Hi guys, I saw mention of a BRP rear stress bar that bolts on, instead of needing to drill. I am looking for one like that, but I cannot find one online anywhere. So, do you guys know of any other stress bars for the rear, where you do no have to drill?

Thanks.

i didnt even know there was a different option, on to Google to search!!!

i found this on ebay.co.uk :http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/98-04-FORD-FOCUS-REAR-UPPER-ADJUSTABLE-STRUT-BAR_W0QQitemZ200272287565QQcmdZViewItemQQimsxZ20081107?IMSfp=TL081107112002r9031

and this one from a company in Singapore, dont know if this guy will fit our cars though
:http://www.motorexonline.com/strutbars.html

yeah, i have been searching all night. no go. i have an 05, so that ebay wont work. i am looking for one that does require drilling. i cant believe noone hasnt come up with one that just bolts up to the rear towers instead. one guy on here said he got the brp one last april, but i cant find one at all, not even a reference.

The suspension designs and the interior of the cars (as far as the trunk spaces) has not changed. See as the focussport one works for all Foci. It doesn't matter what year you have.

Whats the problem with a little drilling? The install is honestly so easy. It took around a half hour with a friend helping me. The Focussport one is cheap, comes with all parts needed to install it, easy to install, and really works.

I know there are some who have this rear bar and love it but honestly I wouldn't want to brace my chassis against the two wimpy shock bolts there. There is a reason Focussport has you drill the holes through the thick ( i beleive 3 sheets) sheet metal. Chassis bracing is not something you want to do in weak spots.

pm Roushturboedzx3, that is the guy who makes them.

com -on nem, just drill that sucker in there. its not that big of a deal, as long as you spray the outer bolt with some kind of paint that will not allow rust to build up, you should be fine. if drilling a hole makes you feel bad , after you drive and see how much of a dif you will feel better.

Found this from a catalog that I got from Steeda.
http://www.steedafocus.com/store/Suspension-&-Chassis-Steeda-Rear-Swaybar-Kit/c31_225/p551/Steeda-Rear-Swaybar-Kit/product_info.html

[wrenchin]

^^

thats a swaybar he is looking for another type of stress bar besides the focussport one

Check the search botton. Someone somewhere on here was selling one that does bolt onto the shock towers. I also remember that that is not the best place for it.

The ones that attach to the shock towers I dont think will allow you to stiffen the chassis enough to make a difference. I have that focus sport one that you have to drill and I love it. The drilling isnt that hard to do and really doesn't affect anything

Also I wouldn't want to put any stress on the bolts. Imagine if one broke off..

The ones that attach to the shock towers I dont think will allow you to stiffen the chassis enough to make a difference. I have that focus sport one that you have to drill and I love it. The drilling isnt that hard to do and really doesn't affect anything

x2 ^^^^^[headbang]

Also I wouldn't want to put any stress on the bolts. Imagine if one broke off..

There not that much stress on those bolts. That bar is meant to tie two shocks together and connect the rear end as one unit and to strengthen it.
I don't think we are comparing apples to apples here.
FS bar works differently than BRP.

I believe FS bar works mainly with body flex. BRP ties everything together making sure it stays where it should be.

In the end looks like achieving the same result of less sloppiness in the rear during cornering.

I've had BRP bar for about half a year now and haven't had any problems and it works. I'm not the only one who has it, ask honhon if you don't believe me.

Maybe FS does better job. I can't judge.

How much flex in the rear are we talking about? 1/4 inch max? Even if there is that much flex, nuts are tighten to only 13ft/lbs and sitting on the rubber bushing which if necessary will absorb any force before bolts break.

beef, u have one of these brps? can u please post some pics? so, i wasnt nuts. there IS one out there. ill PM that roush guy, see how much they are. ill also ask honhon about it, if he has that one. now, why would there be any issue with doing it at the shock towers?? that is exactly what i want to keep tightened....any of my last cars that i did the rear, they used the tower nuts. the focus is the first i have ever seen that goes right into the body.

