Installed: Eibach Front & Rear Sway Bars for Fiesta ST

[Chai]

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)

is this the one you have on your FiST? http://www.steedafiesta.com/parts/ford-fiesta-shock-tower-brace/

Also, for street driving on twisty roads, having too stiff of a setup may not be good.. a little flex could help rotate the rear end better..

The FiST is really good on the rear side, and if anything that needs improvement, it would be the front 2 wheels as they carry most of the load during cornering and hard braking.. IMO, just the front strut brace and the lower front tie bar is more than enough for spirited street driving..

 

[Kip2MyLou]

is this the one you have on your FiST? http://www.steedafiesta.com/parts/ford-fiesta-shock-tower-brace/

Also, for street driving on twisty roads, having too stiff of a setup may not be good.. a little flex could help rotate the rear end better..

The FiST is really good on the rear side, and if anything that needs improvement, it would be the front 2 wheels as they carry most of the load during cornering and hard braking.. IMO, just the front strut brace and the lower front tie bar is more than enough for spirited street driving..

That's what I was thinking too. That's why I was just planning to go the pierce package route.

 

[BlueBomber]

is this the one you have on your FiST? http://www.steedafiesta.com/parts/ford-fiesta-shock-tower-brace/

Also, for street driving on twisty roads, having too stiff of a setup may not be good.. a little flex could help rotate the rear end better..

The FiST is really good on the rear side, and if anything that needs improvement, it would be the front 2 wheels as they carry most of the load during cornering and hard braking.. IMO, just the front strut brace and the lower front tie bar is more than enough for spirited street driving..

No
http://www.steedafiesta.com/parts/ford-fiesta-rear-swaybar/

I have this

Kevin Lluevano has a part similar to what you posted in his car though, but his was Mfr'd by TB Motorsports IIRC and they also do chassis bracing for our cars


see the Pierce Motorsports thread for info on their Front Strut Tower Brace; both it and the Front Tie Brace are avail powdercoated in your choice of colors. The Front Strut Tower Brace IMO I don't feel like does much since the firewall is basically on top of the strut towers as it is so I think it's more cosmetic, but the tie brace as I said did a lot, as did the Steeda "rear sway bar" aka torsion beam brace. Kevin Lluevano noted he was like 1s or 2 faster around Horsethief Mile... [MENTION=879]D1JL[/MENTION] weren't you there when Kevin ran a few months back w/the bars?

 

[D1JL]

I am sorry I was not there with Kevin.
However I do have similar bracing and bars, I have seen an improvement in track times.



Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

So the strut brace is pointless? But the 2 pt tie brace is worth it?

 

[BlueBomber]

So the strut brace is pointless? But the 2 pt tie brace is worth it?

As I keep saying, YES
the Tie Brace is the KEY thing there that yielded an immediate, noticeable improvement for me.

I didn't notice any difference after fitting the strut brace.

 

[CarGuy]

Good to know. Thanks for sharing.

 

[FORZDA 2]

So the strut brace is pointless? But the 2 pt tie brace is worth it?

Well, the upper strut brace is certainly much less needed/functional than the lower control arm pivot brace, but it serves a purpose slightly more than cosmetic. Newer (~>2000) unibody cars have much better chassis designs that improve on the main flex points of the older (~<1999) designs, such that additional braces for mainly street use not really "needed" other than for long-term chassis survival. The lower control arm pivot is still an area in FWD cars that does flex under heavy loads, even on the street with sticky tires. Almost ANY FWD car will reflect a change in steering feel and maximum cornering capability when fitted with a lower control arm pivot brace.

 

[D1JL]

I do not mean to disagree with BlueBomber however I do not believe that the strut tower brace is useless.
Although for many this may be true, for some I believe it is a valid item.
Race cars are built with complete tube chassis, not only for protection but also to keep things from flexing.
We don't normally push our cars to those limits but over time, with hard driving, things WILL start to move.
Adding additional bracing will prevent this flexing from happening for a longer time.

As I have said elsewhere, you should not feel much, if any change by adding the strut tower brace.
But it should keep you from feeling any change.

A rear shock brace is another mater.
A hatch type car has a tremendous space in the rear unlike a sedan.
So adding a brace across this space helps a lot.

I have ALL these braces including undercarriage braces on my car and I am VERY happy as to how it feels and handles.

All of the above is off topic however related.

I do now have the Eibach rear sway bar on my car.
I did have the Eibach front bar as well.
I replaced the Eibach front bar with a slightly less stiff (still more than OE) bar as I think the Eibach front bar is too stiff for the track.
It however works great on the street.

The bottom line is that what works for some people may not work for everyone.
You must setup your car for YOU.



This of course is all just my opinion.





Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I'm never going to go to the track, just want more balance on back roads. So I'll just get the 2pt tie brace first and go from there.

Thanks guys.

 

[rodmoe]

I'm never going to go to the track, just want more balance on back roads. So I'll just get the 2pt tie brace first and go from there.

Thanks guys.

That May be more than enough for your needs as you can always add more tweaks later too

 

[Kip2MyLou]

That May be more than enough for your needs as you can always add more tweaks later too

More? What would you recommend then just for daily fun driving?

 

[rodmoe]

More? What would you recommend then just for daily fun driving?

That my friend is up to you as it is a personal choice as to what is "fun" lol but it is nice to take little steps and see what each new mods does or doesn't do for the fun factor..

 

[D1JL]

Are we supposed to have FUN?
I thought we were just supposed to spend money on MODs.




Dave

 

[Kip2MyLou]

That my friend is up to you as it is a personal choice as to what is "fun" lol but it is nice to take little steps and see what each new mods does or doesn't do for the fun factor..

Damn I almost tricked you into solving all my problems. Ha

 

[rodmoe]

Haha I wish lOl