Steeda strut tower brace and rear sway bar.

[marklally]

A few days ago I installed the Steeda strut tower brace and larger rear sway bar; I can not speak as to how the two items perform individually, but as a pair, I can attest to the fact that the improvement is amazing. I took my girlfriend on a winding road this morning that we took just last week and she stated that she felt much more confident this time, even though I made sure that we where taking the curves at the same speed as before. I felt the my FFH was a great handling car as it came from the factory with the 18" wheels and the LS2 tires, but now it is better than I could have ever hoped for, I just love it. I have tried to determine if the ride is any harsher on different road surfaces, but after much testing, I just can't say for sure one way or another, so I guess that I am saying that the answer is "no" to that.

I installed the strut tower brace myself in about 5 minutes, but since there was now central location to jack up the rear of the car as a whole, I took it to a local garage and we installed the rear sway bar together on the rack; I would not recommend trying to install the sway bar by yourself on the ground, it would be very frustrating, but doable.

The strut tower brace is $120 dollars and the rear sway bar is $150 dollars, money well spent in my opinion.

[acdii]

The brace and sway bar wont affect the ride, just the stability on turns and curves. The brace keeps the front strut tops locked in place, and the rear sway(there should be one up front too) stiffen the body torsion so the wheels stay panted firmed to the ground. This is something I may look into next year for mine. I like how it handles, but can use some improvement.

[GrySql]

This is something I may look into next year for mine. I like how it handles, but can use some improvement.

The Steeda equipment is great but wait until you drive it after you put the new Conti tires on, you'll like the handling improvement from just that change.

[Waldo]

The brace and sway bar wont affect the ride, just the stability on turns and curves. The brace keeps the front strut tops locked in place, and the rear sway(there should be one up front too) stiffen the body torsion so the wheels stay panted firmed to the ground. This is something I may look into next year for mine. I like how it handles, but can use some improvement.

 

What a rear sway bar (really and anti-sway bar) does is connect the two wheels together so that as the body rolls, it acts like a stiffer spring in compression on the outside wheel and stiffer in rebound on the inside wheel. It has nothing to do with body torsion, but the effect is that you get less body roll. On front wheel drive cars especially, stiffening the rear bar will often cause the inside rear wheel to lift (not stay planted firmly on the ground), but this isn't always a bad thing.

The real effect is on the balance of the car. Stiffening the rear moves the roll couple balance forwards, which creates more oversteer. It makes the car more "tossable" and fun, but also more dangerous at the limit, that's why it doesn't come from the factory that way. It will affect the ride, but only when one wheel hits a bump that the other side does not. For example a speed bump will be no different, but a pothole will be worse.

 

I can't image the front strut tower bar does much, since the strut towers on the fusion are already pretty fully integrated into the cowl assembly, essentially the car already has a factory strut tower bar.

[marklally]

Yes, I didn't expect that the ride to be any worse on good roads, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the ride on uneven payment didn't seem to degrade either, but to be fair, I haven't hit any potholes yet. The car does understeer quite a bit less now and this suits my driving ability much better; the car can be tossed much easier now, just as Waldo suggest.

 

I believe I have about 10k miles left on my OEM LS2 goodyears, for tires that are rated so poorly, on my car they seem to do a very good job, when they do wear out I am leaning towards the Continental PureContact's or the Pirelli P7's; both have very good ratings, I wish there was some reviews on this forum as to how both of these tires do on our particular cars.

 

I didn't expect that the strut tower brace would have a great deal of effect on a car that is so stiff to start with, but for the price of the unit, I figured that it was worth it to me for even a small advantage.

[acdii]

 

What a rear sway bar (really and anti-sway bar) does is connect the two wheels together so that as the body rolls, it acts like a stiffer spring in compression on the outside wheel and stiffer in rebound on the inside wheel. It has nothing to do with body torsion, but the effect is that you get less body roll. On front wheel drive cars especially, stiffening the rear bar will often cause the inside rear wheel to lift (not stay planted firmly on the ground), but this isn't always a bad thing.

