Owners of Front/Rear Swaybars or just Rear Swaybars, I need your Feedback

[zcspec]

So I am planning on tracking the AR this year, maybe 3 or 4 “true” track events and not simply an autoX day. I am debating an upgrade for the front/rear sways and have heard/read these will change the dynamics of how the car handles, IE, tighter, more planted, etc.

Years ago, I upgrade my A3’s RSB and to tell you the truth, I couldn’t feel much of a difference when driving spiritedly. I do have years of experience instructing/marshaling on the tract via 2 wheels but have also tracked my previous cars so I would consider myself an experienced driver who understands apexing, trail braking, etc. Unfortunately, my first name is not Nigel, nor is my last name Mansell so I am certain, I have yet to push any of my cars to the limits to determine if sways are completely necessary.

What has been your experience? Do you notice immediate differences when taking large off/on ramps, hard corners, day to day driving, etc? I have read that sways tend to make your ride firmer, possibly more harsh as well.

[adamazing]

My car came with the factory sport suspension. I opted to upgrade the REAR BAR only. It made an improvement but I'm still leaning towards adding a stiffer front bar as well. The crutch is my coilovers - solowerks are great for daily driving and light canyon carving, but they are still too soft to get real performance out of them. My front end still rolls and dips hard in corners.

I added the CR-15 upper strut bar as a alternative and it made no improvement either. So a front sway is on the radar, and eventually better coilovers for me.

[zcspec]

My sentiments are the same with the SWs. They are wonderful for the DD but when pushed hard, leaves much to be desired. I am on H&Rs which are stiffer and better than the SWs but no match for the PSS10s I use to run on my Audis. Thanks for the honesty on the CR-15. I had considered an UPPER, but with no performance gains, what's the point.

[hyperunion]

I went with both H&R front and rear sways.... Definitely an improvement over stock!... Absolutely flat hard cornering!

[earhythmic]

I have both front and rear Hotchkis sways. I noticed a HUGE improvement over stock, even on the AR's boat-esque stock suspension at the time. There was no added harshness to the ride. Here's a good comparison of some options and review: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-vs-H-sport-S4

[adamazing]

I seem to be in the minority of opinion on the CR-15, just food for thought. Everyone else seems to love it and notice a handling improvement, but I just don't feel it. Maybe I'm the weird one.

[Poodini]

I seem to be in the minority of opinion on the CR-15, just food for thought. Everyone else seems to love it and notice a handling improvement, but I just don't feel it. Maybe I'm the weird one.

Speaking for myself, with regards to the CR-15 bar, the difference in terms of stabilizing the engine bay is a definite improvement. In terms of driving performance, the gain is relatively modest. The take away for me was it just feels like the car is a little more stable and steering feel is slightly improved/slightly more taunt feeling in the steering. Again, it's modest but it certainly was noticeable right when I put it on.

That being said, I had stayed away from putting on a front sway given all the testimonials of our cars having such under steer that it wouldn't be a positive gain. Based on what I'm reading now, I may have to reconsider. Our cars are just heavy and without making considerable changes in the suspension, it's hard to counteract it's natural tendencies.

peace

[shonseb]

I had the front and rear sways on my A5 and noticed a definite improvement. Larger diameter sways with a tighter setting in the rear and looser up front Really balanced the car well, no over or under steer. I did the same on my RS5 (but the way both were on the same set of HR Coils). Now with my A4 I decided that I would go with RSB only and went with the 034 one. I haven't noticed much of a difference but then I'm also on the stock suspension. I plan to upgrade to PSS10's soon, after that I'm guessing the difference in the sway bar will really come into play.

As for the CR-15, I didn't notice a direct improvement in performance, but I did notice a better feel of the road and the steering felt more connected and direct. That alone was enough for me to upgrade.

[ToddBrunswick]

Speaking for myself, with regards to the CR-15 bar, the difference in terms of stabilizing the engine bay is a definite improvement. In terms of driving performance, the gain is relatively modest. The take away for me was it just feels like the car is a little more stable and steering feel is slightly improved/slightly more taunt feeling in the steering. Again, it's modest but it certainly was noticeable right when I put it on.

I agree with this. I've had my CR-15 for about 2 weeks. It's noticeable, but it's definitely not enough. But if you add with additional suspension mods, I think it's a nice complement and for the price, I think it's definitely worth the investment.

[o1turbo30v]

If your car has factory sport suspension just get the rear bar, if it doesn't definetly get the set, they all will work pretty much the same so get whichever one is cheapest.

[The Infiltrator]

I have the front and rear H&R sway bars.

Years ago I installed the rear and it made a world of difference, installed the front a few months later and it felt complete. I would say get front and rear and don't listen to these turds at 034 that are telling people to just go with the rear. I used to track mine on the Nürburgring when I used to live in Germany, doing both is the only way to go.

