Debunking a Rumor

[LostInTransit]

Just in case any of you had ever asked "Will a particular Part from One vehicle fit on another vehicle" and no one could answer you.. We ran into this same scenario a few months back. it was our intention on finding out if this rumor was true or not. They claim that the Ford Focus shares many of the same parts with other vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect. When we approached aftermarket products designed or vendors we asked if a Focus sway bar would fit on a Transit Connect. 90% of those responding would say no it wont and without explaining why. So we had to find out for ourselves.

Mind you I feel those persons we asked, only heard if a Focus sway bar will fit on a Transit Connect. Meaning they missed the part where we asked if a "Performance" sway bar (27mm-32mm) would fit on the Connect. One reason it wont is because the stock focus sway bar is 19mm-22mm in diamter. while the Connect sway bar is 24mm.

With the support of John Hotchkis, we drove nearly 13 hours to the heart of NASCAR country. Once there, we met with the crew and lowered Our van's engine cradle. This was all in an attempt to find out if the 32mm Hothckis racing sway bar made for the 2018 Focus RS would fit on the Connect cradle. Although the sway bar did mount in the correct orientation, the forward bends of the sway bar would not clear two main uprights/support beams of the Cradle. After a bet of investigation, we've concluded that the Focus cradle is deigned differently that the Connect cradle. The Focus cradle uses rounded uprights or supports, where as the Connect cradle uses angular and sharp edge supports.

We actually test fitted a 28mm sway bar and a 32mm sway bar on the Connect cradle. So we've debunked the rumor that a Focus sway bar could fit on the Transit Connect, but it doesn't. However not all is lost, seems there is another Ford vehicle that utilizes the same engine cradle as the Connect. The Ford Kuga or Escape here in the US, uses an identical cradle as the Connect. But the KUGA sway bar is also a smaller diameter and would not be a justified upgrade or install on the Van.

Right when we though all is lost, we get word that company called hardrace has designed a 28mm sway bar just for the KUGA and if our assumptions are correct and the engines cradles on the KUGA and Connect are the same, then we should see a Hardrace 28mm sway bar on the van in a few weeks. We're telling you this just in case someone out there asks "what if" and we proved the sway bar rumor to be false.

 

[GregLocock]

"90% of those responding would say no it wont " So apparently 90% of the people you talked to were right. And you then wasted 26 hours to confirm this.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[cibachrome]

Why not just overlay a 2nd bar. Aren't springs cheaper ?

 

[LostInTransit]

@GregLocock The objective within my topic is to show that when someone asks those whom are suppose to have the knowledge or where with all, should offer a reason why something wont work instead of just saying no it wont work etc.. and those 90%ers didn't offer any reason as to why a performance sway bar from a Focus wont fit on the Connect. I never take things at face value. so it wasn't a waste to have drive to the heart of NASCAR country and met up with John Hotchkis. He and I both proved why the focus sway bar wont work on the Connect van.

@cibachrome Installing a set of Bilstein B6 struts with the factory coil springs on the front of the van, did lower the van by 3/4 of an inch or 19mm.. that's a 2 finger gap between the tire edge and the fender edge which is enough for us as others have said why not lower it even more. No we're not going to stance/slam the van. merely lower it. So seeing how the front is lowered enough and the front tires do scrub slightly, the rear of the van is a different story. one can place a closed fist between the tire edge and fender edge. Thus producing a very pronounces forward rake of the van. Cobra Suspension sent us a set of their 40mm rear lowering springs and we'll have these installed within the next two weeks.

So again the issue is to get a more refined answer to a question we asked, only to have been told no it wont and without any reason given as to why it wont. We had to find out for ourselves.