RS4 Sway (antiroll) Bars Opinions?

[don]

...i have had the 32/21 H+R Combo on mine ... I fitted them myself ...

Hi dhali, what exactly is involved with fitting? How long did it take you? I might consider it myself, though would have to make do with car stands and jack, I would still not have a lot of room under there. No special tools required I assume?

[philipwalker]

Fitting is very simple.
Front remove the undertray and you will see what you have to remove. When you are re-fitting the replacement bar get some help to hold it in place as it is heavy.
The rear is fairly easy, the only fiddle is on the drop links, you need to stop the bottom ball joint turning with a socket hex key when removing the 17mm nut holding the bar to the drop link. The ball joints do corrode

Uk RRP for the H+R bars is 265.00 plus vat

[dhali]

hi don,
as phillip has said it is quite simple. i used a jack and stands to do mine. No special tools required. just give those 17mm nuts on the links on the rear a good going over with a wire brush and then give them a good soak in wd40 or something similar.
Of the top of my head for the rear you will require the following tools:
hydraulic jack, two stands,
5mm hex key or ratchet socket for end link allen bolts.
17mm open end wrench for end link nuts
torque wrench with 13mm/17mm sockets
open 13mm wrench for bushing subframe brackets,and 13mm socket with small extension.
As mentioned before do get someone to help you at the front as the bar is quite heavy. Hope this helps..

[don]

My H&R bar set finally arrived last week so will probably be ready to do the install this weekend.

Haven't had a good look under the car yet so just wondering if there are any particular jacking points for the trolley jack that anyone or phillip or dhali can recommend? Or can I get away with using the OEM jack?

Also I assume the wheels can stay on for the install?

Thanks in advance.

don

[PhilT]

The ARBs are pretty easy to fit... I'd recommend borrowing a car lift for an hour though. If you do use the standard jack, make sure you use axle stands.

[philipwalker]

It would be wise to jack up both sides, front then rear, otherwise you will have some loading on the rollbar making the removal and the refit rather hard.

The jacking points are fairly obvious. Use some wooden blocks between the jack and the underside, to help prevent any damage to the rust proofing on the underside of the car.

[don]

thankyou gents. I appreciate the comments.

Unfortunately haven't been offerd a car lift yet, but do have some car stands to use.

[Golich]

Phil/Dave what shock/spring combos are you running with the ARBs?

At near 50miles on my RS the dampers are gone. I don't track my car and to be honest the standard setup is not a bad compromise for me and I really don't want a hard crashy ride. So I'm thinking I'll just replace with new stock items. However, I've really begun to notice the body roll as well as the bouncing and I wouldn't say I'm driving any differently and I'm thinking this must be in part due to the shocks/springs, but that doesn't really makes sense as I would have thought the ARB was responsible for eliminating the most of the bodyroll? Do ARBs and springs become weeker over time? I wouldn't have thought the elastic modulus alters that much? So I'm thinking try replacing the the shocks n springs first and perhaps play with different ARBs if I'm still not happy.

[philipwalker]

Golich
Generaly H+R coilovers are fitted first, then the rollbars.
The standard RS4 suspension is fine for normal use, much better damping than stock S4. Roll bars/springs etc may become week in time, but not like leaf springs on older cars.
I would try a car in your area with the the preferd suspension fitted first.

[PhilT]

The KW v3, Powerflex bushes everywhere, and fat H&R ARBs have transformed the car. Fully adjustable, so you can set it as hard or soft as you like.

[don]

Golich, I have the stock RS4 suspension (low miles), but am going the fat H&R anti-roll bar upgrade. There is quite a significant increase in stiffness at the rear.

In my experience with other cars the anti-roll bar upgrade alone does make a difference, but I will let you know after a test run. Personally, any lower and my car would not make it out of the driveway so coil overs are out. Though I do think some uprated shocks would be a worth while purchase.

Can anyone recommend which settings to set the H&R bars to for the intial install?

I am thinking maximum for both since my car is slightly higher than one with coil overs. I believe there are two settings.

I agree the KW 3s would be nice if I had the $$, I believe there is a 10 mm lowering option aswell, which isn't to much.

[philipwalker]

I have just fitted a set of KW "Variant 3" this week, to try. To a previously H+R equipped S4.
Not as good as I expected certanly nice to have the damping adjustment. Not worth the extra over the H+R equivelent.

Powerflex bushes in some applications do wear badly, especialy on VW`s front wishbones and ur quattro front and rear wishbone fitments. I understand the S2 front wishbones are not to clever either.

[DaveP]

For the rollbar settings...you want the front on the 'loosest' setting, and the rear on the 'stiffest' setting...this will help reduce understeer a hell of a lot.

I made a post on it a while back, I think there's some settings in that too...

With regards to the H+R, you can actually run it at standard ride height (as it's height adjustable)...It'd probably still firm up the ride a bit and help handling...

[don]

dhali, I noticed you mentioned the requirement of a torque wrench.

I didn't notice any instructions for torque settings for the H&R anti-roll bars when I opened the box.

Can anyone indicate what approximate torque settings would be for the anti-roll bar upgrade?

Or is it enough to just make sure every bolt is done up 'tight' after the install?

I would rather not bother with the torque wrench unless it is critical.

[dodgydave]

Where can I get the H&R kit in the UK ?