Hey folks. Some recent discussion on these Pierce Motorsports products got me thinking that this is a "re-review" that's worthy of sharing. I shared some of this on an older thread awhile back and thought I'd share more for a newer generation of members and also because since my initial review I've upgraded from stock to an X47 so I have additional thoughts. 99% of this is cut/pasted and unedited from before, I only added a few new explanations because of the way my power mods have evolved since I first installed the bars.
Enjoy!
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I bought these bars and thought I'd share a few thoughts. I am doing so because as we all think of "first and necessary mods", I believe that after all the parts I've put on my car, these are among the most helpful and necessary. If you do ANY power mods to your car, these bars (particularly the front one) are a MUST.
PRICE - ****
I got both on sale for around $220 shipped. All of their stuff is available at their website.
QUALITY - *****
Excellent
SERVICE - ***
These guys are pretty great, they have accurately advertised products and quick communication. Shipping took only 3 days, I was surprised. I do wish they had better install guides; I didn't need them but it would be nice and probably bring more sales if they spent some time doing a write-up or video for these products; neither are available, I was just directed to "look at the installs on the forums". I asked for torque specs and was told to "use the factory specs". The PM guys could spend a bit more time simply noting the torque they used and providing it for people along with simple install instructions - for new modders this would be helpful.
INSTALL - ****
I did the rear bar in 5 minutes on ramps; the front bar took 30 minutes with a lift, that includes lifting the car. Both are simple and require nothing special if you have basic tools. I was unwilling to do the front bar with weight resting on the wheels so I enlisted a friends' help and we used his shop lift. But I've heard it can be done on ramps.
RESULTS - *****
Again this is a "must do" mod in my opinion. Why? Well, the rear bar is decent enough, the car feels tighter and the seats definitely hug you a bit more during hard cornering. I installed the rear torsion bar first and drove a few days without the front one to experience the difference. Then I added the front bar. While it does tighten cornering a bit, the reason I am such a fan of this product is the reduced wheel spin. I was at stage 1 when I installed the bar. Before the bar, wheel spin was becoming a real annoyance in 1st and 2nd gears and I found myself not flooring it as much because I couldn't go WOT without major torque steer and wheel spin. In the same week I installed the front bar, I also installed my FMIC and BIG MOUTH and went stage 2 OTS tune. Of course we all know there is a good bit more power/torque at stage 2. However, even with more torque the wheel spin/torque steer is greatly reduced. I mean greatly. I was pleasantly surprised at the power my car had with the new hardware, but even more surprised that I could use it. First gear still has some spinning and the car pulls to the right a bit....but it moves along and grabs the road much better. Second gear is a delight; without the bar at stage 1 I was spinning from 3-6k. Now with the bar at stage 2 there is almost no wheel spin, the car just moves. You fight the wheel enough to make it fun, but the car still stays planted and you can enjoy all that this engine has to give. I've found myself "taking the long way home" more than usual - these inexpensive parts have supplemented my power mods in wonderful ways, the car is super fun.
So in conclusion - I bought these bars with handling in mind...while they do help with handling, by far the greatest benefit is the reduction of wheel spin and traction regained after upping the power. I am loving this car at stage 2 and these bars are IMHO a must have if you're doing power mods.
***********************************************
X47 THOUGHTS
So since initial install a year or so ago I had my car custom tuned on stock turbo. This brought a decent amount of more torque as compared to the Cobb OTS tune I was using at time of install. Then I installed a hybrid turbo which we know brings a significant power increase. Though I didn't experience the bars before and after the X47 install, I do have some thoughts since any turbo upgrade is going to change the car.
Before with stock turbo there was insane torque from 2,500ish to 5,000 rpms or so. So the addition of these bars helped keep the tires under control by firming up the car thus allowing both tires to contact the road a bit better and reduce wheelspin. Now with the hybrid there is insane torque all the way to redline so I'd surmise that the addition of bracing is even more important and relevant. Truth be told if I were doing it again I'd have gone with the 6 point bar for this reason. Hijinx back in the day chimed in somewhere and posted a video of his car from the perspective of the driver's seat, among other suspension mods he mentioned a 6-point brace as part of what in his opinion helped keep the car on a straight path even though he had like a zillion hp.
In addition to that I've had my tuner Adam add Cobb traction control to my tune and dial it in so that it's about at the level 7 setting as defined by Cobb (not actually, but he set it using his own interpolated spectrum and then let me pick which one I liked) as the default. So I crank the car, turn off Ford TC with one button, and can floor it in 2nd with the X47 and get just the right balance of wheelspin and traction which for me is about 90% traction. In other words the tires barely shred and the car takes off to redline without having to feather the throttle to control the power. Not for everyone, but it's the way I like it.
