Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be.

azerik

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I attribute this to the Steeda bars having the typical type of bushings that allow the bar to easily move up and down. The OEM bars have bushings that are clamped to the bars and it is impossible for you to move those bars when they are mounted on the car (without the end links attached). To me, I would think that could cause a more harsh ride and also have something to do with bounce but I haven't noticed a change in that.
This is very true. Think of it as suspension friction. Any time your moveable parts are hard to move it causes slowness of the moving components.

My Can-AM has 24 inches of travel in the rear. 2 feet. But when I updated my rear sway bar to an Eibach I (and everyone else that bought that bar) ended up with exactly this. The reason was the bushing was designed for the factory mount area. But 99% of us put a plate there to hold rockblockers to keep rocks out of the rear wheel. I hadn't thought about it until I drove the car around but once I took the end links off I couldn't budge the sway bar. And I weigh 240lbs. Pulled it off and sanded the bushing a bit so it'd fit better and allow the bar to move. These are hard shaped bushings, not urethane. Night and day difference. I had noticed after I put that bar on my suspension was only moving about 1/2 as much. Once the bar swung nicely the entire suspension was used again.

On the MachE I suspect someone got a sale on a bushing with 'X' internal dimension. But a bar with X OD. Thus it binds. It might be 'solvable' if someone just sanded the inside of the factory bushing and put it back in. But it won't be scientific and without there being 'it must be able to fit this Craftman 9/16 socket through it easily' it won't be internet mechanic friendly. I think the bushing would eventually wear in, probably around 50k to 100k, if one could wait that long.

The other thing I think is going on but would be a little hard to prove is: I think that previously mentioned 2.1 or 2.5 inches of chock travel Mark pointed out is being used as a suplemental sway bar. That coupled with a hard to move sway bar will caused a much stiffer ride with a lot more 'feel' of the road for anything that ai 1 inch ore bigger. Around Phoenix we have it all by way of total shit streets. Pot hole patching for the last 30 years, melted, yes, melted streets that have huge dips at the crosswalk because large trucks hitting brakes for decade have caused the softened asphalt to be pushed forward. Huge concrete over passes with inches of asphalt built up at them. (My Focus electric literally skips and triggers the ABS every, every single time I drive over those). 6 inches or more of just missing asphalt in car sized sections of the freeways. I've seriously found myself holding my breath waiting for my wife to mention how rough the ride is. My bars arrive Friday, hopefully I can get them on this weekend.

I didn't know about the bar binding until I hit this post. Thankfully I didn't go all the way off the deep end of trying to fix the rebound via shocks. Kind blows my mind that the bar mount would even be an issue. Some engineer probably said "well it's a heavy car, it'll move the bar one way or another"
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tuminatr

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All of this makes me wonder if it's like my fox-body Mustang. I drag-raced the car and at one point I replaced the front control arm bushings because the factory ford ones would bind giving a harsh ride and slowing weight transfer when drag racing.

Could the control arm bushings on the Mach E be part of the problem too?
 

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Arm bushings would be hard to test. Ideally everything but the arm would be disconnected. It should fall to the floor on it's own and one would be able to left it with some effort. Shouldn't require a floor jack to lift the arm back up. It should be as simple as some lube, but with the weight of the car I'd assume the arm bushings shouldn't be an issue. (However the bar bushings shouldn't be a thing but they are so yep, the arm bushings could be tight)
 

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Arm bushings would be hard to test. Ideally everything but the arm would be disconnected. It should fall to the floor on it's own and one would be able to left it with some effort. Shouldn't require a floor jack to lift the arm back up. It should be as simple as some lube, but with the weight of the car I'd assume the arm bushings shouldn't be an issue. (However the bar bushings shouldn't be a thing but they are so yep, the arm bushings could be tight)
Typically, rubber control arm bushings are bonded to both their inner and outer races, so they are *supposed* to be tightened in a somewhat neutral position (I.e. installed with the bolts loose and tightened with weight on the tires). Typically, they’re installed and tightened so that they’re neutral with the suspension at full extension (against the rebound stops) unless you’re using a shop that has some old-timey suspension guys working on your car. 😊🐩

Maybe if I decide that I really can beat on my car one day I will pull the rubber garbage out and make some real suspension bearings for my MME. This likely won’t happen until after an HVBJB replacement, since I don’t beat on the clear because of it. 😱🐩

EDIT: Oops, “since I don’t beat on the car…”
 
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azerik

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Here are my front sway bar installation notes to add to what Mark wrote up.
Getting the new bushings on the new Steeda bar is a huge PIA
Give it a little pre-push stretch Stick a wrench in to the slot and stand on the 'bottom' of the bushing, open it up and then move fairly quick to push it on to the bar.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. IMG_3943

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. IMG_3944

And remember Birkenstocks are approved Arizona Shop shoes. :)
 


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And don’t forget to put zerk fittings into the brackets! 🤪🐩

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. 88663F89-8E69-4F38-B6B5-D1FC24B25901

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. 35AA4AD9-D59B-4E94-9DD3-122E932948E6

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. B8A17847-66C6-4FF8-B40A-02D578A2D035
 

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And don’t forget to put zerk fittings into the brackets! 🤪🐩

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. B8A17847-66C6-4FF8-B40A-02D578A2D035

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. B8A17847-66C6-4FF8-B40A-02D578A2D035

Ford Mustang Mach-E Steeda Front Sway Bar! It is awesome. Transforms the car into what it should be. B8A17847-66C6-4FF8-B40A-02D578A2D035
Yeah that's a super idea and I will probably get around to it once the weather gets warm.
 

