Same experience from the Audi/VW side...To me, it is the biggest boost in ride quality because Ford puts sooooooo much under-steer into their cars when stock.
True. I'm not so worried about the front bar (yet). I'll have to ask that guy on here who is a Ford tech who also owns a sport to be the pioneer on that.You have a whole new set of things to worry about with the full electronic suspension.
Don't think anyone knows how it will react to even just a rear bar change.
It's a shame you have to take half the car apart to do a front bar in a fusion, as
I'm a huge proponent of monster sway bars and milder springs for street use and
would love to do both bars on my fusion.
I tried to find a front bar for my 2.0 AWD (even tried to have one custom made). None of the typical Fusion suppliers (even Steeda, that does current rear bar) will make one. The problem is, the entire steering rack would have to come out and even then half the suspension might have to come apart. I suspect the sport will be even worse due to size of engine and electronics on struts, etc....True. I'm not so worried about the front bar (yet). I'll have to ask that guy on here who is a Ford tech who also owns a sport to be the pioneer on that.![]()
Be interesting to know if sport has larger bars than non-sport.These are just my opinions based on experience I have over the years autocrossing. They may not apply well to the Fusion Sport, which is why testing would be of obvious importance.
Personally, I would leave the front swaybar alone at this point. Stiffening the front would most likely just add to potential for understeer especially if nothing is done to the rear. I do believe that a stiffer rear swaybar would make the car more neutral and would be worth considering. Steeda appears to have one that might work.
Now, the first modification for improved handling would be ditching the OEM tires.
My 2 cents.
+1 on ditching the OEM tires.These are just my opinions based on experience I have over the years autocrossing. They may not apply well to the Fusion Sport, which is why testing would be of obvious importance.
Personally, I would leave the front swaybar alone at this point. Stiffening the front would most likely just add to potential for understeer especially if nothing is done to the rear. I do believe that a stiffer rear swaybar would make the car more neutral and would be worth considering. Steeda appears to have one that might work.
Now, the first modification for improved handling would be ditching the OEM tires.
My 2 cents.
I realize that Ford had to keep the price realistic on the Fusion Sport, but being able to adjust the suspension more would have been a welcome option. I had a Mercedes ML 500 with an air suspension that had comfort, normal, and sport modes, and even this additional flexibility made a difference. I left it in normal most of the time, but sport was great when you hit an empty back road (too stiff for every day driving IMO), and comfort mode would smooth out a crappy road surface impressively.I believe that the shocks have a lot more potential than is being tapped with the stock programming. If there was a way to fool the system into giving us a sport+ mode, it would be nice.
No plans to autocross for me, and if I did, it would be the EVO anywayYou guys are right on about figuring out the size of the stock swaybars. For obvious reasons, there is no reason to spend money if the Steeda bar is not any stiffer. I might put my car up on the lift this weekend if I have time and get out the calipers to measure the rear swaybar. Just the way it drives, I cannot see doing the front swaybar, but that does not mean I am right. I agree that on the street a stiff set up often feels great, but it might be less than optimal in the typical autocross setting. I didn't buy the car to autocross, but I am tempted to autocross it because I believe it would be better than anyone would guess. If the front end is too stiff, autocrossing the car would be miserable. Of course, if you never plan to autocross then that is a moot point.
I believe that the shocks have a lot more potential than is being tapped with the stock programming. If there was a way to fool the system into giving us a sport+ mode, it would be nice. I need to look into how the system sends messages to the dampers and whether there might be a way to do a jms pedalmax-like chip in between to modify the system to be stiffer than normal. It would be particularly cool if you could do this separately for each corner. I would prefer an approach that left the stock computer tune out of the equation.
Agree and had said just that in a previous post. Would be nice if it could be set to "cooshie" until you get a certain rate of turn-in (lat accel) and then have it go instantaneously solid for a split second until the chassis recovers, then go back to medium for couple more seconds and then back to comfy.I realize that Ford had to keep the price realistic on the Fusion Sport, but being able to adjust the suspension more would have been a welcome option. I had a Mercedes ML 500 with an air suspension that had comfort, normal, and sport modes, and even this additional flexibility made a difference. I left it in normal most of the time, but sport was great when you hit an empty back road (too stiff for every day driving IMO), and comfort mode would smooth out a crappy road surface impressively.
Even beyond that. If there was a material upgrade, Steeda could be the exact same dimensions,Well I finally stuck the calipers on the factory Sport rear bar tonight.
For those metric fans out there, she measured 23.25mm
For those who like inches, she measured .915"
Measurements were taken from the near one of the brackets that mount the bar to the subframe.
Steeda's bar is 1" or 25.4mm.
Not sure if the stock bar is solid or hollow though. Not sure what the thickness is on the "non-sport" bars either. Anyone out there who has replaced their stock bar with the Steeda feel like cutting their stock bar in half to see if it is solid or hollow?