oh, and the other reason i want to do the tower mounts is cus they are a little higher up, and so the bar sits higher, therein blocking less of my fold-down seats area...which i use from time to time.

i have the BRP bar... its a good bar. i like it. and jim is a good welder and a good guy...

i cant really say how it affected the car, because i could personally put a 200shot of N20 on my car and hardly notice it... but i did notice that the rear end does start to follow alittle better rather than hanging out to dry.

i didnt want the FS one because if i was going to drill into my car to install a bar. i might as well as wait for a roll bar or cage to be welded in... so the BRP will suit me for now and may even stay in just to keep the top of the struts tied together... which i do feal is a good idea. sinse most strut bars attach to the top of the struts to tie the struts together to make a proper square/rectangle of the suspension.

thanks chris, yeah, thats is what i thought. this focus is the first i have seen that did this, instead of tying up the rear suspension. on our cars, the rear sway acts as the lower rear bar, so i wanted to do the top too.

anyone disagree?

orry, and can someone post a apic of the brp bar? ive never seen one, and it seems many never even heard of it, like me...til last night lol.

Yea I want to see one of these "rare" BRP bars!

ill post a picture if i can find my camera.

thanks chris, please do. i pmed roushed..... about it too, and directed him to this thread as well.

I agree with you Nem. I think it would be smarter and more effective for the strut brace to actually connect to the strut, not the body of the car. After all, it is a rear STRUT brace...

like i said...this is the only car i have seen do it this way, and its not even the car, its one manufacturer of aftermarket parts. im old, and have had a bunch of cars that i did it using the strut towers, and they worked great. i dont get how putting more holes in sheet metal makes the car stronger....those ponts werent meant to be pulled on/used for bracing....i dont think. lol. i could be COMPLETELY wrong on that.

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=162762&highlight=brp

There you go. Pics, info, and price. I've got one of them and I love it.
The rear end used to wander a bit on the highway before I got this,
and now it is nice and straight and really makes it solid. It helps in the corners too.

WOW man, THANKS! how did u find that? its old, so was it bookmarked or something? damn, that looks great. i want one of those, definitely over the FS! thanks so much loudfocus. thats awesome.

oh, and u now have more rep!!!

Hey Guys Yes i make these bars and am still making them but as of right now i have bought a new Miller syncrowave 200 welder and it should here on thursday so i will start making these again. Heres some pics

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0404.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0405.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0406.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/HPIM1074.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0619.jpg

Thanks man. I just searched BRP and it was on the first page. Glad I could help.

Will you be powdercoating them in any color? I am highly interested.

Please pm me im not aloud to sell on the forum pages. im not a vendor and they wont let me become one

cool roush, so how much will u be selling them for? u take paypal too? how do they install?

http://lh4.ggpht.com/vadikzx3/R_5OMgDTMPI/AAAAAAAABgw/tpga5crNh2g/s800/P4100001.JPG
http://lh3.ggpht.com/vadikzx3/R_5ONQDTMQI/AAAAAAAABg4/OoiXIF9fOas/s800/P4100002.JPG
http://lh5.ggpht.com/vadikzx3/R_5ONwDTMRI/AAAAAAAABhA/46Ikti1Hiis/s800/P4100003.JPG

Thanks BeeFzx3 for the attatchment pics and your bar has takin quite a beating

thanks beef. it wont let me give u any more rep. can someone else give him rep for me?

man, now THAT looks like an easy install! what happened to the powdercoat though? did it do that when you bolted it down? does all that dynamat help at all?

im glad i brought this up. i knew it was out there. now we have dragged out another rear stress bar, that i KNOW many of us did not know about.

loudfocus, can you rename this thread to reflect this? i would like others to see it, as an eye-catcher, u know? i think it would be helpful to other members on the site. thanks.

I will hit him up with some rep.

And in a few weeks when I get the money I'm for sure getting one.

yeah it got scratched a bit... Of course paint chips around the nut.
since then I got pipe insulation at home depot which is exactly the same color as hatch carpet. The thing looks like OEM piece. Maybe I'll snap a pic tomorrow.
Here is what I'm talking about:
http://ace.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p2310543reg.jpg

as am i. i am interested in hearing more arguments for and against this design , vs. the FS style.