The real effect is on the balance of the car. Stiffening the rear moves the roll couple balance forwards, which creates more oversteer. It makes the car more "tossable" and fun, but also more dangerous at the limit, that's why it doesn't come from the factory that way. It will affect the ride, but only when one wheel hits a bump that the other side does not. For example a speed bump will be no different, but a pothole will be worse.

 

I can't image the front strut tower bar does much, since the strut towers on the fusion are already pretty fully integrated into the cowl assembly, essentially the car already has a factory strut tower bar.

Thats what I meant, thats what I get for posting while watching TV. LOL

[GrySql]

I believe I have about 10k miles left on my OEM LS2 goodyears, for tires that are rated so poorly, on my car they seem to do a very good job, when they do wear out I am leaning towards the Continental PureContact's or the Pirelli P7's; both have very good ratings, I wish there was some reviews on this forum as to how both of these tires do on our particular cars.

There are a few comments about 18" tires posted here.

Not many people on the Forum have bought tires for the 2013/2014 FFH's, but that will change as the miles pile up.

Like you, I thought the LS 2's were fairly good tires, but they didn't last as long as my initial estimate.

I like my new Conti's very much, they help the car's ride and handling.

[FernMTL]

Just ordered the Steeda strut brace. BTW, It's on sale on their website and free shipping!

[Cobra348]

I installed the strut tower brace and hood struts a week and a half ago. I can feel a bit of handling difference but not a whole lot. I have the rear sway bar replacement but am waffling on installation ... I have a Service Advisor who loves pulling the "voided warranty" trigger a lot. I want to install it but I also wish to retain my warranty! <sigh>

 

Oh, and the hood struts are REALLY nice! no more support pole and they can be fastened in addition to the tower brace!

Edited April 28, 2015 by Cobra348

[FernMTL]

It can't void your warranty. I guess your Service Advisor is just too lazy to claim warranty jobs to Ford. I've worked as a Service Advisor for Ford before, it takes major modifications (especially to engine performance) to void the warranty.

It's like if he says that your warranty is void because you've install new wheels on your car!!!

I've seen a guy with 20 inches wheels on his Fusion (looked awesome BTW). Both front shock failed within a year and were replaced no questions asked. We couldn't prove it was due to the new wheels.

Do your maintenance as scheduled by Ford and you should not have any problems

[Cobra348]

It can't void your warranty. I guess your Service Advisor is just too lazy to claim warranty jobs to Ford. I've worked as a Service Advisor for Ford before, it takes major modifications (especially to engine performance) to void the warranty.

It's like if he says that your warranty is void because you've install new wheels on your car!!!

I've seen a guy with 20 inches wheels on his Fusion (looked awesome BTW). Both front shock failed within a year and were replaced no questions asked. We couldn't prove it was due to the new wheels.

Do your maintenance as scheduled by Ford and you should not have any problems

Done and done! I've driven cars for a lot of years but with rare exception they've all been used. Only in the last few years have I been able to do new stuff.

 

<bites bullet> Gonna put the rear bar into place, just not say anything and wait for any backlash. <shrug>

[SteveB_TX]

A service advisor CANNOT refuse work by determining you voided the warranty. That can only be determined by Ford. Period. The SA is just that... an advisor. I have dealt with that type of SA when I had my Mustang GT. He lost his job over it. :)

[Da0ne]

I installed the strut tower brace and hood struts a week and a half ago. I can feel a bit of handling difference but not a whole lot. I have the rear sway bar replacement but am waffling on installation ... I have a Service Advisor who loves pulling the "voided warranty" trigger a lot. I want to install it but I also wish to retain my warranty! <sigh>

 

Oh, and the hood struts are REALLY nice! no more support pole and they can be fastened in addition to the tower brace!

