Installed: Eibach Front & Rear Sway Bars for Fiesta ST

[BlueBomber]

Hey guys, I just finished a writeup on a Fiesta ST fitted with a set of Eibach front and rear sway bars and snapped a few photos during the install before everything got bolted down so you can actually see the sway bars. Not much in terms of driving impressions yet, but the rear sway bar will definitely help correct the 3-wheeling behavior of the car.

Read the full story HERE

"Stock for stock the Ford Fiesta ST is one of the best handling FWD cars ever made, but thanks to that torsion beam out back, it has a nasty habit of lifting a hind leg more than a dog with a bladder problem when you throw the Fiesta ST aggressively into corners. A little bit of extra love from Eibach helps dial in the Fiesta ST Suspension in the form of an Eibach Front Sway Bar for Fiesta ST and Eibach Rear Sway Bar for Fiesta ST."

Read the full story and see the full photo gallery HERE


If you're interested in a set of Eibach Sway Bars, talk to Jurrian at ModBargains (Jurrian@ModBargains.com) or call 714-582-3330 (x8002 for Jurrian) consult our friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic Mod Experts when considering your next bolt on.

Full disclosure: Chris was already buying the Eibach sway bars, I'm sure you all know what sway bars do, but I reckoned you guys would appreciate seeing the things actually installed on someone's car. I'm not saying Eibach sways are better than any other sway bar, but I can assure you that having an Eibach rear sway bar is definitely better than no rear sway bar at all, and it does help correct (but can't totally eliminate) the 3-wheeling issue.

Cheers,
Nick aka BlueBomber

 

[D1JL]

I had this setup almost a year ago.
I would like to hear comments on handling.
Is this car going to be put on the track or just street.


Dave

 

[BlueBomber]

AFAIK it's a street use car

 

[D1JL]

That is great.
He will enjoy the heck out of it.


Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I was thinking about going this route since I didn't have any plans of lowering the car.

You guys still think it's worth it? Putting the sway bar kit on on stock suspension set up?

 

[bobjob]

I'd like to know too, I dunno what it is but turning doesn't feel as tight as my old Mazda 3. D1jl why did you remove your setup again?

 

[D1JL]

In answer to your questions.

Adding anti sway bars has nothing to do with ride height.
These bars will work just fine on stock suspension.
Remember, they only reduce body roll.
Remember too that lower/stiffer springs will also reduce body roll.

Why I removed this setup.

Although I found the Eibach Anti Sway Kit great for the street.
I found that the front bar was too much on a road race track at higher speeds.
I am now using the same rear bar but a slightly smaller (still lager than OE) front bar.

As for the springs,
I did the prototype testing for the Eibach springs you are talking about above.
I am now testing the prototype Eibach Pro-Street-S coilover set.


I am NOT going to tell anyone how to setup their car.
How you want your car to ride and handle is up to you.
I like the way my car is setup and that is what is important to me.
My car rides very nice on the street but is also very flat and stiff in the turns.

This is my opinion and other's may vary.



Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

In answer to your questions.

Adding anti sway bars has nothing to do with ride height.
These bars will work just fine on stock suspension.
Remember, they only reduce body roll.
Remember too that lower/stiffer springs will also reduce body roll.

Why I removed this setup.

Although I found the Eibach Anti Sway Kit great for the street.
I found that the front bar was too much on a road race track at higher speeds.
I am now using the same rear bar but a slightly smaller (still lager than OE) front bar.

As for the springs,
I did the prototype testing for the Eibach springs you are talking about above.
I am now testing the prototype Eibach Pro-Street-S coilover set.


I am NOT going to tell anyone how to setup their car.
How you want your car to ride and handle is up to you.
I like the way my car is setup and that is what is important to me.
My car rides very nice on the street but is also very flat and stiff in the turns.

This is my opinion and other's may vary.



Dave

Thanks man. I won't ever be autocrossing or anything like that, but I still would like to improve the handling and cornering of the car. But like I said before, I have no plans on lowering it just because I drive into DC every day and those roads are terrible. But if I can improve the handling and cornering of the car, even if it's just for purely street use, by adding the sway bar kit, that sounds like a good deal to me.