I don't really see how the FS bar could be better then this bar. This bar is keeping the suspension from flexing, not the body of the car.

Forgot about your dynamat question. It's eDead actually and it does help. These were just leftovers I had from doing firewall and floor. Now I have completely covered hatch area and it helped with eliminating road noise.

Forgot about your dynamat question. It's eDead actually and it does help. These were just leftovers I had from doing firewall and floor. Now I have completely covered hatch area and it helped with eliminating road noise.

Yea I need to buy some of that for my sub but it;s too dang expensive. But back to the strut bar.

yes, more info on the stress bars. im interested in hearing some more technical-minded people, like egz and others who have done rally or auto-x, etc.

We shall wait...

I don't know...the only suspension part is shocks which deal with up and down motion. There is no force on them while cornering. All the force goes to control arms and frame.

This bar is keeping shocks from moving. I guess during cornering the little force that shocks experience, is transferred between two points.

I think the perfect setup would be combination of FS bar with BRP lol. So that it bolts to the shock nut and to the body somehow.
Like front bar is bolted to the strut and to the body at the same time.

The shocks are floating in the middle of a rubber bushing. Now with this stress bar you've connected them so they'll float in tandem, but I don't really think that's the goal of a strut tower brace. Don't you want to keep the unibody from being compressed together or flexed apart?

this isn't a sway bar...[?|]

Yea the mods got sway bar and strut bar mixed up lol

Hey Guys Yes i make these bars and am still making them but as of right now i have bought a new Miller syncrowave 200 welder and it should here on thursday so i will start making these again. Heres some pics

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0404.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0405.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0406.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/HPIM1074.jpg
http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj71/turbofocus1/DSCF0619.jpg

i might have to pick one of these up as well, and see which one works better or if they are the same. or just install both ,lol

They look good....will it fit my '09 SES coupe and any alignment issues?

made my own bracket for my strut bar.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr259/sonabakana/IMG_0123.jpg

There are no alignment issues, drops right in. Ask Roushturboedzx3 if it fits your car.

Yea send him a PM cause he will get in trouble for selling thru a thread.

made my own bracket for my strut bar.
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/rr259/sonabakana/IMG_0123.jpg

That's a clever idea as it makes the bar readily removal. I would, however, put a gusset or two (triangulate) on either side of the "L" bracket so it won't bend under any potential stress.

I don't know...the only suspension part is shocks which deal with up and down motion. There is no force on them while cornering. All the force goes to control arms and frame.

This bar is keeping shocks from moving. I guess during cornering the little force that shocks experience, is transferred between two points.

I think the perfect setup would be combination of FS bar with BRP lol. So that it bolts to the shock nut and to the body somehow.
Like front bar is bolted to the strut and to the body at the same time.

beef got it right, shocks only work in 1 direction, they cant really resist any side to side motion, so tieing into the shock to stiffen up the rear may not be effective, unless you can tightent it enough that it can grab and hold onto the shock tower. It may be about as effective as a front strut bar (but im not gonna get into that argument). anyways for some it may make a difference, for others it might not. personally i have never used a BRP bar, i have a regualr rear stress bar and i love it.

The rear shocks are not actually floating in the rubber. inside the rubber there is a big metal washer that when bolted squezes against the body so its actually is connected to the body. the reason i built this kind of rear strut bar is because i was not happy with the focussport one.

mods, can u change the title to reflect it being a strut/stress bar, not a sway bar?

i didnt name the thread that, it was changed by the mods.....

so you tried the FS bar roush? u didnt like it? i wonder about doing both lol. but i dont want to drill. can anyone else say that the FS-style would be better/more worth it? i DO want the best. if i MUST drill, i will. just dont want to. at all. lol.

im using the FS bar and right now im just playing with the material for the "L" bracket not yet perfect.

