KW or Eibach anti-roll bar

[JonnyVW 0]

Hey guys,

 

I own a 1993 Corrado VR6 and i'm not sure which to go for...KW or Eibach front and rear anti-roll bar kit.

 

Would love to go for the Neuspeed anti-roll kit but not sure if the the extra money is worth it.

 

Any personal experience and advice is welcome!!!

 

Jonathan

[Kevin Bacon 5]

They are both the same diameter front and rear so I doubt one is better than the other, but if it were me, I would go with the Eibachs because they are cheaper and well established and trusted within VW circles.

 

The Neuspeeds are very nice bits of kit, but Awesome are useless at importing their stuff and Neuspeed's front bar is a too big imo. 25mm is far too big for a road car imo and they made mine feel VERY understeery in the wet. 22mm feels spot on.

[JonnyVW 0]

Cheers for the reply mate.....I was leaning towards the Eibach kit. Gonna get it forsure now!!

 

:D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Good man! You won't regret it, one of the best mods you can do to any MK2/MK3 based VW!!

 

Make sure you fit the front ARB the right way up :wink:

 

It used to be easy with the front Eibach as the "Eibach" lettering was upside down when fitted correctly, but I think they've corrected that now, LOL, but you'll figure it out :D

[Leonard 0]

25mm is far too big for a road car imo and they made mine feel VERY understeery in the wet. 22mm feels spot on.

 

LOL that could explain a lot about my cars handling! I thought every tyre set I have ever had was shit :D

[Kevin Bacon 5]

When I fitted my 25mm front Neuspeed, I was firstly shocked by the weight of the thing, and secondly that it rubbed on the floor!! I should have listened to my instincts at that point and taken it off again, but I humoured it and it was just ridiculous. A standard VR6 was faster into and out of wet bends!!

[Ben-B 0]

Eibach's the best overall for the road then you reckon?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

It's the sizes that are more important than brand to be honest, i.e. 25mm rear and 22mm front. Eibach, KW & HR all offer that combo. Since the Eibach are cheapest, may aswell go with them :D

 

I've run Eibachs for years and never had any problems with them. Not that anything can actually go wrong with a big peice of spring steel.

 

It's the rear bar that makes the biggest difference since that end of the car rolls more than the front, but most car makers like to dial in 'safe' understeer by fitting large front bars, or in the case of the Corrado / MK3 etc, no rear bar at all.

 

The bar welded inside the rear axle to act as a torsion bar between the 2 pivot points of the axle does practically nothing, and therefore can't be considered an ARB in my book :D

[herisites 0]

I've just got the 25mm Neuspeed rear on mine and I love it 8)

 

A set of ARB's, renewed genuine bushes all round (R32 ones for wishbones), MED adjustable top mounts and a fixed steering column and my steering is now epic! :luvlove:

[Ben-B 0]

It's the sizes that are more important than brand to be honest, i.e. 25mm rear and 22mm front. Eibach, KW & HR all offer that combo. Since the Eibach are cheapest, may aswell go with them :D

 

I've run Eibachs for years and never had any problems with them. Not that anything can actually go wrong with a big peice of spring steel.

 

It's the rear bar that makes the biggest difference since that end of the car rolls more than the front, but most car makers like to dial in 'safe' understeer by fitting large front bars, or in the case of the Corrado / MK3 etc, no rear bar at all.

 

The bar welded inside the rear axle to act as a torsion bar between the 2 pivot points of the axle does practically nothing, and therefore can't be considered an ARB in my book :D

 

I had a RARB fitted to my corsa and it made the world of difference. Recently sold it to a mate, so went round to his and took it off, and on the way home I nearly crashed... went round a biggish roundabout at 30 and went pretty much straight with the tyres squealing like a piglet

 

 

Does the front uprated one make much difference, or would fitting just the rear one be more than ok? Any companies that sell just the rear, or do they do them in a kit?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Does the front uprated one make much difference, or would fitting just the rear one be more than ok? Any companies that sell just the rear, or do they do them in a kit?