And they cost around the same as springs would anyway.

 

[D1JL]

I am sure you will be very happy with them.


Dave

 

[meFiSTo]

Hello!

I'm kicking around the option of adding a rear anti-sway bar to my FiST. I have mountune springs in the box, ready to go on. My impression from what I've read so far is that this car is relatively neutral--having a mild willingness to rotate (in a track application, maybe under trail braking or with a little throttle lift).

[MENTION=282]BlueBomber[/MENTION]: My question has to do with adding a front bar. I thought that adding stiffness in the front raises the tendency to push (understeer). However, in your writeup, you say this: "With a stiffer front sway bar to totally eradicate any hint of under-steer..." That suggests the front bar reduces understeer. Did you mean that?

My application is as an occasionally driven street car that will also be used for recreational lapping on club track days a few times a year. No autocross, just HPDE playdates.

 

[D1JL]

Although I think the Eibach Sway Bar set is just fine for the street and most users.
I think the front bar is a little too much for the track.
I have tried all of these different setups.
I would recommend that you address your tires for the track first.

This is just my opinion.


Dave

 

[meFiSTo]

Thanks man. Makes sense. I'll be running a couple sets of wheels. I'll try out RE-11As (205/50-15 on 15x7, 42 mm offset TD PR 1.2s) for my summer drive around/wet track/lazy drive to track setup. My other wheels will be identical (just a different color). I figure to make those into my track wheels (carry to track). I've gone between shaved, heat cycled NT01s and Dunlop DZIIs (which I've also considered shaving and heat cycling). I'm not planning to do any radical suspension mods or a BBK replacement. I plan to have a comparatively conservative camber adjustment (-2.0 degrees max). Brakes will be stock calipers with teflon brake lines and Castrol SRF. Pads will be Carbotech XP8s all around (although I might see how the stock pads perform for benchmark purposes). That XP8 brake setup worked great on a previous very similarly powered and sized Ford FWD car. Also Quaife. But Frankenfiesta is just going to be a recreational lapper, which is why I'm leaning to the Dunlops at the moment. I suspect they won't be so stressful on the braking system (less heat), I'll lose a few seconds on technical tracks I'm sure, but I guess the question is: who cares? It's about having fun, right? I can easily wait on making a call about the rear bar until I have gotten acquainted with the car, that's for sure.

 

[BlueBomber]

Well, I hope it does; I haven't driven one with it yet myself but plan to install one soon myself. I have heard good things from those who have a front sway though so I don't have a problem standing by that claim. It SHOULD correct any remaining hint of understeer

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Well, I hope it does; I haven't driven one with it yet myself but plan to install one soon myself. I have heard good things from those who have a front sway though so I don't have a problem standing by that claim. It SHOULD correct any remaining hint of understeer

You have any of the pierce products?

 

[BlueBomber]

I have the Pierce Tie Brace and fSTB

fSTB just looks pretty IMO but tie brace definitely helped a lot

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Strut bar doesn't really do anything? And that's the setup I'll be going, strut and 2 pt brace.

 

[BlueBomber]

Strut bar doesn't really do anything? And that's the setup I'll be going, strut and 2 pt brace.

kevin lluevano swears by his rear strut tower brace - I love my Steeda "Rear Sway bar" aka Torsion Beam Brace - I don't have a rear sway yet but this made the back end feel so much better behaved.

so to recap here is my setup

ST Suspensions XTA Adjustable Coilovers
XXR 521 17x7 ET38
Hankook Ventus 215-45-17
Pierce Motorsports Front Strut Tower Brace
Pierce Motorsports Front Tie Brace
Steeda "Rear Sway Bar"
COBB RMM (this is a key cornering control piece IMO)

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I don't think I'm going to go all that route. I just want a little better handling for aggressive driving sometimes. So I think the 2 pt brace and strut bar will accomplish that.

 

[BlueBomber]

Id do the Front Tie Bar and REAR strut tower brace

 

[Kip2MyLou]

Id do the Front Tie Bar and REAR strut tower brace

From pierce? Or steeda?