The rear shocks are not actually floating in the rubber. inside the rubber there is a big metal washer that when bolted squezes against the body so its actually is connected to the body.

The big washer is floating on rubber, not the body. The whole strut bearing assembly is sitting on a big ring of rubber in addition to the rubber around the the bearing. If it wasn't floating in rubber these would be awfully noisy street cars.

yes as I said it's in the rubber but when bolted together it's still connected to the body like you said the rubber is there to keep of quiet

so it is, or isnt connected to the body? far as i can tell, the shock towers are a part of the body. so, u connect them, ur connecting the body....right?

Yes that is right ^

connected to the body through somewhat squishy rubber, but connected.

the rubber has a washer in it a big one

but not as big as the space. it's not much, but there is squish built in to it.

Sorry about the title. LOL. I fixed it now.
Question it all you want. This bar improves the handling.

nice, nice. i plan on getting it as soon as i can afford to. i just like to get the info out there too, though. its why i start these threads...so others will find them in their searches.

ok, i can afford this now. wheres roushed, lol. i want this, to go with my new Massive front upper bar!

mine arrived at the house yesterday! [thumb]

Im here im just waiting on your money to go thru paypal and haveblue how do you like it

LOL...i am in Iraq still. I will know Mid Jan. when I get back home on Leave [thumb]

I am gonna test it out and I'll be sure to take picts.

just sent u the money.

I hate to bring an old thread back up but today I installed my top strut tower brace and decided to take the FOFO down a windy mountain road to test out my sway bars and suspension .
I got to the bottom of the mountain turned around and started back up it an heard a pop and I thought no big deal got up the mountain a little further and it started popping louder . I got to the top of the mountain pulled over out of the way and got under the rear of the car and was looking for something and all of the sudden I noticed that my bushing's had popped out of the sway bar c clamps ..(Some that I had to open up wider to make them fit )
I ordered a set of Ford C Clamps to replace those that I stretched open to make fit and now the FACTORY C Clamps will not line up with the holes on the aftermarket brackets .

Me and Lolly from the gump crew messed with it for almost an hour trying to get it back together and we finally gave up as to nothing would work....

I have the aftermarket brackets that go around the frame and then a plate and then the bushing and then the factory C clamp that goes over it ...

Any suggestions on what I should do about this ?
I was planning on drilling another hole in the aftermarket brackets in hopes it would line up but I'm not gonna have enough room to get a bolt or anything in it .

You should just make a new thread...Do you even have a rear brp strut bar?

so slayer, are you saying your brp bar caused your sway bar to come apart?

I think he is confusing the strut bar with the sway bar. Sounds like a problem that needs a new thread.

I hate to bring an old thread back up but today I installed my top strut tower brace and decided to take the FOFO down a windy mountain road to test out my sway bars and suspension .
I got to the bottom of the mountain turned around and started back up it an heard a pop and I thought no big deal got up the mountain a little further and it started popping louder . I got to the top of the mountain pulled over out of the way and got under the rear of the car and was looking for something and all of the sudden I noticed that my bushing's had popped out of the sway bar c clamps ..(Some that I had to open up wider to make them fit )
I ordered a set of Ford C Clamps to replace those that I stretched open to make fit and now the FACTORY C Clamps will not line up with the holes on the aftermarket brackets .

Me and Lolly from the gump crew messed with it for almost an hour trying to get it back together and we finally gave up as to nothing would work....

I have the aftermarket brackets that go around the frame and then a plate and then the bushing and then the factory C clamp that goes over it ...

Any suggestions on what I should do about this ?
I was planning on drilling another hole in the aftermarket brackets in hopes it would line up but I'm not gonna have enough room to get a bolt or anything in it .

Pretty much, those brackets suck. Mine have been poppin and cracking since I put them in. I'm taking them out in the spring until I get a sub-frame with mounts already in place. Unless you can weld the plates to the frame don't expect the popping to go away.

How long have you had the retro-fit kit on?


