It has been a long day so I will edit this in the AM in case I could of said it better or with less words
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Since the factory alignment setup promotes rear end rotation stiffening the rear would increase the tendency to rotate which can be great fun on tight and twisty roads or an autocross event but could become a bit more than one wants to see in high speed corners.
The best and probably most difficult setup would be to have good rear end rotation at lower speeds, neutral at mid speeds and a bit of understeer at high speeds which is far safer and faster, having the rear end come around at high speeds usually means a pretty sudden event and can lead to not such a great outcome.
A rear sway bar, torsion bar, etc....will induce more oversteer so be advised, at high speeds it could become a very serious issue.
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I severely modded a 5 point rear bar to test with but so far my 2 days on track have shown I do not need a rear bar and I doubt many have a need for one, or a torsion bar, unless you keep the speeds in check.
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Note:
Swaybars are the last step in working out the balance of a properly setup car. Spring rates are also used for body roll control and keeping contact with the surface of the road, shocks are next, then sway bars last. A beam axle torsion bar is a swaybar by another name.
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The Fiesta factory alignment was developed to enhance our the factor and get great reviews, they did an incredible job for most of the drivers buying the car.
For those that want a bit more, it is far from optimal due to inherent instability in high speed corners, most FWD cars have little front camber and lots or rear to induce understeer for safety reasons as most do not really know how to drive a well setup car.
The ST is opposite in induce more fun, which I love, it is just when you want to really push the envelope we run into issues like high speed oversteer which is not safe or fast but this is more pronounced in stock or lightly modded cars.
Though it was a great deal of work I changed the rear camber and toe to setting much more inline with how I drive the car, like the grandpa I am on public roads 99.99 percent of the time. On track, my car is fast and soon to be very fast and snap oversteer can be a horrible way to end the day.
Now I am running -2.5 front and -1.9 rear camber and have the sway bar to test but would look at spring rates and shock settings first.
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Note: individual driving style has a great deal to do with car setup as well, even at the F1 level it is critically important so there is no setup we can choose arbitrarily.
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One persons experience with a particular bolt on part may not be and many times not so pertinent to others needs.
Rick
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Since the factory alignment setup promotes rear end rotation stiffening the rear would increase the tendency to rotate which can be great fun on tight and twisty roads or an autocross event but could become a bit more than one wants to see in high speed corners.
The best and probably most difficult setup would be to have good rear end rotation at lower speeds, neutral at mid speeds and a bit of understeer at high speeds which is far safer and faster, having the rear end come around at high speeds usually means a pretty sudden event and can lead to not such a great outcome.
A rear sway bar, torsion bar, etc....will induce more oversteer so be advised, at high speeds it could become a very serious issue.
-------------
I severely modded a 5 point rear bar to test with but so far my 2 days on track have shown I do not need a rear bar and I doubt many have a need for one, or a torsion bar, unless you keep the speeds in check.
-----------
Note:
Swaybars are the last step in working out the balance of a properly setup car. Spring rates are also used for body roll control and keeping contact with the surface of the road, shocks are next, then sway bars last. A beam axle torsion bar is a swaybar by another name.
-----------
The Fiesta factory alignment was developed to enhance our the factor and get great reviews, they did an incredible job for most of the drivers buying the car.
For those that want a bit more, it is far from optimal due to inherent instability in high speed corners, most FWD cars have little front camber and lots or rear to induce understeer for safety reasons as most do not really know how to drive a well setup car.
The ST is opposite in induce more fun, which I love, it is just when you want to really push the envelope we run into issues like high speed oversteer which is not safe or fast but this is more pronounced in stock or lightly modded cars.
Though it was a great deal of work I changed the rear camber and toe to setting much more inline with how I drive the car, like the grandpa I am on public roads 99.99 percent of the time. On track, my car is fast and soon to be very fast and snap oversteer can be a horrible way to end the day.
Now I am running -2.5 front and -1.9 rear camber and have the sway bar to test but would look at spring rates and shock settings first.
-----------------
Note: individual driving style has a great deal to do with car setup as well, even at the F1 level it is critically important so there is no setup we can choose arbitrarily.
-----------------
One persons experience with a particular bolt on part may not be and many times not so pertinent to others needs.
Rick
