ability. Even slightly bent steering rods can cause excessive tyre wear and poor handling. Also when Land Rovers are fitted with very large tyres the forces acting on the steering gear are far greater especially when attacking obstacles off road, hard impacts on the wheels can also bend or kink the steering rods causing serious steering problems.
Excessive feedback from bumps and ruts in the terrain is extremely tiresome and in extreme circumatsnaces can cause the driver to lose control, steering dampers are designed to arrest this feedback maintaining control and safe driving as well as eliminating driver fatigue.
Live axle Land Rovers use a panhard rod to control front axle and wheel alignment, when lifted the tendency is for the panhard rod to pull the axle to one side forcing the front and rear wheels out of line and in extreme circumstances lead to bump steer during axle movement and hard braking. An adjustable panhard rod allows is the 'cure all' in these circumstances.
These issues are not just for recreational and competitive off roaders, for example contractors and farmers driving in severe off road conditions will benefit from these upgrades.