Edit: If you're set on keeping it the way it is, you can buy some energy suspension poly bushings, they sell some with a c-bracket with slots. They fit better than the stock ford c-clamps

Pretty much, those brackets suck. Mine have been poppin and cracking since I put them in. I'm taking them out in the spring until I get a sub-frame with mounts already in place. Unless you can weld the plates to the frame don't expect the popping to go away.

How long have you had the retro-fit kit on?


Edit: If you're set on keeping it the way it is, you can buy some energy suspension poly bushings, they sell some with a c-bracket with slots. They fit better than the stock ford c-clamps

I've had it on a few months but I had to stretch out an old pair of oem Ford C clamp brackets that fit over the bushing to fit the after market bracket. I just looked at Steeda where I got the aftermarket bracket at and their rear sway bar comes with a different set of c clamp brackets so I'm calling them tomorrow and see if I can get a set of those .

thanks for everyone's help here

I think he is confusing the strut bar with the sway bar. Sounds like a problem that needs a new thread.

No buddy sorry for the confusion going on here , I installed my tower strut brace and me and Lolly wanted to take the FOFO down some windy mountain roads to test my suspension and sway bars out .. And coming back up I had popped the bushing's out of the oem stretched Ford mounts for my rear sway bar that I was using with an after market mounting bracket for my rear sway bar ...

so then the rear bar had nothing to do with the situation, right?

yeah, this kind of confusion is never good. You had used oem stuff and an aftermarket bar and mix-matched and then everyone on here is gonna think the bar made theis happen by the way you said it.

I don't think this bar would have that effect on a proper setup.

I will know after I get mine on next month.

i still dont see how a rear upper strut bar could cause the rear sway bar to fail...

i still dont see how a rear upper strut bar could cause the rear sway bar to fail...

It can't lol

right...thats what i thought, so i dont get why the two are being connected at all. i am supposed to get my bar today. lol, i dont want to put it on, and then have my sway bar fall off.

he's prolly trying to tell himslef that he's car is messed up cause of the bar LOL. It should be fine.

nope...im convinced...bar not going on. i need my sway bar to stay on.

^^^^^^
That's crazy talk. Put it on. I've had mine on for months now. I still love it.

pretty sure there is no possible way this bar can mess up a sway bar.

is it "legal" for someone else to say what they payed for his strut bar?

yea...

who said what they paid? and why wouldnt it be legal??

anyways. nope, no bar for me. i own it, but guess im gonna just scrap it. no swaybarzfallzoffz for me.

thats impossible for a strut bar to make a sway bar fall off. sway bars have nothing to do with struts. many ppl have front strut bars and their sway bar is still on. i think they guy who lost his sway has other issues

not what he says.

I'm that guy , If I need to I'll start a new thread in hopes of stopping the confusion . I will !!!!. I misread the title I seen rear strut bar and for some reason I thought that someone was calling a sway bar a strut bar .

I was using OEM ford C clamp with an aftermarket mounting bracket for my rear sway bar . I had to stretch the OEM C Clamps out to match the holes on the aftermarket brackets .

I was going up and down a mountain at a high rate of speed testing the sway bar , suspension and tower strut brace I had just put on . I got to the bottom of the mountain and started back up the mountain and heard popping coming from underneath the car soI got to the top of the mountain pulled over and got under the car to see what the popping was ..

I didn't notice anything at first and then got to looking at my SWAY BAR and noticed that the bushings had popped out of the FORD OEM brackets that I had to stretch out to meet the holes for the aftermarket mounting brackets and the knocking sound was from my sway bar still mounted but the bushings sliding out of the stretched out C Clamps ...



I DO NOT HAVE A BRP BAR , my bad for being pissed and reading it wrong when I posted about my SWAY BAR ....

I hope this clears up the confusion once again ....

there you go now put that thing on lol

Nemesis , put your bar on and let me know how it performs I may need to get 1 and see if it tears anything else up ...[giggle]

lol there you go nem! If you don't put it something bad will happen to you...lol

okay. i will put it on then....i will try for this wkd, but iwth all the festivities, and my companies being active, we will see.

omfg, I TOLD you it was the poster being confused........holy crap man.

