Super quick one whats the size difference and do you need new/bigger bushes
Also is it a worthwhile upgrade oh and do the front ones fit too
Also is it a worthwhile upgrade oh and do the front ones fit too
R32 anti roll bars
- Thread starter Mrt4x4
- Start date
You have an s3 yeh?
If so standard i believe is 19mm front 15mm rear
R32 have 23mm front 19mm rear
Most people only upgrade on the rear so you would have both front and rear 19mm. Helps flatten the car a lot.
However some people say it makes the car a touch twitchy. Cant help you on the bushes as i paid for fitting.sorry
If so standard i believe is 19mm front 15mm rear
R32 have 23mm front 19mm rear
Most people only upgrade on the rear so you would have both front and rear 19mm. Helps flatten the car a lot.
However some people say it makes the car a touch twitchy. Cant help you on the bushes as i paid for fitting.sorry
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So on the subject of R32 ARBs, as above, they are 23mm front and 19mm rear out the box, and with the 8L S3 sharing the same floor plan, they are a direct replacement, and 100% fit. But bear in mind the R32 ARBs are designed to cater for a heavy V6 up front, not to mention the standard fit Bilstein shocks and H&R springs out the factory.
I would recommend against this mod if your suspension is standard, at the very least, you should have fresh shocks with lowering springs, but uprated aftermarket shock is my preference, but that's just my opinion.
Based on my personal experience with the 19mm rear ARB alone, yes, the S3 handles a lot better, but only because it was so poor in the first place do we have this opinion. My experience of just running the rear ARB is a twitchy back end at high speed(anything over 80 on a private road). I also had a 'moment' of fish tailing, when I hit a bump in the road whilst doing an emergency brake from high speed when a car pulled out in front of me, but my rear tyres hung on and saved me. And of course my infamous sideway vid, the first track outing with the 19mm rear ARB fitted managed to get me side ways.
So what I trying to say here? I wouldn't recommend the 19mm rear ARB as a stand alone mod, its edgy if you explore the limits of your car occasionally, and if you run budget tyres, I would high lye against this mod.
So what did I do to combat my problem? What I wanted was a 22mm front ARB, I tried that setup before on another S3 I owned previously, which Gops now owns, but Neuspeed no longer makes this ARB, they are discontinued! But lucky by chance, I found out, well, another forum member did, that you can buy a 21mm front ARB direct from VW. It's still classed as an R32 part under quattro systems on ETKA I think?, but it's non Uk spec, so probs US spec? I don't really know. But it's been fitted now, and what a difference it made!
I've not actually said much about this until now, as I was testing it myself, but I can tell you it works for my suspension setup, and it works for my driving style. But this has all been done on OEM 17" wheels, need to try it on my 18" BBS rims before I'm totally happy.
I would recommend against this mod if your suspension is standard, at the very least, you should have fresh shocks with lowering springs, but uprated aftermarket shock is my preference, but that's just my opinion.
Based on my personal experience with the 19mm rear ARB alone, yes, the S3 handles a lot better, but only because it was so poor in the first place do we have this opinion. My experience of just running the rear ARB is a twitchy back end at high speed(anything over 80 on a private road). I also had a 'moment' of fish tailing, when I hit a bump in the road whilst doing an emergency brake from high speed when a car pulled out in front of me, but my rear tyres hung on and saved me. And of course my infamous sideway vid, the first track outing with the 19mm rear ARB fitted managed to get me side ways.
So what I trying to say here? I wouldn't recommend the 19mm rear ARB as a stand alone mod, its edgy if you explore the limits of your car occasionally, and if you run budget tyres, I would high lye against this mod.
So what did I do to combat my problem? What I wanted was a 22mm front ARB, I tried that setup before on another S3 I owned previously, which Gops now owns, but Neuspeed no longer makes this ARB, they are discontinued! But lucky by chance, I found out, well, another forum member did, that you can buy a 21mm front ARB direct from VW. It's still classed as an R32 part under quattro systems on ETKA I think?, but it's non Uk spec, so probs US spec? I don't really know. But it's been fitted now, and what a difference it made!
I've not actually said much about this until now, as I was testing it myself, but I can tell you it works for my suspension setup, and it works for my driving style. But this has all been done on OEM 17" wheels, need to try it on my 18" BBS rims before I'm totally happy.
Ive mentioned the 21mm front bar in the past. Didnt realise you had one. So thumbs up? Mine feels worst on motor ways but having said that im yet to have my car properly set up with it geometry so put it down to that.
Overall you recommend it?
Overall you recommend it?
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For me yes, for everyone else?
The problem is the Golf4 based chassis, it's just not a great handler out the box, but we manipulate it with ARBs and Geometry to improve things, but I'm no chassis expert, it just so happens what I've done works for me. Where I live, there a bit of negative camber on the way into my road, I basically need to back off whilst turning in at anything above 15mph when I just had the 19mm rear ARB fitted, with the 21mm front fitted, I can feel the front bite more, and lean against the tyres for the same turn now. It's no longer twitchy on the motorway, but I must stress, no one on the forum has my exact suspension setup.
To be honest mate, I'd get the geometry setup to your liking and as per the guides on here before you make any decisions.
My S3 felt lethal, and I mean lethal, in heavy rain and or snow. The back end was all over the place, no confidence even at 40-50mph on a soaked A1...
I got the geometry checked on a hunter machine, and they couldn't get the rear toe adjusted properly as there wasn't enough adjustment available.
My car is lowered on AP shocks and Apex springs, and with adjustable rear tie bars, and I had to replace the rear swing arm bushes and remove the plastic cover inside the mounting area to get enough adjustment.
I went back to the hunter machine, and they set it up as per my instructions, and the car has been transformed. It feels completely planted again.
Yes, I'd like to dial out some of the understeer at higher speeds/tight corners, but I'd much rather feel safe going in a straight line!
My point is, you need to keep base lining your setup before you make changes otherwise it's easy to get lost and not know if your latest mod has made the car better or worse.
The S3 may not be the last word in handling, but setup properly even in standard form it's not bad, and certainly better than a car with suspension mods that's never been setup properly.
Apologies if that teaches you to suck eggs!
Thanks for replies yes its the s3 225 and i have eibach springs believe its a 30mm drop, just saw that the r32 rear was about £40 wondered if it was a worthwhile upgrade before i fit the new tyres and have the camber and toe aligned
The 19mm R32 ARB is around £120.
I didn't like the R32 arb it felt too twitchy, especially as I had the early small bush wishbones at the time.
The ARB from the golf 4motion is 16mm, and although this is only 1-2mm bigger than the stock S3 rear bar, it's about 20% stiffer and made a big difference.
Dials out a bit of understeer and changes direction quicker, without the back feeling like it constantly wants to overtake the front!
It was just under £40 about a year ago.
Thanks Jim i think ill just leave it as i dont go tooo nuts and havent had any issues yet may just upgrade the bushes as and when
