Installed a rear swaybar on the Focus! Woah!

[SwampSurvivor]

When I bought my 2011 Focus, I didn't realize that it didn't come with a rear sway bar. Apparently that was reserved for the sporty SES model (17'' wheels, rear swaybar, colored headlights).

Last year in the junkyard I found a 2002 Focus wagon with a rear sway bar. I bought the bar for $10 ... I snapped one of the end links, but they didn't charge for the good end link.

Turns out the base model Focuses do not have the provisions for rear sway bar. A few companies make brackets... but my concern with that was they would scratch away the paint on the rear subframe and eventually rust. Plus they mount much farther inboard than the stock mounts - causing the swaybar to be less effective.

I found a local fabricator and had him go to work on the rear subframe. I have some serious mounts on the rear subframe for the swaybar.

Threw the swaybar and endlinks on after work.

COMPLETELY changes the car's personality. I'm not a hard driver by any means; I always take corners below the suggested speed. Even with that, the car just felt like it was pushing and didn't feel right.

The car feels EXCELLENT now. Way more neutral.

For example, the onramp I use to get on the highway to go to work has a rated speed of 35. The focus definitely felt like I was pushing hte limits going 35, and I'd have to take it at 25. I took it at the suggested 35 tonight and it didn't even phase the car!

$10 Swaybar + junkyard End link
$50 for Brackets
$9 for new end link

Great, inexpensive mod to the Focus!

 

[mechanicx]

IMO all FWD cars should get a rear swaybar.

 

[ahoier]

Is this the same as a "track bar"? LOL...even my 88 Dodge Aries has a rear sway bar (and shocks...) in the rear...struts up front (no sporty torsion bar or anything up front though LOL, not actually a moto-cross car...though there are a couple of them on youtube that have modified to do such )


But yea, I barrel around the corners on the off ramps, it drives my passengers nuts..LOL.

 

[dparm]

Yep, a bigger rear sway bar makes a massive difference. Sharper steering response and flatter cornering. Sounds like you got a good deal.

 

[NHGUY]

The K car track bar is really a "Panhard rod",it keeps the axle centered in the car as the coil springs and trailing arms cannot take side loads.The K car sway bar is a tempered rod welded into the axle assembly (which is a giant angle iron),This sorta acts like a sway bar but in an unconventional way.

And glad to see someone else has a 1988 Aries!!! Mine started life in FLORIDA for 2 years then it was shipped to New England.

 

[NHGUY]

And yes...ahoier...I corner pretty heavily around the off ramps myself.I am always amazed how well these cars stay stuck down (with proper tires) to the ground.Afterall,they did "father" the Daytona,and it handled better than a lot of far more expensive "sports cars".

 

[JTK]

Nice mod miller! Your setup is probably better than a factory one. Certainly better than stabilizer bar-less.

Enthusiasts over at a Subaru Legacy board I visit go all gaga over swapping out their factory RSBs for one that's a couple millimeters larger in diameter. Whatever floats your boat I say.

In my younger days I installed an ultra high quality (LOL) JC Whitney rear stabilizer bar kit on my new 1993 Dodge Dakota 2wd p/u. Not sure if it helped, but it looked cool!

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: ahoier
Is this the same as a "track bar"? LOL...even my 88 Dodge Aries has a rear sway bar...

Nope. As said above, that's a panhard bar. Not the same thing. Completely different purpose.

 

[Smokescreen]

I put a TRD rear sway bar on the Corolla to polarize the handling to more neutral instead of sloppy front end push. It does make a huge difference.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Enthusiasts over at a Subaru Legacy board I visit go all gaga over swapping out their factory RSBs for one that's a couple millimeters larger in diameter.

Back when my 2001 Subaru Impreza RS was new, upgrading the US-spec 13mm rear sway bar to the JDM-spec 18mm rear bar was the hot ticket, completely transforming the way the car handled. It went from a front-heavy pig to just this side of neutral. It was a night and day difference and was the best thing I ever did to my car.

 

[ethangsmith]

My 86 Capri came without a rear sway bar- Only the v8 versions were fitted with them. A trip to the junkyard one day several years ago yielded a VERY thick bar from a later 90's GT Mustang. After installation, the car cornered significantly better and seemed much more planted on the road. Best $25 I spent on the rear of that car!

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I replaced the standard 17MM swaybar with a rear swaybar out of a SHO on my old Taurus. Was 100X harder than the Focus. Made a big difference on that as well.

There are some larger aftermarket rear swaybars available ... but they apparently make it oversteer. Oversteer in a front driver isn't cool!

There are a lot of suspension goodies available for the Focus. But ... it's a daily driver, I drive like a grandma any way, saving up to pay it off *and* working on getting the Cherokee back in action.

You can drive without a swaybar. Unless your vehicle has leaf springs, you can't remove a trac (panhard) bar and drive. Been around coil sprung Jeeps long enough to learn that one!

My next step to improve handling will be to remove the following from the trunk
- Jeep tire and wheel
- Jeep axle shafts
- Air Compressor
- Tools

 

[Texan4Life]

yep I have been eyeing a Hellwig sway bar for my 05 ram. I just ordered a helper spring kit by them. Looking forward to better towing

Hellwig makes kits specific to application and gets lots of good reviews.

 

[expat]

A sway bar may tend to cause the car to 'Break away' on the axle it's fitted. ie, a rear sway bar 'may' tend to cause oversteer a front bar (or a heavier front bar) may cause the car to understeer (or push) in the corners.

Just saying,: Proceed with caution, bigger is not always better.

Having said that, cars today, from the factory, tend to favour understeer, as understeer is easier for Joe Public to deal with.
Like I say, proceed with caution!

 

[surfstar]

My first car, a '68 Volvo 122s, required drilling holes under the rear seat bench to install an IPD sway bar. Definitely helped along with the larger upgraded front bar. Before that, when going around turns one passenger could look down on the other due to the roll!

 

[ram_man]

We have a 2010 se in the family it definetely handles very well. I dont recall a sway bar but it handles pretty well.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I installed an OEM rear stabilizer bar on our 2007 Chrysler Town & Country (which didn't come with one from the factory), and it made a dramatic difference in the attitude of the van.

 

[IndyIan]

It's good that the bar is working well. The wagons actually have different rear suspension than the others but I don't know what specifically is changed. The rear bar on my car isn't very thick but it is short so it must transfer quite a bit of force as the car does feel fairly neutral and flat.
Just watch what you are doing, a high speed lane change to dodge something may now need some skill and awareness to catch the backend.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
It's good that the bar is working well. The wagons actually have different rear suspension than the others but I don't know what specifically is changed. The rear bar on my car isn't very thick but it is short so it must transfer quite a bit of force as the car does feel fairly neutral and flat.
Just watch what you are doing, a high speed lane change to dodge something may now need some skill and awareness to catch the backend.


I was really surprised by how not-wide the swaybar is. It's less than half the width of the car! I think that's part of the idea of the control-blade suspension setup. Rides well, handles well, but nothing is going to take up too much space. Small springs, shocks and swaybar.

The swaybar out of my Cherokee (and the one I replaced on the Taurus) took up way more space.

I do find it a bit odd that the swaybar hangs below the suspension. Can't say I have seen that one before.

 

[Picky1]

In my 2012 Subaru Legacy I did the RSB upgrade (so easy a caveman can do it). The best $100 I ever spent on a car! I am not a hard driver but it makes a huge differnce in cornering and espeically helps when you are hit with cross winds on the highway.

Next up is swapping out the poor OEM tires, just can't bring myself to do it as the car only has 10,000 on it.