Sway Bar

Carmen_SanDiego

Carmen_SanDiego

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Hi, I own a 2014 FiST with the ST suspension coilovers and am not sure if I should get any sway bars. From what I know, the stock 2014 has a front sway bar and a torsion beam rear axle. Would it be worth buying a sway bar for front and back, just back, or leave it stock? Any brand recommendations would also me appreciated, thanks.
 


arlisscm

arlisscm

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Carmen_SanDiego said:
Hi, I own a 2014 FiST with the ST suspension coilovers and am not sure if I should get any sway bars. From what I know, the stock 2014 has a front sway bar and a torsion beam rear axle. Would it be worth buying a sway bar for front and back, just back, or leave it stock? Any brand recommendations would also me appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...
What is it you are trying to change about the cars handling? This will help people in making suggestions (if any).

For example, I wanted more/easier rotation on the track (I have BC coilovers with Swift springs, but should be fairly similar) so I have a Pierce Motorsports rear beam brace (mounts inside the rear axle beam) and a Whiteline 22mm rear sway bar, left the front stock but threw in some poly bushings.
 


OP
Carmen_SanDiego

Carmen_SanDiego

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arlisscm said:
What is it you are trying to change about the cars handling? This will help people in making suggestions (if any).

For example, I wanted more/easier rotation on the track (I have BC coilovers with Swift springs, but should be fairly similar) so I have a Pierce Motorsports rear beam brace (mounts inside the rear axle beam) and a Whiteline 22mm rear sway bar, left the front stock but threw in some poly bushings.
Click to expand...
Just the cornering ability
 


arlisscm

arlisscm

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Carmen_SanDiego said:
Just the cornering ability
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Any brace or sway bar added to the rear will make it more "tail happy" (oversteer), I haven't changed the front bar, so I cannot speak to if that will increase understeer or not, but it stands to reason that it may. So, if you want the rear to be a little more loose add a rear bar and/or brace, but if it's predominantly for street driving, it's not likely needed.

Also note that to swap the front bar, you need to drop the subframe, so it's quite a bit more involved than the rear. Installing the Whiteline rear bar I have was super easy, the bar, some spacers, and 4 bolts and nuts.
 


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Carmen_SanDiego

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arlisscm said:
Any brace or sway bar added to the rear will make it more "tail happy" (oversteer), I haven't changed the front bar, so I cannot speak to if that will increase understeer or not, but it stands to reason that it may. So, if you want the rear to be a little more loose add a rear bar and/or brace, but if it's predominantly for street driving, it's not likely needed.

Also note that to swap the front bar, you need to drop the subframe, so it's quite a bit more involved than the rear. Installing the Whiteline rear bar I have was super easy, the bar, some spacers, and 4 bolts and nuts.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I've been looking at the Whiteline rear bar as its used in the M2 Motoring's Fiesta SMEA build. I'll probably end up waiting to get a bar installed for a bit since as of now I mostly street drive.
 


Downsy

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The stock suspension is really good for most driving. Unless you are trying to tune the suspension to do something different it may not be worth diving into that mess. The only real "mod" to my suspension is Bilstein B6 shocks/struts. I undid a lot of what the previous owner did as far as lowering and other mods. Going back closer to stock really made the car a much better daily driver.
 


Speedboosted

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Improving "corning ability" as you stated is a tough one. At a high level...if you want it to rotate more, increase rear roll stiffness. If you want it to rotate less, increase front roll stiffness.

How do you like the ST coilovers so far? I was considering those since I don't really need damping adjustments. How is the ride compared to stock?
 


LilPartyBox

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This is totally up to you. Do you like the way the car corners with your current setup? If not, what exactly about it would you like to improve? With that info we can make better recommendations
 


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Carmen_SanDiego

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Speedboosted said:
Improving "corning ability" as you stated is a tough one. At a high level...if you want it to rotate more, increase rear roll stiffness. If you want it to rotate less, increase front roll stiffness.

How do you like the ST coilovers so far? I was considering those since I don't really need damping adjustments. How is the ride compared to stock?
Click to expand...
Sorry for the late reply. I got the car with the coilovers already. I cant compare them to the stock version but they feel pretty comfortable, are firm, feel balanced, and have nice handling.
 


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Carmen_SanDiego

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LilPartyBox said:
This is totally up to you. Do you like the way the car corners with your current setup? If not, what exactly about it would you like to improve? With that info we can make better recommendations
Click to expand...
Sorry for another late reply. The current cornering Isn't bad but I feel like I have quite a bit of body roll on turns. Overall I think I want to make the car more stiff but I am not sure if sway bars are the right move.
 


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