Anti Roll Bars....

[SteveP]

Steve - by any chance do you have the part number of the ARBS?

You beat me to it Chris, I was going to ask the exact same question! How is work going?

The ones I ordered where - 33258-1 (for cars with Xenon's)

For cars without I believe you need - 33258-3

These are the 26mm Front and 22mm Rear type ones 

[Janner_Sy]

im suprised no one has mentioned about setting up of ARBs, and the best compromise on stiffness between front and rear etc.

I was informed
For front Wheel drive Cars-
a stiffer bar on the rear reduces understeer, a stiffer bar on the front increases understeer. Doing both bars reduces over all body roll, and keeps the cars geometry in check as well as reducing understeer, whilst still keeping the cars original balance.
For rear wheel drive cars it is the opposite-
stiffer front bar to reduce understeer, stiffer rear bar increases understeer.

I originally had my eibachs set up with front and rear on stiffest settings. but decided to trial it with the rear on the stiffest and front on the softest(still stiffer than Oem) and the turn in was noticably crisper.

i personnaly think the eibachs are great and make the car great to drive around the nurburgring, and unless always driving on smooth tracks needn't be increased.

getting ARBs that are massively stiff (For example: neuspeed rear 27mm bar on its stiffest setting is 200% stiffer than standard) is IMO to much. you lose the independence of the suspension on each side and the car will become jiddery over uneven surfaces as the bumps wil be transfered to both sides of the car via the ARB.

there are some guys out there who go figure hunting with the bigger is better ideas which isnt always right.

Id recommend anyone to try changing the stiffness of their front bars Its dead easy to do and try to feel the difference and set it up as you want. i thought mine was great until i loosened the front and it felt so much better.

This is all my opinion though im no expert at all. This has all come from conversations with guys in the know who have been tracking and setting up cars for a living etc, and i think doesmake alot of sense.

[keith]

My Eibach's were squeeky on my mk4 and they were fitted th same palce as Ian's so poss they are using the wrong lube?
VWR have their own ARB's to i did see them at Inters.

[tony_danza]

Good advice.

With a staggered set up like Eibach, H&R etc which has a smaller rear bar then you put the rear 1 harder than the front to neutralise the handling.

Mine are matched @ 25mm front & rear, so I run them the same medium/medium. I found I can't deal with them on hard on anything other than an airfield type track day, it's too much on the road and certainly the likes of the 'Ring for sure... you need some body roll, despite what some 'bigger/harder is better' people say.

27mm race ARBs are just stupid on the road for an average driver, I wouldn't have them. Funny in the dry, dangerous in the wet.

[Janner_Sy]

i fully agree with that. to stiff is definately not good in the wet, or bumpy roads. ive taken a reel interest in handling recently, with the amount of track work, as any weakness is very quickly realised.

im looking into a multitude of things at the moment. from wheel spacer for a wider track, TT adjustable lower arms, adjustable top mounts, poly bushes, LSDs etc, ive put the power hunt o hold a second

[RedRobin]

i fully agree with that. to stiff is definately not good in the wet, or bumpy roads. ive taken a reel interest in handling recently, with the amount of track work, as any weakness is very quickly realised.

im looking into a multitude of things at the moment. from wheel spacer for a wider track, TT adjustable lower arms, adjustable top mounts, poly bushes, LSDs etc, ive put the power hunt o hold a second

....Very wise to sort out handling first rather than just chase big donkey numbers. I can corner faster than some cars which have much more power (obviously depending who's driving).

After 70k miles my rear suspension bushes are very compliant (a bit soft) but VWR advised me to keep it that way for better handling.

I know they look cool but I would advise having wheel spacers as a low priority regarding handling.

And keep to 18s as well, rather than 19s.

[JPC]

robin, have you ever had any prolonged squeaks with the Eibach ARBs?

i know you have commented once or twice on them making noises, but once there greased properly in the bushes, does it shut them up for say, 12 months?

Or is it a case of, if you want the plus point of ARBs, you need to accept the down points for noise?

[Janner_Sy]

well the power isnt that much on hold, i still installed a 3"dp and go stage 2 today but that was a bargain not to be ignored, but priority is handling and brakes.

ive only had the eibachs on for about 6000 miles now. so i should be ok for a second. I also have no intention to go to 19"wheels. tempted to put 235 wide tyres on when i next change instead of 225s

[RedRobin]

robin, have you ever had any prolonged squeaks with the Eibach ARBs?

i know you have commented once or twice on them making noises, but once there greased properly in the bushes, does it shut them up for say, 12 months?

Or is it a case of, if you want the plus point of ARBs, you need to accept the down points for noise?

....Greasing them should shut them up for a year but it's the winter stuff which helps cause their loss of lube.

After 60k miles I've had to replace the ARB bushes now and VWR did so on the 70k miles service last week. Now got their bushes.

Generally, when you mod a car's suspension and with mileage, you should expect an increase in various sounds. At least the sounds can inform you what might need attention (once you have correctly located the source of noise!). I actually like some noise, though not squeaky bushes.