BMT1071

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This is very true. Think of it as suspension friction. Any time your moveable parts are hard to move it causes slowness of the moving components.

My Can-AM has 24 inches of travel in the rear. 2 feet. But when I updated my rear sway bar to an Eibach I (and everyone else that bought that bar) ended up with exactly this. The reason was the bushing was designed for the factory mount area. But 99% of us put a plate there to hold rockblockers to keep rocks out of the rear wheel. I hadn't thought about it until I drove the car around but once I took the end links off I couldn't budge the sway bar. And I weigh 240lbs. Pulled it off and sanded the bushing a bit so it'd fit better and allow the bar to move. These are hard shaped bushings, not urethane. Night and day difference. I had noticed after I put that bar on my suspension was only moving about 1/2 as much. Once the bar swung nicely the entire suspension was used again.

On the MachE I suspect someone got a sale on a bushing with 'X' internal dimension. But a bar with X OD. Thus it binds. It might be 'solvable' if someone just sanded the inside of the factory bushing and put it back in. But it won't be scientific and without there being 'it must be able to fit this Craftman 9/16 socket through it easily' it won't be internet mechanic friendly. I think the bushing would eventually wear in, probably around 50k to 100k, if one could wait that long.

The other thing I think is going on but would be a little hard to prove is: I think that previously mentioned 2.1 or 2.5 inches of chock travel Mark pointed out is being used as a suplemental sway bar. That coupled with a hard to move sway bar will caused a much stiffer ride with a lot more 'feel' of the road for anything that ai 1 inch ore bigger. Around Phoenix we have it all by way of total shit streets. Pot hole patching for the last 30 years, melted, yes, melted streets that have huge dips at the crosswalk because large trucks hitting brakes for decade have caused the softened asphalt to be pushed forward. Huge concrete over passes with inches of asphalt built up at them. (My Focus electric literally skips and triggers the ABS every, every single time I drive over those). 6 inches or more of just missing asphalt in car sized sections of the freeways. I've seriously found myself holding my breath waiting for my wife to mention how rough the ride is. My bars arrive Friday, hopefully I can get them on this weekend.

I didn't know about the bar binding until I hit this post. Thankfully I didn't go all the way off the deep end of trying to fix the rebound via shocks. Kind blows my mind that the bar mount would even be an issue. Some engineer probably said "well it's a heavy car, it'll move the bar one way or another"
Did you notice if the rear bar on your MME was hard to move in the bushings after you disconnected the end links?
 

markboris

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Did you notice if the rear bar on your MME was hard to move in the bushings after you disconnected the end links?
Yes, just like the front.
 

azerik

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Believe it or not.. I’m still under the car, had to take a gin and kombucha break with some Sakana sushi. Now trying to figure out the pump thing as Steeda mentions nothing of it. Was trying not to pull the pan diaper but it’s looking at that way.
Wife came home.. ‘what’s wrong with the tires?’ Lol. Nevermind the big blue rods. Move alone nothing to see here…
 
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azerik

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Front bar alone made a big difference. Going to the back today. Donated some blood to the front brake shield.

to space the pump via the spacers Steeda provided required pulling the pan felt. I tried (for too long) to get it from the side but it’s just easy once the pan felt is off.
not a big fan of getting the endlinks on.
 

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I didn't use the spacers that Steeda supplied on one of the installs I did. The other two installs were before they provided the spacers. I took the pump off and bent the mounting bracket 90˚. I'm sure you read this thread over but just in case you missed it.... On those end links, 1. make sure you grease them up before installing them. 2. use blue loctite on the threads. 3. torque to 85 ft. lbs.
 

markboris

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Front bar alone made a big difference. Going to the back today. Donated some blood to the front brake shield.

to space the pump via the spacers Steeda provided required pulling the pan felt. I tried (for too long) to get it from the side but it’s just easy once the pan felt is off.
not a big fan of getting the endlinks on.
I didn't use the spacers that Steeda supplied on one of the installs I did and the other two installs were before they provided the spacers. I took the pump off and bent the mounting bracket 90˚. I'm sure you read this thread over but just in case you missed it.... On those end links, 1. make sure you shoot some grease in the ends before installing them. 2. use blue loctite on the threads. 3. torque to 85 ft. lbs.
 

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Ugh, I blew out one of the bladders putting more grease in. Do I need to take it to a shop to get it fixed now? Is it safe to drive?
 

ALTANertive

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Ugh, I blew out one of the bladders putting more grease in. Do I need to take it to a shop to get it fixed now? Is it safe to drive?
Ok, after sheer will and determination I was able to get the bladder back on. Here’s what a blown out one looks like in case you were interested.

I noticed something else annoying though. Even with the ends cut of it seems like something may be rubbing. In the other picture you can see towards the bottom corner some of the paint has come off.

FE675DBE-6484-4B4C-8FC4-CDC4120B070E.jpeg


6D0B72B7-7231-4460-A34E-C5E030564122.jpeg
 
 




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