 

It does indeed make a difference, some people prefer both fitted, others prefer just the rear. With 17s, stiff suspension and a diff I didn't like how it drove with the front ARB. Now that I've softened things up again, I wouldn't mind trying the front Eibach on again at some point!

[wy906 0]

It's the sizes that are more important than brand to be honest, i.e. 25mm rear and 22mm front. Eibach, KW & HR all offer that combo. Since the Eibach are cheapest, may aswell go with them :D

 

I've run Eibachs for years and never had any problems with them. Not that anything can actually go wrong with a big peice of spring steel.

 

It's the rear bar that makes the biggest difference since that end of the car rolls more than the front, but most car makers like to dial in 'safe' understeer by fitting large front bars, or in the case of the Corrado / MK3 etc, no rear bar at all.

 

The bar welded inside the rear axle to act as a torsion bar between the 2 pivot points of the axle does practically nothing, and therefore can't be considered an ARB in my book :D

 

I had a RARB fitted to my corsa and it made the world of difference. Recently sold it to a mate, so went round to his and took it off, and on the way home I nearly crashed... went round a biggish roundabout at 30 and went pretty much straight with the tyres squealing like a piglet

 

 

Does the front uprated one make much difference, or would fitting just the rear one be more than ok? Any companies that sell just the rear, or do they do them in a kit?

 

Kev, I thought standard VR6 have front and rear ARBs?

 

Also, similar question to Ben’s; why do ARB manufactures only seem to sell front and rear as a set? Surely upgrading ‘front and rear’ is not going to change the car’s characteristic?

 

I’m guessing in general, most VRs owners would like to improve ‘turn-in’; if that’s the case, how come most people here have upgraded their front and rear ARBs, rather than just the rear?

 

Hope my questions make sense. I’m a n00b!

 

Cheers!

[Ben-B 0]

I think I may just stick the rear on. If I can find just a rear one I'll buy that, otherwise I will try sell the front one.

 

It also helps that a friend works for MotorSportWorld, so he may be able to have a word with one of the companies such as Eibach just to get hold of a rear one

[Leonard 0]

Hmmm just thought I would check my spec to see if it was indeed a 25mm up front.

 

Turns out it has AutoTech Anti Roll Bar Kit 22m Front / 25mm Rear with poly bushes

 

Still understeers like a b@stard in the rain though. And really nice and oversteery when pushing on. Keeps me on my toes at least :grin:

 

Im intrigued as to what it would be like now as std. Probably better! LOL

[KADVR6 0]

I think I may just stick the rear on. If I can find just a rear one I'll buy that, otherwise I will try sell the front one.

 

It also helps that a friend works for MotorSportWorld, so he may be able to have a word with one of the companies such as Eibach just to get hold of a rear one

 

 

if you have to buy a set give kev a shout as he want just a front one.

[poll250 0]

I'm pretty sure Weitec do the rear in it's own, I've got one on mine and can't recommend it enough for the money!

[strimmer 0]

It's the rear bar that makes the biggest difference since that end of the car rolls more than the front, but most car makers like to dial in 'safe' understeer by fitting large front bars, or in the case of the Corrado / MK3 etc, no rear bar at all.

 

So shall an upgraded kit which offers a larger 25mm rear to replace the standard beam and a not so big front 22mm move the car's handling to more prodimently understeer than at the moment as we are increasing the differential of rigidity between the rear and front than standard set up? Or in short if I'm happy with the degree of understeer already would the upgrade kit not create more? :scratch:

[Ben-B 0]

I think I may just stick the rear on. If I can find just a rear one I'll buy that, otherwise I will try sell the front one.

 

It also helps that a friend works for MotorSportWorld, so he may be able to have a word with one of the companies such as Eibach just to get hold of a rear one

 

 

if you have to buy a set give kev a shout as he want just a front one.

