Anti Roll Bars

[Ruddmeister]

Also lets not forget that that VAG cars are setup (in the main) for Understeer and to all but eliminate oversteer ............perhaps we are closing the balance towards neutral handling or even oversteer

I understand why manufacturers dial in the understeer as a safety measure......because their lawyers tell them too

 

[lordgibbness]

I'm not a fan of a loose rear on a road car (the main reason I put the best tyres on the rear) but I don't want to increase understeer either, and I don't want a slow reacting rear compared to the front. Has anyone tried the 25/25 setup? Also do rear ARBs come in other sizes beyond 25 and 28mm?

 

[Ruddmeister]

beyond 25 and 28mm?

I think Awesome / Neuspeed to a 32mm but it's meant for track rather than road.

Only one I know of beyond 28mm.....

 

[lordgibbness]

Sorry - poor choice of words, I meant other than 25 or 28.
Are there any smaller rear ARB sizes for the LCR?

 

[Ruddmeister]

Problem with anything other than Neuspeed on the rear is clashing with the OEM exhaust, contact Awesome GTI for details on the full range and prices.

 

[lordgibbness]

Cheers for the heads up Rudd.

 

[lordgibbness]

By the way, anyone who comes across this thread please feel free to comment on your setup and findings as this will be running for a while until I buy ARBs in the Spring... cheers.

 

[Willie]

Rob, what are your plans for your car useage?
Will you ever track the car?
Do you enjoy back road blasts or long straight roads?
For back road blasts and tight cornering you want to stiffen up the front a bit but not too much (this is why I went for the 23mm Front ARB not any stiffer) I suffered from this on the hair pin at Knockhill and the tight corners of Alford. The stiffer front end was pushing me well wide giving me bad understeer but it help out on all the faster more sweeping corners and the car felt absolutely fantastic with a bit of tail wiggle
The auto crossers in American with MK4 Golf GTI's actually remove the OEM front ARB to aid better turn in. Not for the road though.

 

[lordgibbness]

Hi Willie, It'll be for fast road use rather than track work - a mixture of everything really: tight twisties, fast sweeping corners (even straights too!). So in that respect I'm after a setup which will work well on the faster corners as well as tight ones. Are you thinking that a 25mm bar up front might be a little too stiff for all round ability?

 

[rsmith]

By the way, anyone who comes across this thread please feel free to comment on your setup and findings as this will be running for a while until I buy ARBs in the Spring... cheers.

Just my 2 cents worth, i don't use my car for Track purposes and was not looking to turn it into a go kart for handling, just stiffer with comfort still in there.

My setup is as follows and i am still on the fence on whether i should put on a front ARB.
Lowered 25mm on coilovers with new top mounts fitted all round, 10mm rear Spacers, 22mm Rear ARB on second stiffest setting with a front strut brace and DBM, that its.

I have experienced some under-steer, but to be honest it was coming off a roundabout and i was pushing it a bit.I know my setup isn't crazy rigid, but it suits me for the everyday about town stuff, which is all i seem to do these days.

Also this thread is a great read, wish it had of been written before i went at handling upgrades.

 

[Willie]

Hi Willie, It'll be for fast road use rather than track work - a mixture of everything really: tight twisties, fast sweeping corners (even straights too!). So in that respect I'm after a setup which will work well on the faster corners as well as tight ones. Are you thinking that a 25mm bar up front might be a little too stiff for all round ability?

Not too sure TBH.
I haven't found the 23mm one too stiff but the extra 2mm will give alot more stiffness, but whether it's too much or not I couldn't be sure till driving one. I would worry this will put even more stress into your OEM shocks.
TBH best bet is to get these people with different set ups together and test drive there cars to see how it feels.
I have only heard of one person with a too stiff car and he had EVERYTHING fitted to his car. I can't remember the bars he had but he had Front upper strutt brace, Rear upper strutt brace, rear ARB, front ARB and coilovers.
Can't remember who it was though.

 

[Dyscontinued]

I'm on 25mm front and 28mm rear as when I was looking them up it was the most common and highly recommended configuration.

I love them. Never modded a car before them and really glad I did. So much better in the corners, no understeer so long as entry speed isn't silly. If it is and you need to correct in a hurry the back doesn't like it.

If you enter correctly and exit accelerating instead of the understeer you got pre-ARB it's now more of a 4 wheel drift.

A lot more responsive changing direction too so leaving roundabouts or chicanes is all better.

 

[vwbassett]

Hi im comming up to a similar decision and just wondered how much is the r32 arb with or without bushes? im finding it hard to even find suppliers of LCR roll bars DPM seems to have the biggest range but thats only the H&R one listed for the LCR and Awesome GTI have the neuspeed one. What else is available guys?
Cheers
Adam

 

[Willie]

Adam

The R32 23mm bar with all the bits is £100 from VW

 

[AwesomeSarah]

Wow , what a great disscusion
It is down to how the driver feels with the modifications that is done
Some like the mixtures that are available , but to be fair , with ARB`s you dont hear many bad reports
The guys on Briskoda with the Octavia vRS do like the larger 28mm bars , and may be worth a look on there too
Sarah

 

[stucupra r]

The R32 23mm bar with all the bits is £100 from VW

what is involved in fitting this , as i will need to fit a new one for next mot and mite aswell up grade. thanks

 

[james walker]

drop subframe out. fit new bar.... thats about the jist of it.

can be done without dropping the subframe fully but best of luck with that one... total pita.

 

[stucupra r]

drop subframe out. fit new bar.... thats about the jist of it.

can be done without dropping the subframe fully but best of luck with that one... total pita.

thanks alot, is it hard to drop sub frame?

 

[vwbassett]

Cheers Willie, i think i may just go for that and something mild for the rear end and hopefully have a comparison of my own soon.

 

[Ronin225]

Only problem with ARBs for LCR is they are not cheap, if you upgrade and are not happy you are seriously out of pocket
For a LCR i would go R32 23mm or maybe 25mm neuspeed,etc. with rear to match
Much easier to play with the rear to balance and fine tune once the front is upto scratch
After feeling a good reasonably stiff ARB setup i doubt you will want to downgrade to softer stuff