I'm that guy , If I need to I'll start a new thread in hopes of stopping the confusion . I will !!!!. I misread the title I seen rear strut bar and for some reason I thought that someone was calling a sway bar a strut bar .

I was using OEM ford C clamp with an aftermarket mounting bracket for my rear sway bar . I had to stretch the OEM C Clamps out to match the holes on the aftermarket brackets .

I was going up and down a mountain at a high rate of speed testing the sway bar , suspension and tower strut brace I had just put on . I got to the bottom of the mountain and started back up the mountain and heard popping coming from underneath the car soI got to the top of the mountain pulled over and got under the car to see what the popping was ..

I didn't notice anything at first and then got to looking at my SWAY BAR and noticed that the bushings had popped out of the FORD OEM brackets that I had to stretch out to meet the holes for the aftermarket mounting brackets and the knocking sound was from my sway bar still mounted but the bushings sliding out of the stretched out C Clamps ...



I DO NOT HAVE A BRP BAR , my bad for being pissed and reading it wrong when I posted about my SWAY BAR ....

I hope this clears up the confusion once again ....

Did you read my post in the other thread you posted in? I listed a chart with the Energy Suspension part you need.You need to get these to correct your problem.
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=183169&page=3

Yep , I read it . The problem has been solved with a set of custom made C Clamps that I fabricated from work with some stainless steel pipe . No more slippage for me ..

omfg, I TOLD you it was the poster being confused........holy crap man.

i know, but then he came back and said he wasnt confused. [?|]

Okay, so here is the bar, along with another goody that arrived today. Welds look good. I chose the color, to match my car.
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v647/181/87/550223143/n550223143_1341590_9709.jpg

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v647/181/87/550223143/n550223143_1341593_1219.jpg

http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v647/181/87/550223143/n550223143_1341594_1642.jpg

Sweet dude! no get that on and tell us how it feels!

should pair up nicely with this:
http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v1886/181/87/550223143/n550223143_1274627_4963.jpg

and this:
http://www.focusfanatics.com/gallery/data/504/543632_3_st.jpg

and this:
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v318/181/87/550223143/n550223143_860922_1817.jpg

You got that guy into making one for you? How much if you don't mind?

and just ordered this:
http://i3.ebayimg.com/02/i/07/13/b9/83_1_b.JPG

and yes, i got him to do it. hes working on it. i cant say price, cuz thats to him to say really.

Ok gotcha.

hey guys....just wanted to say that the bar is awesome. i dont usually write up stuff talkin up things like 'zomg, i can do donuts at 130mph now!' but i will say that i shouldnt have waited so long to get the rear bar. i got a LOT out of the addition of the FS LOWER front bar. the front UPPER didnt do all that much; i knew it wouldnt, i got it for half off, and it looks good). but the rear bar did a LOT as well. the rear just tracks better as you go around a curve....for my example, i will use thisL going around the corner near here, there are some old, unused train tracks from a hundred years ago. well, usually when u go over that spot, the rear seemed like it wanted to come loose, like a fishtail. now, it doesnt. its just a bump now, even at 35mph. i went over it a bunch of times to see, as it was an annoyance for me. much better now. just wanted to let you all know. i highly recommend it. as far as this vs. FS, i have no idea, cuz i dont have FS. i just know i like this a lot.

Where could I order these from?

hi, did u read the thread? the guy selling them is in here, roushturbo.....he sells them. just PM him

hi, did u read the thread? the guy selling them is in here, roushturbo.....he sells them. just PM him

cool thanks, i just PM'd him

I have one of these still in the box. never installed it. i wasn't sure how it would perform.....maybe i'll get around to it!

why wouldnt you if you have it anyways?

Didnt wanna mess up something like u were going off about. Being paranoid it would have a negative effect or something.....and my car was being rebuilt. Lol

oh yeah, from the fire

I'm resurrecting this thread... I want one of those bars.

I'm resurrecting this thread... I want one of those bars.

Doesn't Fwerk's have one? Would you really notice that? Say compared to a fox body hatch?