Rear ARB

[MikQuattro]

Doug, absolutely fantastic job mate, very nice and I'm glad it all worked out for ya. Expect me to be begging for a ride the next time we meet up...

[Henka]

So which ARB's are interesting? I didn't really find anything good in ETKA. It would be great if there was a ARB from a Audi 80 or 90 that was smaller than 20mm but bigger than stock 12mm. Why can't you use an ARB from a FWD model? I mean, aren't they all the same-ish? A 20mm sounds really stiff to me at least but if that's what's avaliable I'll try it out...

[Fat Audi 80]

I can't see how the length of the droplinks should not make a difference (Does it anyone?)

I had to change the length so the ARB didn't touch (rub) the wishbones. They are just short enough now that when it's jacked up they don't touch. I need to go over a few humps to see if everything is clear - hopefully this week

Yes the length of the drop link will make a difference. If the drop link is longer it will pre load the ARB and give you even less movement when you start cornering. I would suggest that you need to keep the drop link the same as it was originally IF the ends of the ARB are in exactly the same position as the old ARB. If they are not, you need to adapt the length of the Drop link to allow for any difference between the new aqnd old ARB's.
If that makes sense!

Cheers,

Steve

[dan_b]

So Doug, I take it that the Whiteline wasn't hard enough for you?! You've got the RS2 front, is that right?

[Doug_RS2]

Yes the length of the drop link will make a difference. If the drop link is longer it will pre load the ARB and give you even less movement when you start cornering. I would suggest that you need to keep the drop link the same as it was originally IF the ends of the ARB are in exactly the same position as the old ARB. If they are not, you need to adapt the length of the Drop link to allow for any difference between the new aqnd old ARB's.
If that makes sense!

No it doesn't - the length (as long as both are the same) makes minimal difference. You do not preload ARB. The length(both sides the same) had to change so the ARB did not foul the wishbones.

[Doug_RS2]

So Doug, I take it that the Whiteline wasn't hard enough for you?! You've got the RS2 front, is that right?

RS2 on the front - it is well balanced - as proven in the wet and dry on track. The Whiteline was not available quickly when I did mine and I think I prefer mine to the whiteline - although that is hard to compare to a differnet car - I would need to try it on my car to get a good comparision

[Doug_RS2]

Why can't you use an ARB from a FWD model? I mean, aren't they all the same-ish? A 20mm sounds really stiff to me at least but if that's what's avaliable I'll try it out...

FWD ARBs will need to different mounting points. At the position where the standard ARB mounts to the subframe the FWD ARBs are not parallel to the mounts. IIRC !! (I tried 2 FWD ARBs and they would need new mounts - probably not hard to do though.

Other option is S2 front on the rear, with struts swapped over, like Tom has done, although that needs some more looking into as his car's rear steps out all the time - so much so, that it is slow coming out of corners - but fun.

[dan_b]

I'm enjoying the balance with the Whiteline on the middle-setting, and the RS2 on the front. I ordered mine direct from Whiteline and it arrived in 7 days!

Have you noticed any change in how the car tracks across ruts/ cambers etc. I've definitely noticed that the car is being a little more upset by these - more tramlining now. I know I need to replace the top mounts, which will help. I'm "only" running 17" wheels too - are you on 19"s still Doug?

[Doug_RS2]

I started this thread in august 2003 !! The whiteline was taking months to come back then. I prefer to to try the alternatives anyway - although the ARB was copied from Marco, I used different droplinks.

My car is not great on ruts/cambers - probably becasue of th e235/35 19 tyres but I eat top mounts and that will not help either. I don't think the ARB will make a difference to this - it will be something else.

[dan_b]

35 profile tires won't help the tramlining for sure. Did you originally try to order the Whiteline through Demon Tweaks? I did mine direct with Whiteline Aus. Had to pay a bit extra for the quick delivery, but well worth it!

[Henka]

Ok but won't a 20mm be TOO D$MN stiff on an other wise stock S2 Avant? I mean, my girlfriend should be able to handle it with no complaints... I'm pro-oversteer but I'd have to say that with her behind the wheel I'd rather have it understeer. Not that she is a bad driver, she's byfar the best driving girl I've ever seen, it's just that she doesn't really understand why our daily driver suddenly would like to go sideways rather than straight... So is a 20mm rear ARB too much with a 26mm front ARB? Maybe a RS2 front and a 20mm rear is a better deal then?

[s2avant]

On the Avant you can use the later B5 S4/RS4 bars as the rear suspension is the same.

I've got the 19mm neuspeed RS4 bar on my avant. Much stiffer than the RS2 rear. I looked at loads of bars from 17mm up to 22mm but settled on the neuspeed because it comes with strengthening brackets for the rear subframe which are weak point on B4/B5 quattros when a stiff rear bar is used. I also think anything above 20mm would be too much.

See this thread for details.

Ben

[Henka]

Wait wait... I've been reading this post 10 times now and I'm getting all confused. I have a S2 Avant. Will I be able to fit a 90 Q 20V front ARB in the back of my car? How thick is it? ETKA says 22mm and I believe I saw 20mm somewhere here.

[s2avant]

The Avant has completely different rear suspension to the coupe. Front bars only fit coupe rear suspension.

There are several manufacturers that make bigger bars that will fit the S2 Avant.

H&R do a 17mm adjustable bar

Neuspeed do a 19mm adjustable bar

Intrax do a 21mm fixed bar

You will need to search for S4/RS4 or A4 Quattro rear anti roll (sway) bars.

As I said in my thread (linked to above) the neuspeed is the only one which comes with strengthening plates for the rear subframe.

I spend a lot of time researching rear anti roll bar options before I bought mine and IMHO the Neuspeed is the best choice for the S2 Avant. Much better than the RS2 rear bar without being too tail end happy.

Ben

[Josh-stateside]

I picked up a used 2000+ S4 rear sway bar today for $40.00 US dollars. This is for my Audi 90 V6 sedan that I'm converting to S2/rs2 spec. Like everyone mentioned before this will work on the b4 avants and the b4 sedans. The S4 units are 15mm and also can be found on the Audi A4 sport models. The RS4 units are 17mm.

I also read through this thread and notice that people were swapping over the rear struts in coupe quattro applications. This is not necessary. You can use the audi 4000 sway bar links and mount them into the control arms instead of the strut assemblies.

ttyl
Josh