 

i just installed the strut tower 2 weeks ago and feel some difference, I need to install the rear sway bar but i did go with a smaller end link

[Cobra348]

 

i just installed the strut tower 2 weeks ago and feel some difference, I need to install the rear sway bar but i did go with a smaller end link

Sway bar goes in on Friday morning. I live in a mostly rural county and the roads have not only hills but sharp and sweeping curves, so I think this will help even on reasonably short hauls. Couple weeks I'm heading to the Altoona, PA area to see in-laws so that'll stretch the cars legs and allow me to see how it really handles.

Edited April 29, 2015 by Cobra348

[FernMTL]

I'm receiving mine on friday, can't wait to install it. Hope it helps the car in corners; the FFH feels (and is!!) very heavy.

[Da0ne]

weather suppose to be nice this weekend so i will probably go ahead and install my rear sway bar

[Cobra348]

I'm receiving mine on friday, can't wait to install it. Hope it helps the car in corners; the FFH feels (and is!!) very heavy.

Well, I'm on the S shore of Lake Ontario and this weekend we should be seeing mid-60s to 70 (Fahrenheit) degrees here. Syracuse ... 30 minutes S of me ... is forecast to be about 5-10 degrees warmer. And no precipitation to speak of! Whee! You should also be pretty decent.

[marklally]

Install the sway bar ASAP, it's a night and day transformation.

[Cobra348]

Install the sway bar ASAP, it's a night and day transformation.

Sway bar installed and butt dyno was able to feel the difference immediately! A 38 mile "test track" with hills, tight and sweeping curves and turns was used. What a difference! I noticed a small improvement with just the tower brace, but adding the sway bar made a LOT of change in handling!

 

Was surprised that the bushings had zerk fittings on them where the OEM units are sealed. Grease added and will check again in a 2000 miles or so.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Cobra348

[rwhgme]

Can anyone provide the torque specifications for the strut tower brace bolts, please? Thank you!

[rwhgme]

Never mind..

[mwr]

Was surprised that the bushings had zerk fittings on them where the OEM units are sealed. Grease added and will check again in a 2000 miles or so.

Do they really need checking and service? I'm not keen on installing something that requires that.

[OkePilot2012]

Fantastic...thanks so much for this post. Question: in looking at the Steeda site, I don't see a Strut tower brace for 'hybrid' -- so I assume the one for the gas engines is suitable, since the mechanics of the struts are probably the same regardless of hybrid or conventional drive?

Edited April 13, 2017 by OkePilot2012

[Cobra348]

Fantastic...thanks so much for this post. Question: in looking at the Steeda site, I don't see a Strut tower brace for 'hybrid' -- so I assume the one for the gas engines is suitable, since the mechanics of the struts are probably the same regardless of hybrid or conventional drive?

You are correct. You can call them to double-check but the gas version is same. I initially put the tower brace, hood struts and sway bar on a '15 HyTi and when I traded it I removed them - restored OEM sway bar. They were drop fit into the '17 with no issues. Hell, I even have the OEM mobility kit that my compact spare replaced! Just in case I need to restore to OEM specs. <chuckle>

Edited April 13, 2017 by Cobra348

[OkePilot2012]

New set of four Michelin Defenders (17") yesterday, and had Steeda parts (tower brace/sway bar) installed today for $96 labor by my local shop this morning.

 

Took a shakedown cruise to work and back in mixed highway and urban driving (42.5 MPG average both legs).

 

Amazing difference!

 

Car now is much more "composed" in all phases of driving, but I most noticed it in the "pitch" axis -- less fore and aft motion when going over bumps and more stable over all -- also less 'dive' (front) or 'squat' (rear) when braking.

The car now also goes where it's pointed when it's pointed there, and steering feels confident and authoritative, as opposed to sorta generally mushing in the general direction you point the wheel. Better overall response through the steering system. Nice...

 

For less than $1K total, tires, brace and sway bar have made a lot of nice difference.

Recommended!!

 

136K miles and going strong.

Edited April 20, 2017 by OkePilot2012