Anti roll bars

[chunky79]

How'd ya know?

Because that's what I have. I had them on my A4 B7. And than swapped to RS4. Funny enough when I spoke to eibach they said they don't do one for RS4. Well I guess they do

They may have said they don't have them for the RS4 cause they don't recommend them for it. I'm pretty sure the H&R ones that folk fit to the C5 RS6 aren't designed for that model.

[JCviggen]

From a performance perspective I think fitting stiffer bars will be counter productive, maybe the rear bar only would help if you don't have SS+ but otherwise it makes no sense.

[V8mark]

Out of curiosity what makes you say that? I was considering some uprated anti roll bars for my RS and so would be interested in your thoughts.....

[chunky79]

From a performance perspective I think fitting stiffer bars will be counter productive, maybe the rear bar only would help if you don't have SS+ but otherwise it makes no sense.

Didn't you have both on your C5? They make a huge difference for fast road driving, really make the car feel more planted. If you mean for racing round a track, then I can see your point.

[Robnic]

I run Hotchkis can't comment on H&R although they are quality product and no doubt give same end result, stiffer bars remove understeer and some body roll im not a fan of understeer personally so suits me, that being said it removes the warning element of the breakaway point, it increases your cornering speed but I wouldn't want to find where it does break traction on the road or a track with no run off.

[JCviggen]

A stiffer rear bar will reduce understeer, a stiffer front bar will make it worse. The stock RS4 SS+ suspension has body roll pretty well controlled in my experience (and that was with rather sticky Michelin Cup 2's on track) so upgrading the front bar would make no sense to me. The rear, you may want to try particularly if you have the softer non-SS+ one, but then you may not want to turn off the ESP in the rain.

[Frostie]

What would you recommend lowered on coilovers..

[marc1]

A stiffer rear bar will reduce understeer, a stiffer front bar will make it worse. The stock RS4 SS+ suspension has body roll pretty well controlled in my experience (and that was with rather sticky Michelin Cup 2's on track) so upgrading the front bar would make no sense to me. The rear, you may want to try particularly if you have the softer non-SS+ one, but then you may not want to turn off the ESP in the rain.

^ SS+ is pretty much perfect for road use IMO. You can pick up the SS+ rear ARB for about £120 from the dealer (used to be about £70 including all the bushes, brackets and bolts). Standard ARab is 20mm thick, SS+ is 22mm thick.

The aftermarket bars are usually designed to work together hence selling as a front and rear package.

IIRC the thicker of the two H&R packages available are 32mm front, 24mm rear (2mm thicker front and rear than SS+). Both being solid bars.

Hotchkiss are something like 35mm front, 29mm rear (both hollow aluminium).

Throughout the B6 and B7 range of cars from base SE diesels right up to RS4 all have the same 30mm front bar. Only the rear changes. 16mm for SE, 18mm Sport / S Line, 20mm S4 /RS4, 22mm RS4 SS+.

If you're adding an aftermarket rear bar it's only going to reduce roll at the rear and is a fairly hefty increase over stock. Both H&R and Hotchkiss are adjustable rear bars (think H&R are adjustable at the front too from memory).

The rear Hotckiss bar is something like 150% stiffer than stock in the softest setting and well over 200% at its stiffest.

When you realise what sort of percentage increase a few millimetres yields you start to realise why they offer the two as a package.

I might be slightly off with some of the numbers mentioned as it's been a while since I last did it, but I've done it four times now on B6's and B7's. It's a great bang for buck mod and there is a mountain of info available with a quick google search.

But as Robnic mentioned and also yourself JCViggen the limit is going to be closer.", with that in mind, I'd rather not be inducing a greater likelihood of oversteer by going even further with just an aftermarket rear bar.

You can provoke the car into oversteer with the front and rear done and ESP off if you are aggressive enough in the dry, let alone the wet.

[JCviggen]

What would you recommend lowered on coilovers..

No direct experience with them, sorry...kind of depends on how it feels to you when you chuck it into a corner.

Ignoring the R8 for a minute, the B7 RS4 pretty much has the best calibrated suspension setup of any Audi ever made. Stiffer sway bars front and rear are always an option to make the car corner flatter, if that's what you want, but the odds of it being better balanced when properly pushing the car are pretty much zero.

IF you don't have the bigger rear sway bar of the SS+ suspension, that's an option. I could imagine that being a bit on the soft side given that I find the SS+ setup perfect. There is a point where it oversteers, but it's not in the car's initial reaction unless you're flicking it on purpose.

[pule333]

When removing DRC you must upgrade the ARB's. Either H&R or Eibach. The car will handle beautifully both on fast road and track. I know form personal experience driven both DRC and B14 on the track. https://youtu.be/QxYrcLP1kQs
Judge by yourself

[irn_bru_ce]

034 motorsport do an uprated rear ARB, which come with stronger mounts, they also do stronger drop links. The ARB is adjustable as well

Awesome GTi can supply them

[V8mark]

Good points about the pros and cons of uprating the ARBs. I agree the B7 RS4 has a fantastic setup from the factory (mine had stock DRC) and it was great.

Any experience on the B8? I bought Wills B8 which I think has SS ARBs but now with KWs fitted. The car rides beautifully but I feel it has a tad more roll than the B7.

That said, I've only had it a couple of weeks, so still getting used to it.... it could just be me needing more confidence in the car!

[marc1]

Good points about the pros and cons of uprating the ARBs. I agree the B7 RS4 has a fantastic setup from the factory (mine had stock DRC) and it was great.

Any experience on the B8? I bought Wills B8 which I think has SS ARBs but now with KWs fitted. The car rides beautifully but I feel it has a tad more roll than the B7.

That said, I've only had it a couple of weeks, so still getting used to it.... it could just be me needing more confidence in the car!

Great car you bought there, congrats.

A few of the B8 S4 guys bought H&R bars for their cars. Similar mention of oversteer at the limit in the wet though I think. There is usually quite a lot of talk of it on U.S. based forums such as Audizine, etc. I think the upgraded H&R bars for the B8 platform are the same for A/S/RS4's. Not sure if the RS5 bars are the same thickness. If not, that could be an option as they are likely to bolt straight get on.