[S4'ed]

I have the front and rear EuroCode sway bars, both set to the stiffest setting, with the factory end-links. Big improvement to the stock S4 suspension. The CR-15 upper bar is a brace, for improved chassis rigidity, it does not reduce body roll....that's not what its purpose is.

[hyperunion]

I have the front and rear H&R sway bars.

Years ago I installed the rear and it made a world of difference, installed the front a few months later and it felt complete. I would say get front and rear and don't listen to these turds at 034 that are telling people to just go with the rear. I used to track mine on the Nürburgring when I used to live in Germany, doing both is the only way to go.

Good call.. Their is a reason why H&R developed both front and rear... With my coilovers I decided to have the front installed on the softer setting...

[rob_23]

Is new hardware required when installing sway bars?

The Eurocode Front and Rear Kit does not include hardware. They offer the hardware as an additional add-on.

[AllroadCorbin]

I thinking about sways for my AR too. It'll never see a track but since its lowered and I've ruined any ability to take it on the beach anymore, I figure I might as well be able to enjoy off ramps and twisty back roads as if I wasn't driving a 4,100 lb wagon

[The Infiltrator]

Is new hardware required when installing sway bars?

The Eurocode Front and Rear Kit does not include hardware. They offer the hardware as an additional add-on.

You can use the stock hardware and it'll be fine.

[earhythmic]

^^However if E-Code shows up in here they'll try to convince you to replace the bolts. Reason being is they're just relaying what is written in the Audi repair manual since these are "one time use" stretch bolts. I used the stock hardware...I can't imagine having to buy a new bolt set every time I needed to adjust something in the suspension (my count would be up to 3 by now). Just use some blue loc-tite when putting it back together and call it a day.

[Dad A3]

I have front and rear on the 06 A3 as well as ST coil overs, the difference in handling between it and my 2012 A3 is night and day.
Can't wait to do the sways in the 12.
And mentioning Nigel Mansell (class guy) brought a smile, and great memories of the "old" F1 days.

[zcspec]

Definitely seems as though a majority of sway-bar owners here have noticed improvements in performance worthy of the cost. After saving up and buying my portable scissor lift, this will be my next mod!

[The Infiltrator]

Definitely seems as though a majority of sway-bar owners here have noticed improvements in performance worthy of the cost. After saving up and buying my portable scissor lift, this will be my next mod!

Lol, those lifts are sweet. My brother has one and loves it!

[marco12]

I started out on lowering springs... the car still had a lot of roll, so i installed hotchkis 32mm front and 26mm rear sway bars. It fixed a lot of the body roll, and i could really push the limits of my tires. But the car would have the tendency to understeer more than id like it too, which was starting to get frustrating. I ended up switching the front sway bar to an h and r 30mm. The car feels much better now. Corners better than before and its smoother and less squeaky. Happy with the change. Will be switching to coils soon!!!

[Dub_prime]

I'll throw my experience with a different car into the mix and it's pretty much the same as marcos. I ended up removing the front bar in my 2002 GTI completely after upgrading to coils. The suspension was stiff enough that the front bar wasn't necessary. On most cars they are designed to understeer from the factory, and adding a rear bar allows for more balanced handling. When you add a larger front bar then you just reset the equation and are back to where you started. People also mistake body roll for poor handling, some body roll can be good for handling and it doesn't directly lead to understeer if you are driving correctly.

[4ringnut]

Do front and rear. Get new bolts because they can snap. I had just the rear, and it never felt right. Did the front because a few of the guys recommended it, it transformed the feel. Much more balanced.

[A4 Centaur]

I would suggest some reading and understanding what you are trying to accomplish and more importantly where you plan on using the car as a starting point for discussion of the use of swaybars:

"Understeer is a condition where the car seems to “plough” or “push” through the corner." Audi's have plenty of this already looks like a front swaybar is the ticket to help solve the problem.

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/suspensn/fs101a.htm

http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-gen...ndersteer.html

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60400

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=181665

http://www.speeddirect.com/index.php...anti-sway-bars

Lots to digest, but again its good to read up and understand the pros and cons of both set-ups.

[zcspec]

Thanks for the info Centaur. With the wife and kids in the car last night, I took a cloverleaf spiritedly and the AR just felt like a hog. I could feel the weight transfer from the inner to the outer side. Been reading on how sway bars actually work so I think an upgrade is in order.

[jokingjimmy]

This isn't directly related to swaybars, but i was wondering if any of you hand experience with airsuspension like Accuair or Airlift in regards to tracking? Based on theory and the couple of coilovers comparisons they did (grain of salt of course, since they did the tests) it seems that the height leveling systems would really combat body roll and sway pretty well - with current technology. If that's the case, and one went with the performance air suspension, would one still need the upgraded sways?