 

Aye I've seen his thread. Depends how soon he wants it though, as my money is allocated for the next few months :(

[dukest 0]

Kev, I thought standard VR6 have front and rear ARBs?

they do, but the front is only 20mm i think and Kev's already commented on the standard rear not being up to much.

 

Also, similar question to Ben’s; why do ARB manufactures only seem to sell front and rear as a set? Surely upgrading ‘front and rear’ is not going to change the car’s characteristic?

 

I’m guessing in general, most VRs owners would like to improve ‘turn-in’; if that’s the case, how come most people here have upgraded their front and rear ARBs, rather than just the rear?

as you say, putting them on together should mean the balance front-to-rear is no different than standard (theoretically) - but they're still anti-roll bars and so together they will do what they say on the tin and make the car roll less at both ends. thats still a benefit but no, obviously not a method to change the car's turn-in characteristics.

 

stiffening things at both ends without changing the balance is a "safer" solution for manufacturers to pitch than just offering a rear which might cause someone without much experience or ability to get into trouble.

 

So shall an upgraded kit which offers a larger 25mm rear to replace the standard beam and a not so big front 22mm move the car's handling to more prodimently understeer than at the moment as we are increasing the differential of rigidity between the rear and front than standard set up? Or in short if I'm happy with the degree of understeer already would the upgrade kit not create more? :scratch:

a little bit, but Kev mentioning he's up for trying a front again with softer springs whereas, with his previous set up, he wasnt is an example of it depending on the stiffness of your springs already. ARBs are effectively stiffening your spring rates when cornering as opposed to when going in a straight line and if they're quite hard already then more front might be too much.

[wy906 0]

Cheers John!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'm no Walter Rohrl, but I've never had any issues with just a rear ARB and standard front. The initial turn-in understeer standard VR6s suffer from, has completely gone :D I can still get it to power understeer if I'm careless with the throttle though :lol:

 

The rear end has only pirouetted on me once, in the wet, which was down to me foolishly running a temporary 16" wheel on the NSR with an under inflated ditch finder on it :D Other than that incident, I've run a rear ARB + standard front for over 5 years and several 1000 miles with zero issues. I just fancy a play with a front ARB again because on some roads and cornering speeds, I feel it turns-in a little too quick and the front bar might restore the balance....but I suspect it will just resume the turn-in understeer and I'll remove it, again ! Or it could actually be the rear axle bushes. I had them done over 100K ago and I think they need doing again :? This time I will be removing the nasty rear steering and going with solid bushes.

 

But anyway, day to day sensible driving, it feels fantastic and turns-in like a 4 cylinder car with grip not being an issue at either end, wet or dry 8)

 

At the end of the day, springs hold the car up and do the Lion's share of body roll reduction. ARBs are merely a fine tuning tool and not essential. They allow you to use a softer spring but still get flat cornering. Some people prefer a neutral cornering attitude, and some prefer to kill understeer as much as possible. It's your choice. Neuspeed have sold ARBs individually for years and others are doing it now too, which suggests some folk are quite discerning with their chassis setups :D

[Dr Forinor 0]

I have a 25mm Neuspeed rear ARB set to its stiffest setting without an uprated front ARB and I quite enjoy it.

 

I had the rear ARB set to the medium setting to start with and that did make a difference, but the difference from medium setting to stiff setting was more than it was from no ARB to ARB with medium setting. I am thoroughly chuffed with the setup. I do want to try the front ARB just to see what its like, but the way it is now compared to without, I'm not too fussed :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Agreed, tuning front ARBs on a FWD car is the final bit of polish :D

 

I never tried the Neuspeed rear on the stiffest setting when I had mine, I only used the middle setting. Wish I had done now!

[Dr Forinor 0]

I never tried the Neuspeed rear on the stiffest setting when I had mine, I only used the middle setting. Wish I had done now!

 

It's a lot of fun 8) :twisted: