Front Sway Bar

[mister_tu]

I tried to post this in the suspension forum but couldn't get a clear answer. I got my hands on some s4 front and rear sway bars. I know the rear sway bars will fit, and assuming the fronts will too. However, someone mentioned that there is a possibility that the s4 front sway bar is the same as the a4 front, can anyone confirm this?

[yoogene83]

it'll fit. The sport package front sway is the same as the s4 and rs4 front sways, the rears are where they are different.

stock - 16mm
sport pkg - 18 mm
s4 - 20 mm
rs4 - 22 mm

something like that, i'm not sure on the exact specs, but it's pretty close

[mister_tu]

it'll fit. The sport package front sway is the same as the s4 and rs4 front sways, the rears are where they are different.

stock - 16mm
sport pkg - 18 mm
s4 - 20 mm
rs4 - 22 mm

something like that, i'm not sure on the exact specs, but it's pretty close

I have a non-sport a4, so the s4 front will be an improvement, right?

[absolutegtr]

IIRC, the RS4 FRONT swaybar is the same as the regular A4....so chances are the S4 would be to.

Also, visually, do they look the same?

[yoogene83]

IIRC, the RS4 FRONT swaybar is the same as the regular A4....so chances are the S4 would be to.

Also, visually, do they look the same?

I think it's the same as the a4's sport suspension, but the non-sport has the smaller front sway bar.

This is all stuff i've read from previous years, so it may be completely and utterly wrong, but i did just pick up some RS4 front and rear sways so i'll let you guys know when i put them in whether or not i threw my money away on the fronts

[yoogene83]

I have a non-sport a4, so the s4 front will be an improvement, right?

technically, yes, it should stiffen up the front. The thing is, you want a stiffer rear sway bar in order to neutralize the inherent understeer in our cars, so you might be better off just putting in your rear sway bar and calling it a day.

The only reason i'm replacing my front with an rs4 sway is because my original got jacked up when i did my motor mounts and i sheared the bolt off in the front sway and had a hell of a time fixing it.

[absolutegtr]

Interesting....if someone couldverify part numberson the sport front sway and the non sport....then we would know if they are different.

[yoogene83]

Interesting....if someone couldverify part numberson the sport front sway and the non sport....then we would know if they are different.

turns out i was misinformed. i read a thread somewhere that stated they were different, but after a little research, looks to be the same. here's a cut and paste from a post from Jet Jockey a couple years back...

All OEM sway bar sizes on the B6 are the same, whether FWD or Quattro.

IIRC, the OEM front sway bars whether on a non sport or sport suspension are the same.

OEM rear sway bar sizes on the A4 are as follows. On a non sport suspension = 16 mm and on a sport suspension = 18 mm. On the S4 = 20 mm. These bars are all non adjustable.

The Neuspeed rear sway bar is 21 mm. Strangely they claim it won't fit on a FWD A4. I don't know why because the suspension is the same as a Quattro car. The bar is adjustable.

The H&R rear sway bar is 20 mm. However, H&R claims their bar will fit on both FWD and Quattro models. The bar is adjustable. Also available from H&R is a bigger front sway bar at 32 mm.

One of the differences between H-Sports and the others, is that the H-Sport kit is a two bar kit. If you decide to buy the H-Sport bars you must use them together, period. The set was designed and tested that way.

The other major difference between H-Sport and the others that offer rear bars is that the H-Sport units are hollow and not solid like the NS and H&R bars.

If your main objective is to reduce understeer, and your are happy with the other aspects of your car's handling, get only a rear sway bar. This will stiffen the rear part of the chassis and reduce your understeer and maybe even provoke some oversteer.

If you want to reduce understeer and reduce roll to improve your handling, a combo set like the H-Sport kit is your answer. Because now not only are you stiffening the rear but also the front. H-Sport claims that their set was designed to reduce roll while keeping the car's handling characteristics almost identical to stock, perhaps reducing some of the understeer on the least stiff position and having the car's handling become more neutral to some oversteer at the stiffer setting. BTW, this is by far the best way money wise (cheap) to improve your car's handling but not necessarily the best way technically.

Finally, if you have money and time, you do it the proper way. You either design and test a suspension kit like STaSIS (Motorsport coilover) or as I did, modify a PSS9 kit by trial and error. You see sway bars are only a Band Aid solution. The proper way to reduce roll, improve handling and reduce brake/acceleration squat is to fine tune your shocks and springs. Usually that means getting stiffer springs and shocks that work well with each other and the chassis. Then a final tuning can be done with the smallest sway bars available. The bigger the sway bar the more independence you will loose in your suspension. On a bumpy road or on a wet surface the two sides of the same axle will be tied together by a bigger bar actually creating wheel lift on the opposite side as the outer wheel's suspension gets compressed, this will also cause the car to skip across a bumpy road a lot faster if they are interconnected by a bigger sway bar, like a live axle on a Mustang or Camaro.

So personally, I would recommend you try a OEM S4 rear sway bar. You can pick them up for real cheap and this way you can experiment at a very low cost your car's handling characteristics

[mister_tu]

He says non-sport and sport suspension, failed to mention whether the A4 and S4 front sways are the same.

I have the S4 rear already which I am installing, hopefully this weekend. Just want to know whether I should do the front the same time.

[zeven13]

The sway bars are different between the two models.

[zeven13]

^^^ forgot to mention that I was interested in this topic anyway, so I gave H&R a call.

If anyone is interested in a group buy, we should get together. The sales rep I spoke with said they could start at $250 for front and $200 for rear. I mentioned the possibility of a buy and they said they'd give it to me at cost + shipping if I got more than 10 orders.

[yoogene83]

He says non-sport and sport suspension, failed to mention whether the A4 and S4 front sways are the same.

I have the S4 rear already which I am installing, hopefully this weekend. Just want to know whether I should do the front the same time.

...

IIRC, the OEM front sway bars whether on a non sport or sport suspension are the same.

if those are the same, then all the others are the same as well. front sways did not change over makes, just rears