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I'll have to start this minor rant with a statement in that my previous car (Mk4 R32) was extremely rigid; with upgraded springs, race front and rear arbs, front upper and lower strut braces, rear lower brace, and poly bushes throughout... So getting a large(ish) 4 door saloon was a bit of a shocker in the handling stakes.

I've experienced a combination of massive understeer when turning-in hard.. to alarming oversteer when provoked.

Having reviewed various arb offerings/set-ups (& costs), i figured the 22mm B7 RS4 Rear ARB was the most cost effective to dial-out the understeer without going to extreme for a road car...

Parts ordered, car jacked, (bolt sheared DOH!) exhaust off, imagine my surprise and subsequant disappointment when i see that it already has the RS4 Rear bar on it

I blame myself for not checking first.. but i have to say, if this set-up is (as I've read), better than stock.. then I'm not that impressed.

Unit 20 & Hotchkiss here i come.... http://www.ekmpowershop16.com/ekmps/sho ... ng-8-c.asp

goose

Hi,

Have you checked the diameter of the RARB just to make sure. The RS4 one is 22 mm.
I wonder if someone has uprated the front ARB, as that would cancel the effect of the RS4 RARB. Only the rear ARB should be upgraded.

There is a big difference with the RS4 RARB. I do drive my S4 very hard and the understeer is just noticable in the wet now.

Regards, Chris.

nihc wrote:Hi,

Have you checked the diameter of the RARB just to make sure. The RS4 one is 22 mm.
I wonder if someone has uprated the front ARB, as that would cancel the effect of the RS4 RARB. Only the rear ARB should be upgraded.

There is a big difference with the RS4 RARB. I do drive my S4 very hard and the understeer is just noticable in the wet now.

Regards, Chris.

Cheers Chris... Yep, was defo a 22mm bar already on there... measured them side-by-side and they were identical.

Previous owner must have upgraded it... i just thought it would be better i guess

goose

Have you checked the front ARB? I'll get the calipers on and see what diameter the standard one is. You haven't been sold the standard S4 RARB by mistake have you?
What tyres have you got on?

I suppose it's never going to be great with a big V8 up front.

Regards, Chris.

And to add insult to injury, there was no need to remove the exhaust to fit the ARB, it will squeeze in there without taking it off!

It'll be worth it. The Hotchkis kit transforms the handling

This may sound odd. But you are probably not driving the car correctly if you are suffering from massive understeer, too quick into corners, and then alarming oversteer, probably due to lifting off mid corner to counter the understeer.

The RS4 ARB does increase lift off oversteer quite a lot. I have the RS4 ARB and it does reduce understeer dramatically compered to the stock set up. But again the driving style has to be adjusted in order ot get the best of the car.

The S4 cannot be thrown around like a R32. The driving style required is very much different.

I've checked the front ARB, and all is fine... both old and new rear ARBs were measured with calipers, and both were RS4 22mm bars.. tyre-wise, i'm running Goodyear Eagle F1's front and rear, all x4 less than 3 months old.

goose

BlingBling wrote:This may sound odd. But you are probably not driving the car correctly if you are suffering from massive understeer, too quick into corners, and then alarming oversteer, probably due to lifting off mid corner to counter the understeer.

The RS4 ARB does increase lift off oversteer quite a lot. I have the RS4 ARB and it does reduce understeer dramatically compered to the stock set up. But again the driving style has to be adjusted in order ot get the best of the car.

The S4 cannot be thrown around like a R32. The driving style required is very much different.

Totally agree. With the big lump hanging in front of the front axle understeer is the natural state. I fitted the ARB and it helped but you certainly need to drive it in a certain fashion.

I found that slower in and feeling for th inside front wheel to be hooked up before applying more gas was the way. Getting on the gas just before the apex meant it would sling shot out. Try throwing it in faster just meant a wide drift and a very slow exit.


Oh and talking of the lift off oversteer, this is a video of me showing an RS6 owner how to play with it :

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 0518935842#

I found that with KWv3's, Hotchkis RS4 ARBs (rear set to soft) and Vred Sessanta's (225 profile), very little unsettles it. Great fun in the summer when the roads are warmed up!!