When it comes to the above paragraphs I am positive that these Pierce bars have something to do with helping manage wheelspin. That's what this is all about, putting as much power to the road as possible. I highly recommend these bars to anyone looking for a good suspension upgrade that makes a difference.
Enjoy!
***********************************************
I bought these bars and thought I'd share a few thoughts. I am doing so because as we all think of "first and necessary mods", I believe that after all the parts I've put on my car, these are among the most helpful and necessary. If you do ANY power mods to your car, these bars (particularly the front one) are a MUST.
PRICE - ****
I got both on sale for around $220 shipped. All of their stuff is available at their website.
QUALITY - *****
Excellent
SERVICE - ***
These guys are pretty great, they have accurately advertised products and quick communication. Shipping took only 3 days, I was surprised. I do wish they had better install guides; I didn't need them but it would be nice and probably bring more sales if they spent some time doing a write-up or video for these products; neither are available, I was just directed to "look at the installs on the forums". I asked for torque specs and was told to "use the factory specs". The PM guys could spend a bit more time simply noting the torque they used and providing it for people along with simple install instructions - for new modders this would be helpful.
INSTALL - ****
I did the rear bar in 5 minutes on ramps; the front bar took 30 minutes with a lift, that includes lifting the car. Both are simple and require nothing special if you have basic tools. I was unwilling to do the front bar with weight resting on the wheels so I enlisted a friends' help and we used his shop lift. But I've heard it can be done on ramps.
RESULTS - *****
Again this is a "must do" mod in my opinion. Why? Well, the rear bar is decent enough, the car feels tighter and the seats definitely hug you a bit more during hard cornering. I installed the rear torsion bar first and drove a few days without the front one to experience the difference. Then I added the front bar. While it does tighten cornering a bit, the reason I am such a fan of this product is the reduced wheel spin. I was at stage 1 when I installed the bar. Before the bar, wheel spin was becoming a real annoyance in 1st and 2nd gears and I found myself not flooring it as much because I couldn't go WOT without major torque steer and wheel spin. In the same week I installed the front bar, I also installed my FMIC and BIG MOUTH and went stage 2 OTS tune. Of course we all know there is a good bit more power/torque at stage 2. However, even with more torque the wheel spin/torque steer is greatly reduced. I mean greatly. I was pleasantly surprised at the power my car had with the new hardware, but even more surprised that I could use it. First gear still has some spinning and the car pulls to the right a bit....but it moves along and grabs the road much better. Second gear is a delight; without the bar at stage 1 I was spinning from 3-6k. Now with the bar at stage 2 there is almost no wheel spin, the car just moves. You fight the wheel enough to make it fun, but the car still stays planted and you can enjoy all that this engine has to give. I've found myself "taking the long way home" more than usual - these inexpensive parts have supplemented my power mods in wonderful ways, the car is super fun.
So in conclusion - I bought these bars with handling in mind...while they do help with handling, by far the greatest benefit is the reduction of wheel spin and traction regained after upping the power. I am loving this car at stage 2 and these bars are IMHO a must have if you're doing power mods.
***********************************************
X47 THOUGHTS
So since initial install a year or so ago I had my car custom tuned on stock turbo. This brought a decent amount of more torque as compared to the Cobb OTS tune I was using at time of install. Then I installed a hybrid turbo which we know brings a significant power increase. Though I didn't experience the bars before and after the X47 install, I do have some thoughts since any turbo upgrade is going to change the car.
Before with stock turbo there was insane torque from 2,500ish to 5,000 rpms or so. So the addition of these bars helped keep the tires under control by firming up the car thus allowing both tires to contact the road a bit better and reduce wheelspin. Now with the hybrid there is insane torque all the way to redline so I'd surmise that the addition of bracing is even more important and relevant. Truth be told if I were doing it again I'd have gone with the 6 point bar for this reason. Hijinx back in the day chimed in somewhere and posted a video of his car from the perspective of the driver's seat, among other suspension mods he mentioned a 6-point brace as part of what in his opinion helped keep the car on a straight path even though he had like a zillion hp.
In addition to that I've had my tuner Adam add Cobb traction control to my tune and dial it in so that it's about at the level 7 setting as defined by Cobb (not actually, but he set it using his own interpolated spectrum and then let me pick which one I liked) as the default. So I crank the car, turn off Ford TC with one button, and can floor it in 2nd with the X47 and get just the right balance of wheelspin and traction which for me is about 90% traction. In other words the tires barely shred and the car takes off to redline without having to feather the throttle to control the power. Not for everyone, but it's the way I like it.
When it comes to the above paragraphs I am positive that these Pierce bars have something to do with helping manage wheelspin. That's what this is all about, putting as much power to the road as possible. I highly recommend these bars to anyone looking for a good suspension upgrade that makes a difference.
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