Front anti-roll bar & lower suspension arm bushes..

[shah23]

Hi guys,

Wondering if anyone can help here. My car was recently mot'd, everything was fine and the passed its mot.
However the report did suggest that i have my front anti-roll bar synthetic bushes and lower suspension arm rubber bushes replaced in the coming months.
I was just wanting to know if its going to be an expensive job to have done. I wont be taking it to the dealers, because i know they will be expensive.
Any suggestions?

 

[spiker]

hi shah

nothing too serious here my friend - perhaps £200-£300 worth of work

You might consider poly bushes depending on your preference for a little bit extra

How many miles have you done ?

 

[Swifty_Boy]

I am having the wishbone bushes and the front ARB replaced on Monday at APS at a cost of £350 all in, which I think is OK .

Car has done 100k and as far as I know these are the first replacements it has had. Seems to all be motorway miles though.

 

[fingermouse]

Just remember the front sleeves on the S3 arb can split under the bushes then it new arb time

 

[leecs3]

ask santa for a set of H&R ARB's. They transform an S3's handling and steering feel.

 

[spiker]

I have upgraded the front and rear arbs to neuspeed 15/19 Front rear - added 2 adjustable tie bars at the back - neuspeed and forge and had the rear trailing arm bushes replaced

the shocks and springs were also replaced

the ride has been transformed - it handles much much better

£350 sounds about right for the work - I am sure you would have needed them at 100k

 

[domburg]

spiker - did you replace the shocks and springs with OEM items or did you get aftermarket ones?

dom

 

[DPM]

Agree with Lee, great choice the H&R ARBs.

Damian @ DPM

 

[spiker]

Domburg - Hi

Koni FSD's and eibach pro kit springs - but in heinsight should have gone Bilstein

 

[domburg]

hi spiker, cheers fo that, im planning to replace/improve the suspension and components on mine in the new year, justy out of interest howcome u say u'd prefer the bilsteins to the koni's

dom

 

[spiker]

well the konis raised the ride height about 10mm upon fitting ( despite everyone saying it wouldnt - awesome / forums / koni ) - its settled down since but its still about 7-8 mm higher than standard

On the motorway the ride was very bouncy - this was solved when i upgraded the front and rear arbs . Now all is well and the konis do a good enough job

I think if everything is set well with the supsension then they are probably perfectly ok - its personal choice i suppose other people may prefer the bouncy feel as its less harsh.

 

[shah23]

hi thanks for getting back to me. the car has just done 50k, and is backed by full audi history. the rear bushes were replaced at dealers before i bought the car.
Im still kinda confused as to which bushes i should go for.. and where is the best place to get them from? are dealer parts any good?

 

[shah23]

also, it only says to replace the bushes.. so im guessing this does not include both ARB's and just the bushes??

 

[spiker]

Shah - you have some options here

You need lower suspension arm ( i presume this is at the front) and front arb bush replacements

If you plan to keep the car for a while it may be cheaper in the long run to

replace front and rear arbs ( they come with their own bushes) i run 22mm front 19mm rear which works well for me

replace both sets of front wishbone bushes with polybushes

optionally consider replacing the rear trailing arm bushes too with polybushes

That lot will set you back well over a £1000 possibly closer to £1500 with labour but this will transform the handling and keep the car nice and tight for the next few years

OR

on the cheap - just replace the arb bushes and lower bushes with the standard rubber ones as required at about £300+

Having done option 1 i would highly recommend it but its down to cash at the end of the day - the S3 is not great when comparing its handling to similar class cars and if you really want to drive it and enjoy it then it will cost - but be well worth the investment if you intend to keep the car a few years

your call

 

[mat20vt]

i went bilsteins on my a3. koni fsd's on my golf did not lower the car.
bilsteins on now, with 30mm lower springs, and h&r cup kit. supplied by DPM and Badger5. handles great. i'd recomend that setup

 

[Dennis Moeller]

I have upgraded the front and rear arbs to neuspeed 15/19 Front rear - added 2 adjustable tie bars at the back - neuspeed and forge and had the rear trailing arm bushes replaced

the shocks and springs were also replaced

the ride has been transformed - it handles much much better

£350 sounds about right for the work - I am sure you would have needed them at 100k

Real nice setup that I will look into. Do you have links to where you bought it? Much appreciated