ECS Tuning MK7/MK8 Rear Stress Bar Kit - Stage 1 and 2

Our ECS Tuning Rear Stress Bar Kit stiffens the chassis in the rear of your Volkswagen MK7 / MK7.5 / MK8 Golf, GTI, Golf R in the area most prone to chassis flex during hard cornering or changes in road surfaces. Our Stress Bar helps to stiffen the rear chassis from undesired torsional flexing of the body which allows for faster turn-in speed and flatter cornering, while reducing chassis creaks and groans.

Our Rear Stress Bar Kit achieves all of these great benefits with little intrusion in the cabin, maximizing cargo area, while maintaining functionality with the rear seatbacks in all positions, with no noticeable increase in NVH. The entire assembly is easily removed in minutes and requires no permanent drilling or cutting into the body.

PART DESIGN

• In-house designed and engineered in our Wadsworth, Ohio facility, using FARO ARM laser scanning technology for precise fitment 

• STAGE 1 UPPER STRESS BAR KIT:

  • Mounting brackets effectively grab the inside of the rear seat latch anchor 

  • Mounting brackets are machined from 6061-T6 billet aluminum and are finished in a black anodized coating

• STAGE 2 LOWER STRESS BAR KIT:

  • Mounting brackets replace the rear cargo tie downs and bolt directly into the body for a clean, simple solution. 

  • Mounting brackets are machined from 6061-T6 billet aluminum and are finished in a black anodized coating

  • Lower stress bars are tied to the upper bar with a CNC-bent 5052 aluminum union plate and bolster block to provide adequate clamping force 

• Upper and lower stress bars are made from heavy duty .120" wall DOM steel tubing, powdercoated in a tough wrinkle black finish and features a turnbuckle style adjustment for simple on-car tensioning

• Total kit adds only 16 pounds

• Heavy duty zinc-plated rod ends with LH and RH threads feature high quality bearings and locking jam nuts to secure final adjustments

KIT CONTENTS

• STAGE 1 UPPER STRESS BAR KIT:

  • Upper mounting brackets and hardware 

  • Upper stress bar with rod ends and jam nuts 

• STAGE 2 LOWER STRESS BAR KIT:

  • Lower mounting brackets and hardware

  • Lower stress bars with rod ends and jam nuts 

  • Center union assembly and hardware

PERFORMANCE FEATURES

• By tensioning the body together in the largest void of the vehicle, body flex is reduced. This improves the handling of the vehicle by reducing understeer, in addition to allowing faster turn-in speed all while reducing common creaks and groans.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

• Our ECS Tuning Rear Stress Bar Kit was designed, engineered, tested and quality inspected by our Research and Development team in our Wadsworth, Ohio facility. We strive for the highest level of precision and quality through leading-edge product development technology including FARO laser scanning for reverse engineering and quality inspection, SolidWorks 3D CAD modeling, rapid prototyping utilizing our in-house 3D printer, and rigorous long term product testing.

INSTALLATION AND SUPPORT

• Need installation tips? We put together a full installation tutorial from start to finish. See our Installation PDF under the INSTALLATION Tab for more information. 

• Permanent modifications are not required when using the optional set screw. However, for increased rigidity we recommend using the center bolt which requires drilling through the seat latch anchor and minor removal of welds as needed.