R32 ARB Fitted

s3dave

s3dave

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Fitted a rear 19mm ARB last night with new poly bushes and wow it has transformed the handling ..
the confidence in the car has gone up my miles, a well underestimated mod......


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also fitted a engine crank speed sensor (not a very nice job at all) as my car was cutting out when hot.
Drove for a few miles enjoying the transformation and all seems good....
for the price of the R32 19MM bar it has to be my best mod for me so far.....
 
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I've been saying for years that a RARB is one of the best mods you can do! people just don't want to spend the money on ARB's as they never seem to believe the difference they can make.

Glad you're liking it Dave :)
 
Cheers mate it certainly is, my car is very low and i did not think they would be much movement....Wrong..
im going to leave the front, as i am happy with it now, if i put a bigger front ARB i would def need a bigger rear one...
 
Hi Dave- this is a mod I've been looking into, so good to hear the results.

Have you also changed your front ARB? Or are you using the standard S3 ARB?
 
Larger bar on the front will negate the benefits of a larger rear bar, and restore the factory understeering balance of the car.

Whenever doing ARB's, you need to increase the rear proportionally more than the front.

I run a 22mm front and 32mm rear on my A3 :D
 
Bear in mind you cant compare thicknesses across different platforms.

IE theres no guarantee that Prawns 32mm rear bar is actually stiffer than a 19mm R32 one just because its 13mm thicker, because of the different suspension layouts/shape of the ARB and the attachment points all affect how stiff the bar is.

Most quattro Audis seem to like a mild upgrade on the rear end, and the front left alone. Yes, you could fit larger bar on the front and an EVEN larger one again on the back, however this can actually reduce the cars mechanical grip, at the expense of "feel" as ARB's stop the suspension working independently.
 
I remember when i fitted my H&R ARB's to mine after the factory ones went made a hell of a difference even on standard suspension
 
What i'm getting at though, is that yes, the car FEELS better, it sits flatter thru the corners and doesnt roll about. That doesnt mean you now have more grip. Stiff ARB's can overload the outside tyre in a corner as they've transferred more weight onto it, which will in turn mean you have lower cornering speeds because the outside tyre loses traction earlier. They can also mean that if one corner of the car hits a bump, both sides react and you lose grip and the car can "skip" sideways.

If you consider that fitting a larger front ARB alone, would INCREASE understeer, you need to ask yourself why that is. Its because you've reduced front end grip. So what in effect your doing, is reducing front end grip with your uprated front bar, then even further reducing rear end grip to get the balance where you want it with a positively massive rear bar.
 
audi upgrades
I like the sound of this. When I replaced my rear ARB 2 years ago I just went stadard because I didn't know much about them. I had a brand new Standard front ARB fitted yesterday so the next time my rear one needs doing I'll go with the R32 I think.
 
aragorn said:
Bear in mind you cant compare thicknesses across different platforms.

IE theres no guarantee that Prawns 32mm rear bar is actually stiffer than a 19mm R32 one just because its 13mm thicker, because of the different suspension layouts/shape of the ARB and the attachment points all affect how stiff the bar is.
Click to expand...

I totally agree, i think any kind of 32mm rear bar on a quattro model would make it hugely unsafe!

Also, you're right about 'feels' better vs 'IS' better debate, especially when applied to a road car. The bumps and uneven surfaces on the UK roads mean that with a huge rear bar like mine, rear end great is most definitely reduced. On cold tyres and bumpy roads mine can be pretty lethal even when going at normal speeds.

On a racetrack however, it's brilliant.

horses for courses isn't it?

R32 rear and stock front sounds like a brilliant setup for the S3 :)
 
Hi guys - I too am in the process of choosing replacement upgrade arbs after Audi pointed out my bushes/collars were dead,

Prawn you said in a recent thread ("Cracked Rear Anti-roll Bar...") that you thought the consensus was that the best setup for the S3 was 22mm Front & 19mm Rear.

I know it's partially a matter of taste/driving style, but this thread seems to recommend 20mm Front (standard) and 19mm Rear (upgrade).

so i guess the question i have is:

If it were an S3, and your money.......what would you do? http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/images/smilies/confused.gif

(hoping your experiences can stop me from wasting my money!)
 
chazza55 said:
Hi guys - I too am in the process of choosing replacement upgrade arbs after Audi pointed out my bushes/collars were dead,

Prawn you said in a recent thread ("Cracked Rear Anti-roll Bar...") that you thought the consensus was that the best setup for the S3 was 22mm Front & 19mm Rear.

I know it's partially a matter of taste/driving style, but this thread seems to recommend 20mm Front (standard) and 19mm Rear (upgrade).

so i guess the question i have is:

If it were an S3, and your money.......what would you do? http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/images/smilies/confused.gif

(hoping your experiences can stop me from wasting my money!)
Click to expand...

thought the front arb was 19mm on S3 and 20mm on the later TT
 
my caliper tells me that mine is 20mm Front and 14mm rear ('51 plate 8L S3)........the 19mm bush i was sent (as part of a superpro poly pack) didn't really fit!

either way (let's assume for argument's sake that i am wrong with the 20mm Front statement).........do you recommend standard front or 22mm upgrade on the front when combined with a 19mm rear arb?

thanks
 
Don't tell me that H&R is selling bad ARB's. I am sure they have a good R&D departement. I have the 25 mm front and the 21 mm rear on my S3 in the soft setting and together with Bilsteins B8 and Eibach it is a great combination.
 
H&R have clearly not experimented enough in the R&D stages, and have just upped both bar sizes by a similar amount.

This is a fairly safe bet, as it will reduce body roll without altering the balance of the car in terms of oversteer/understeer.

The H&R kit for the FWD platform is just the same, a huge 26mm front bar and a 22mm rear bar

That's not to say that the H&R kit is bad, but it will retain a near standard balance, which is very safe.

JoJos S3 I drove with 22mm F and 19mm R bars felt pretty awesome, although I think personally I'd be tempetd to try a 20mm F and 19m R bar if I had one.

i don't have one though, and all you guys do, so my opinion means feck all :)
 
Cees48 said:
Don't tell me that H&R is selling bad ARB's. I am sure they have a good R&D departement. I have the 25 mm front and the 21 mm rear on my S3 in the soft setting and together with Bilsteins B8 and Eibach it is a great combination.
Click to expand...
It looks like you have kept the under-steer formula lol.......
 
what is the standard rear ARB size? I thought it was 13mm is it 14mm ?
 
audi upgrades
Do audi still sell the 19mm and 15mm ARB's? I've a feeling when I replaced mine they sold me the 20mm and 14mm arbs, will have to check my reciepts later and confirm.
 
They do list a 20mm for the S3 but it goes on chassis number as theres a break within certain years. They also list a 21mm for normal quattro models ie A3`s.
 
quick phone call to my local vw dealer confirms that its is 21mm and still available at £88.36 +vat
 
Haha knew it`d be someone off here. You spoke to me :p
 
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I really need to pull my finger out and fit my R32 rear ARB!

Which bushes did you buy Dave? Do you have a link? i'm worried i'll buy the wrong ones!
 
S3 ARB sizes like the TT ones depends on the year of the car. Earlier cars were 19mm front 15mm rear, then later ones are 20mm front and 14mm rear.
 
what about an fwd a3?? u recomend the same setting as for the s3?
I was thinking in getting eibach arb kit (front , rear + bushes)
but after reading trough this thread im a bit confused....:unsure:
 
any one got the part number for the rear r32 rear arb? (19mm) would be appreciated
 
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