Whiteline rear ARB

[dan_b]

Aah, my RS2 FARB just arrived - thank you VAG Parts! It's quite a thick beast isn't it!

So, come on Whiteline...

[SteveH]

Dan,

The rear roll bar on the S2 is very thin in comparison to the front. Tom put the front one on the back and he say's it's a bit firm. You will need to modify or replace the rear droplinks and swap the struts over to do the job IIRC..

Tom should be able to advise if it's worth doing...

I presume the stock S2 front is stiffer than the stock rear? Is this worth me doing at the Garage meet in the interim given that I'll have gone up to the RS2 on the front? How will that affect the handling?

Is it just a straight swap job front to rear? I'm surprised, I would have thought that they're rather different shapes/width? Interested to learn more...

[NoNonsense]

Aah, my RS2 FARB just arrived - thank you VAG Parts! It's quite a thick beast isn't it!

So, come on Whiteline...

you should see my custom 32-33mm FARB! It's not a metric size, but it works out to be something between those dimensions!

[mcandmar]

Damn you, i'm on the waiting list now

Aah, my RS2 FARB just arrived - thank you VAG Parts! It's quite a thick beast isn't it!

So, come on Whiteline...

[audiman]

Dont bother putting the front one on the back. It makes the car unstable and twitchy. Also tends to drift a lot more.

[Lee]

NoNonsense - 32mm FARB you say? Tell more!! I feel that my Avant needs something stiffer up front to perform better with the RS2 rear one. The front RS2 is good but it could be stiffer to complement the big grippy rubber. The car oversteers a bit too readily at the moment!! LMAO.

[NoNonsense]

NoNonsense - 32mm FARB you say? Tell more!! I feel that my Avant needs something stiffer up front to perform better with the RS2 rear one. The front RS2 is good but it could be stiffer to complement the big grippy rubber. The car oversteers a bit too readily at the moment!! LMAO.

Lee, I haven't gotten it fitted to the car yet, but I finally got it after 6 weeks of waiting. I put it next to the stock 26mm bar and it looks HUGE...I have an RS2 fitted to my car right now. It should make a huge difference, especially when I mate it to my 22mm rear bar.
I am waiting until spring, though, to pull the subframe and stitch weld some more re-enforcement in there. Also, I plan to add some more support to the rear-subframe. I have some nice subframe supports in the back made by Neuspeed (just like the 22mm rear ARB), but I am going to add more to be safe.
I prefer oversteer, but with a large front ARB like that, it may understeer a bit, even with the 22mm RARB. If that's the case, i'm going to add stiffer springs to the rear to neutral things out. So many plans, so little time.

[S2central.net]

32mm FARB ehhhh - that's a bit chunky alright... Be interested to see how you get that all balanced nicely in terms of handling bias. As you say, a stiffer rear or slightly softer front may make it a bit less 'pointy'.


Paul

[Lee]

Stiffer rear and softer front is sure fired oversteer territory...
IIRC the H&R RS4 monster FARB is about 35mm thick!! It is like a lorry one!

[NoNonsense]

32mm FARB ehhhh - that's a bit chunky alright... Be interested to see how you get that all balanced nicely in terms of handling bias. As you say, a stiffer rear or slightly softer front may make it a bit less 'pointy'.


Paul

We'll see how everything works...Like I said, the custom ARBs were expensive, but it'll definitely reduce body roll...I should look like a shark going through the curves, but after those are installed, I'll fine-tune the handling with the rear suspension. I'm not fully going the coilover route because I am very satisfied with my suspension up front...Not to mention, here in the USA, coilover are hard to come by for the B4, so if something breaks, i'd be off the road for a while. Being that the B4 has the same rear suspension as the B5, coilovers are easy to find new/used for the B5, so I'll be putting coilover back there if I need to adjust for over/under-steer.

@Lee...35mm ARB for the RS4...damn! But then again, that's a heavier car. My friend has a one-off set for his UrS6 at 38mm front and 46mm rear...

[dan_b]

Update - I ordered my Whiteline RARB direct from Whiteline (through the website) and it has just arrived this morning by TNT, all the way from Australia! Great stuff. I now have both ARBs, will fit them at the Garage meet. Now I'll see if I can cancel my order with Demon Tweeks!

[dan_b]

Another update - got the RS2 FARB and the Whiteline RARB installed at the Garage meet last weekend - big big big thank you to all the guys who helped out with getting those nuts off!
Anyway, I've got the Whiteline on the middle setting. First impressions are this:
Clear improvement in the car's handling.
It turns in quicker, there's less of that sense of ploughing straight on and that you're manhandling the car reluctantly in to the turn. I suppose it's more "Pointy".
It's clearly flatter in the turn: 2nd gear around roundabouts at high speed is a breeze.
The rear end can be provoked a bit more: you can feel the transition to oversteer coming in a bit more quickly. I wouldn't say that it's "Tail happy" though, but a bit more fun!

In summary - a great great mod: I've also got the H&Rs/ Konis suspension and in combination it's lovely. It's really flat, it's quicker to turn in and you don't feel so much understeer. Perfect. I don't think I'm even inclined to try the rear on the stiffest setting. I do wonder how it'll fare on the softer settting, might try that when my wife starts driving the s2!

[nigelm]

RE Whiteline ARB

Hi folks

(Am wanting to get my posts over the 50 mark)

Do we have satisfied coupe drivers with the rear Whiteline ARB mod without doing the front RS2 ARB mod?

I'm certainly going do do the rear first then see.

Regards,

Nigel M
(one of the forum's great lurkers)

[Jamo]

Hi folks

(Am wanting to get my posts over the 50 mark)

Do we have satisfied coupe drivers with the rear Whiteline ARB mod without doing the front RS2 ARB mod?

I'm certainly going do do the rear first then see.

Regards,

Nigel M
(one of the forum's great lurkers)

Yes MartinJS and the original finder of the mod Mark Haliigan have all used it on it's own.

In conjunction with the RS2 ARB it's a good match

[martinjs]

Nigel, i did just have the rear bar fitted for a few months. I did like it that way actually (set on the stiffest setting) Especially in damp/wet conditions, quite easy to get the tail out but it was very predictable/controllable.
I prefer it with the front done too though.