I recently added a traction bar to my FWD FiST. It made a huge difference in torque steer and makes the car feel much more refined. I was really surprised at the difference. I had assumed others online were reporting on a placebo effect. The bar bolts on to the front of the subframe using the existing through the lower control arm bolts.
Why don't OEMs implement a solution like this?
So what's a traction bar and where does it bolt to? Picture? Link?
Really depends on the control arm design and how floppy they are stock. On hondas it can be huge on the vws it does amost nothing w good busings.
Snrub said:Why don't OEMs implement a solution like this?
I suspect two reasons:
1. Noise, vibration, and harshness.
2. Wear issues, particularly if using spherical rod ends or metal bushings.
Here's a link to the product I installed.
https://whooshmotorsports.com/products/whoosh-motorsports-2-point-trac-bar-2014-2019-fiesta-st-free-shipping
I don't feel like it added harshness. When you put the power down there's much less of a wrestling match. Most aftermarket modifications make a vehicle less refined - It feels like the opposite here.
Would it really impact bushings? It's bolted in and it's rigid, would it mostly affect subframe deflection? How would it wear bushings? How would it impact the floppiness of the control arms?
Snrub said:Here's a link to the product I installed.
https://whooshmotorsports.com/products/whoosh-motorsports-2-point-trac-bar-2014-2019-fiesta-st-free-shipping
I don't feel like it added harshness. When you put the power down there's much less of a wrestling match. Most aftermarket modifications make a vehicle less refined - It feels like the opposite here.
Would it really impact bushings? It's bolted in and it's rigid, would it mostly affect subframe deflection? How would it wear bushings? How would it impact the floppiness of the control arms?
Ok, I had been expecting something more like a strut rod, a bar that ties the LCA to the front of the frame with a pivot on the end. Like this, and note the spherical bearings. The one you have is a chassis brace; it seems to address a specific shortcoming with that particular K-member design rather than a universal design that could work on anything.
Torque steer wasn't terrible on this car by FWD standards to begin with. Wouldn't a brace like this help lots of other FWD cars?
I damaged the TB performance traction bar on my FiST and removed it. Track times did not increase or decrease. Zero effect on turn in or feel. I think its a placebo effect with this style of bar. Might feel slightly stiffer up front at the very limit of corner grip.
Biggest mod for me was the helical limited slip diff. Car should have had one from the factory. Helped save the brakes from torque vectoring chiming in all the time. Torque steer was reduced quite a bit too.
it's usefulness depends on how bad the chassis design is - if the leading mount of the control arms are way out there and unsupported, this will make a difference. If not, it will not help.
I fabricated a lower chassis brace for my B13 Sentra way back, and was a totally different beast afterwards. The upper chassis bar, by comparison, did nothing.
kevinatfms said:I damaged the TB performance traction bar on my FiST and removed it. Track times did not increase or decrease. Zero effect on turn in or feel. I think its a placebo effect with this style of bar. Might feel slightly stiffer up front at the very limit of corner grip.
Biggest mod for me was the helical limited slip diff. Car should have had one from the factory. Helped save the brakes from torque vectoring chiming in all the time. Torque steer was reduced quite a bit too.
I'm 100% positive that there's an improvement in torque steer. I can't point to clear evidence to support a performance improvement.
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