My car was recently lowered and I have not gotten a new panhard rod yet. Is it really needed for a lowered car? And does it help handling at all?

 

Helped mine.

 

I think it depends on how much you lowered the car. I believe it's supposed to re-center the rear axle once the car is lowered 1.5 inches or more, but someone please correct me if I'm incorrect.

 

you are correct, it will help you have the same distance between the tire and the wheelwell.

 

An adjustable panhard will recenter the axle, yes.

However, the true benefit in the bar is how it holds the rear-end in place, stopping any side-to-side motion of the axle in the corners. The stock bar from the factory is good, but there is still (relatively) a lot of flex in it. This means that in heavy cornering, you can encounter lateral axle movement which destablizes the car.

So moving to a stiffer panhard, along with a stiffer brace will reduce flex and improve handling feel in the rear end.