RS4 Rear Sway Bar - Hello ESP

[rjkotler]

I just got my rear sway bar replaced yesterday. Lots of people have the RS4 rear sway bar upgrade. Lots of people say the car is more now more "neutral". There is a nice twisty on-ramp near my local tune shop so I thought I would test out the feel and push it a bit. The car was very flat through the first section of the S curve but on the second part of the turn the car got very tail happy! A little counter steering and the ESP nanny kicking in and I got things pointed in the right direction. It is strange but I feel like the car has less traction overall now, and it feels more apt to skid.

Has anybody gotten the same feeling after doing the upgrade? Super flat cornering, good turn in but lower overall traction limit?

I will give it a full review after the HPDE event at Pocono International Raceway in May.

Specs:
2007 Audi A4 2.0T Q 6MT
Tires: Continental Conti Extreme Contact DWS - Inflated to the proper PSI.
No other mechanical modifications.

[freaksavior]

I did springs (going coils eventually) and the rs4 sway bar, I honestly felt the car handled more tightly, like there was less body roll and I can take turns faster without fearing my rear end is about to swing out like a fat lady walking around a corner while fearing I am about to be smacked by her.
I've taken turns off the free way exit ramps (the ones that say 35 hehe) at about 80 and felt I had more control than before.

[fly300kts]

I have the RS4 Sway and I am Quattro too:
The sway did not change anything as far as handling

Phil

[naiku]

Definitely don't feel as though I have less traction after putting mine on.

[elwigglero]

To start, you're cornering on all seasons, which isn't ever going to inspire a ton of confidence.

It's just a slightly thicker rear sway. It will help a little bit with understeer, but won't push the car to oversteer. We're too nose-heavy. Most likely, the off ramp was a bit slick and/or banked the other way. The rs4 RSB isn't a drastic change.

[bmc333]

Driving the car harder is probably the reason you have less traction - just a thought.

[A 4 Awesome]

The only real difference I felt when I installed my RSB was that I had less body roll on freeway on-ramps. I agree with the posts above.

[mr shickadance]

To start, you're cornering on all seasons, which isn't ever going to inspire a ton of confidence.

It's just a slightly thicker rear sway. It will help a little bit with understeer, but won't push the car to oversteer. We're too nose-heavy. Most likely, the off ramp was a bit slick and/or banked the other way. The rs4 RSB isn't a drastic change.



i sorta thought it was huge difference in size....the oem is 18-19 right? the rs4 is 22mm thats a pretty hefty increase in size when talking about a sway bar..


but yea i only notice it when on free way entrances....still very fun tho slightly overrated imo

[GarrettReid]

I've read numerous post about the RS4 RSB as being one of the best $ vs. performance mods available?

[mr shickadance]

thats why i think its only a LITTLE overrated....is bc theres so many posts about it being so super great that i think i may have overestimated the performance increase a little....still a goo product and great bang for the buck but just a little over hyped is all im saying

[NorcalPB]

Best bang for the buck mod. Period. If you havent gotten one yet you don't know what you're missing. And oversteer not something you have to worry about involuntarily. And it's not like I don't drive this car hard I go through a set of wheel bearings every 10k miles.

[audidave]

^ that doesn't seem right...

[NorcalPB]

^ that doesn't seem right...

How does that not seem right? And honestly, the handling of this car kind of sucked initially, even with the sport suspension. So going from sub-par to impressive handling is indeed a huge leap. Funny how over time the RS4 sway bar became a "flavor of the month" sort of deal, and now everyone is now hating on it?

I've seen an obvious decrease in useful knowledge over the time I've been in the b7 section, but saying the RS4 rear bar isn't a major upgrade that DRASTICALLY changes the handling of the car is foolish. If you are thinking about getting the bar, get it you will not regret it.

[NorcalPB]

I have the RS4 Sway and I am Quattro too:
The sway did not change anything as far as handling

Phil

Please say someone logged on to your account and wrote this

[event]

I push my car to the limit often and the amount of understeer I felt prior to upgrading to the RS4 sway was significant. It's a must have mod on these nose heavy cars.

[NorcalPB]

OP do you know what accelerator lift is?

[deeznuts]

i just took my rs4 sway out, and im lowered on coils...and honestly- i didnt notice a difference at all...as per the car skidding out more.....not the case. your suspension has less play leaning left and right, so its more balanced, and the weight stays evenly distrubuted...therfore when you take a turn, you may hear your tires screech like you havent before- but in reality your handing is more controllable.

[funky_snowman]

all i'm going to say is that if you don't know what the part does, please do not install it, regardless of how many forum goers follow that route.

[deeznuts]

all i'm going to say is that if you don't know what the part does, please do not install it, regardless of how many forum goers follow that route.

Lol

[B-Time]

If you just left the tuner...maybe cold tires?

[rjkotler]

Thanks for all the feedback. After a few more days of driving and pushing the car I think that I have found a better way to explain what happened that prompted my original post.

I think what has changed are the characteristics of the car when it is at the traction limit. After driving on some familiar on ramps and being more aware of the entry and exit speeds I would say that the overall traction limit has gone up. The car is noticeably more flat throughout all the turns I have taken and as a result my cornering speeds have gone up. It seems that I am more comfortable getting to the traction limit now. I think that the feel has changed, and with the old sway bar the body roll was a leading indicator of where the traction limit was. Now that body roll has been reduced the feedback from the tires is the prime factor in determining where the traction limit is.

After a few adjustments to my driving and getting used to the change in feel I am happy with the upgrade.

- “Accelerator Lift” – If this is a term that means something other than lifting your foot off the accelerator at the proper time during a cornering maneuver I am not familiar with it. Please feel free to explain.

[NorcalPB]

Well quattro really isn't working unless you are giving it at least some gas, so when cornering hard if you lift your foot off the gas around the apex your car will most likely slide out in the rear due to the immediate loss in traction. I could see most people freaking out in the 2nd curve in an s turn and instead of hitting the brakes just letting off the gas to slow down in a "safer way", but in reality this can be just as dangerous, but a lot more fun.