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RE-REVIEW: Pierce Motorsports 2pt lower chassis brace + rear torsion bar

jeff

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#1
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.

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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.
 


me32

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#3
Hey Jeff can you get some new updated pics of your installed parts to see how well they are holding up to weather and other things? Thanks.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #4
fu(king sweet write up. Ive been wondering about these bars for a while now, just hadn't bitten. I will now bite. thank you
Sure thing. I'm not the only person to give them the thumbs up, there are a bunch of others so mine is certainly not an isolated review.

Hey Jeff can you get some new updated pics of your installed parts to see how well they are holding up to weather and other things? Thanks.
Sure. First 3 are the rear torsion bar, next 2 are the front traction bar. Dirty but still looks great.

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One thing I'd add to my review, a few days after install I heard a loud clunking from the rear, a sound like a hammer hitting metal. Tightened up the rear bar which took 20 seconds, it had loosened a bit. About a week later the same thing happened, I tightened it again and it's been fine since. So with all the flex I suppose you might check that one every few days after install and re-torque.
 


Based

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#6
Hmm so I guess I will add these bars to the list of things to get along with my x47!


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Bluedrank

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#7
When you installed the front brace, did you let the wheels hang the during the whole install, or did you get the bar on and lift the wheels to their normal position (as if they were touching the road) and then tighten?
 


me32

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#8
Thanks Jeff. Glad to see no rust or paint flaking. Also thanks for the advice about having to re tq a few times. Good info.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #9
When you installed the front brace, did you let the wheels hang the during the whole install, or did you get the bar on and lift the wheels to their normal position (as if they were touching the road) and then tighten?
[SCAMMER ALERT] a lift and of all my mods this is the only one I actually used a lift to install. I used the lift because I wasn't comfortable with the weight on the car as I've had issues in the past getting bolts to thread correctly when working with suspension and the weight of the car being put on parts that I am removing/working on. So putting the car in the air fixes that problem because in my opinion it's easier to have a second person manipulating the wheels as opposed to jacking suspension parts while the car is on the ground. To answer your question, once the car was in the air and the 2 bolts were removed I raised/lowered the wheel while my buddy put the bolts back in once the bar was in place. On ramps a similar method could be used only you might have to jack the car somewhere to get things to line up easier.

Thanks Jeff. Glad to see no rust or paint flaking. Also thanks for the advice about having to re tq a few times. Good info.
[thumb]
 


Bluedrank

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#10
[SCAMMER ALERT] a lift and of all my mods this is the only one I actually used a lift to install. I used the lift because I wasn't comfortable with the weight on the car as I've had issues in the past getting bolts to thread correctly when working with suspension and the weight of the car being put on parts that I am removing/working on. So putting the car in the air fixes that problem because in my opinion it's easier to have a second person manipulating the wheels as opposed to jacking suspension parts while the car is on the ground. To answer your question, once the car was in the air and the 2 bolts were removed I raised/lowered the wheel while my buddy put the bolts back in once the bar was in place. On ramps a similar method could be used only you might have to jack the car somewhere to get things to line up easier.



[thumb]
Ok thanks. I had heard that it's best to get the bolts on and then put weight on the wheels, then bolt up completely. Maybe I misunderstood though.
 


alexrex20

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#11
It sounds like you're asking something different than what he answered. What you heard is correct: You are supposed to put the car down on its tires when you tighten down the control arm bolts. You want the suspension to be loaded when you torque those bushings. When I installed my 6-point I had the car on 4 jackstands with the front suspension dangling, but when I tightened the control arm bolts I set the car down onto ramps. So no you do not leave the suspension dangling for the whole install. The control arm did shift and cause the holes to be misaligned, but it is extremely easy to maneuver the control arm back into place. If you attempt the entire install on ramps (i.e. there is weight on the tires and the suspension is loaded) I expect you to have a helluva time getting the bolt to line up through the control arm into the crossmember.

I installed my 6-point myself with basic hand tools. It took me longer trying to figure out how to get the car onto 4 jackstands, than it did to install the 6-point. The 2-point should install in a matter of minutes.
 


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#12
Thanks so much, I am looking at ordering next week, was thinking about the 4 point bar, but for the price of the both you got I'd only get the 4 point. Great deal, great review.
 


TDavis

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#13
Thanks Jeff. Glad to see no rust or paint flaking. Also thanks for the advice about having to re tq a few times. Good info.
Keep in mind that his bar is powdercoated. Pierce went to making the 2 point bars in bulk and powdercoated them all one color so that it made production faster and more efficient. You can still request a different color to Pierce but those will be painted, not powdercoated. If you don't request a color they come with that anthracite powdercoating or you can request not painted at all.

Not questioning Pierce quality but just consider the strength/longevity differences between the powdercoating/paint
 


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#14
i am interested in these modifications but i often wonder if they actually help the car. over the years i have seen braces and bars that do nothing. Now seat of the pants feelings are sometimes all we have but it would be great if we could find out if these changes actually make the car go around a track faster.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #15
i am interested in these modifications but i often wonder if they actually help the car. over the years i have seen braces and bars that do nothing. Now seat of the pants feelings are sometimes all we have but it would be great if we could find out if these changes actually make the car go around a track faster.
Dude did you even read my review? Any of it? I wasn’t lying or making any of it up. If the car has better traction and grip then yes it will make you go around the track faster.
 


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#17
From a numbers standpoint I see what you are getting at. But no one on here is going to test a lap somewhere with or without the mod.
Now that said there are some mods where even by seat of the pants and "feel" we know would make a difference. This would be one. When you power out of the corner and feel less spin or less traction control intervention we know there is more grip which will almost always mean.. faster.

Thanks OP for the review. Although after getting the 2 point I wonder if I should have gotten the 4. [emoji23]

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#19
When you pay for something its easier to "feel" how much better the car performs. The number of strut tower braces out there are staggering and on most cars they do not do a thing. But folks that put them in love them. I read one study where they made a brace that had had a sliding spline in the center and had a way to measure the amount of movement. The results were interesting (it was not for the ST).

I am not saying these do not help just saying it would be nice to see real results. For engine mods we can measure the HP, for stuff like this we have to see if it helps us get round a track faster.
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #20
When you pay for something its easier to "feel" how much better the car performs. The number of strut tower braces out there are staggering and on most cars they do not do a thing. But folks that put them in love them. I read one study where they made a brace that had had a sliding spline in the center and had a way to measure the amount of movement. The results were interesting (it was not for the ST).

I am not saying these do not help just saying it would be nice to see real results. For engine mods we can measure the HP, for stuff like this we have to see if it helps us get round a track faster.
I’ve talked about these 2 items in question along with my strut tower bar numerous times on these forums. I’ve said over and over that the strut bar is pointless, money wasted. Spending money does not automatically make me give a good review. If it’s pointless like the strut bar, as I’ve said, I’ll admit it was a waste. If it helps like the torsion and traction bars, I will give a proper review as I have.
 




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