Well i finally got round to putting on my Eibach Front & Rear ARB's

Big Thanks to pete8tch and a colleague of his i had access to a wheels free Ramp so the whole process to do both front and rear took around 1hr 45mins (pete's colleague doing most of the work :D) this included a bit of "alteration" with a hacksaw

Well they do certainly make a big big difference to the car. I know a lot of people say the Front ARB isn't needed but i can guarantee that it is. Having been in and driven a couple of vRS' with just Rear ARB's i find they have a tendancy to understeer a lot no matter what setting the ARB's are on (Eibach's have 2 stifness settings). Having the front on helps this a lot.

The change is very big. I threw the car round a few bends on the way back from the garage (although not as much as normal as i think pete's heart would have packed in ) and could immediately tell the change. The car felt a lot more responsive and also a lot flatter when cornering.

After dropping pete off i gave the car a bit more of a work out and i can sfaely say it has added 20-30mph to the cornering speed of the car. I went into a roundabout yesterday (it was empty before any do gooders start complaining about irresponsible driving ) at a speed i knew the car would slide. Even though it was quite wet the car just gripped and went round.

Yesterday i drove 532 miles in the car and there was no discernable difference in the comfort either.

Traction off the line and out of corners is also greatly improved. However i have gotten so used to feeding in the power that i haven't really tested the full potential of the extra grip just yet. It will probably only be minimal though as they are designed to stop lateral movement rather than lift.

So my personal experience and opinion is that if you are going to get ARB's get both. Honestly there is a noticeable difference with the front one fitted.

Now i just have to play and see which settings give the best handling. I.e rear stiffer front stiffer or both same.

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

I didnt realise they were adjustable, is that front and rear. JKM never even mention that to me when they were fitted.

I wil have to look into that. They are mint though. massive improvment:thumbup:

Yes Simon they both have 2 stiffness settings

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

A fair review I loved mine, really transformed the car's already great cornering into something phenomenal from a family hatchback. Enjoy.

The change is very big. I threw the car round a few bends on the way back from the garage (although not as much as normal as i think pete's heart would have packed in ) and could immediately tell the change. The car felt a lot more responsive and also a lot flatter when cornering.

yep your right , not good excitement at my age.

glad your pleased mate, definately felt good as a passenger.

will be fitting my whitelines very soon as somebody nicked my slot . lol.

Edited 1 May, 200917 yr by pete8tch

cheers carl had a look under today and your bob on there. both my front and rear barsare on the bottom holes which i presume would be the stiffest.

Nope that's the softest

Highest of both holes is the stiffest. Think of it this way the closer you hold your hands to the centre of a bar the harder It is to bend. I know it won't look like much but there will be a difference.

Carl:thumbup:

yep its reducing the leverage that makes it stiffer.

what diameter are the bars front and rear ?

you misunderstood me there. that is where they are bolted. ie closest holes to the bend in the bar. which are the bottom when holes when in position i think.

bit annoyed they never even asked me whatsettings i woul have lked them on though, plus my wheels alignment was way off.

luckily the bars were good though

Edited 2 May, 200917 yr by simonskerton

yep its reducing the leverage that makes it stiffer.

what diameter are the bars front and rear ?

I think its 27mm front and 23 or 24mm rear

IIRC Eibachs are 25mm front & rear

I thought APR where the only 27mm ones. But i could be wrong.

Simon I'm talking from memory here but when fitted the bars lowest holes I.e closest to Tarmac are at the very tip of the bar either end. These make the softest setting. The top holes are closer to the bend in the bar and this the stiffest setting. As I said I'm talking from memory and the bars will only fit the one way. Which I doubt JKM would get wrong :P. They will have put them on the setting they feel is the best given the current condition of your car I.e the fact you have coilovers etc

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

Edited 3 May, 200917 yr by Mater
Spelling Mistake

they were in the holes closest to the bends so stiffest settings, however I have just been up there and put the front one on its weaker setting holes closest to the ends). not driven it yet though. should be nice and tight now.

reference the sizes they were from kate @JKM. however on this site, there are to differerent sizes in threads front and rear 25mm, and 27mm front 24mm rear not sure which is right though

Im pretty sure it was from the Eibach site i saw the sizes. However can't seem to find it now.

Anyway they are way way better than OEM and i think i may stiffen up the back end and leave the front soft and see how that handles.

Carl:thumbup:

Great write up there Carl

25mm front and rear rings a bell to me for some reason also. Someone posted the ARB thickness of all the aftermarket bars a while back - can't find it now though.

Only one thing in your review, you mention that you've driven VRS's with just the rear bar upgrade in place and the cars tend to understeer - this should definetly be 'oversteer!'

Ive driven two with just rear upgraded bars now and the rear definetly had a tendancy to twitch or in the wet (the second car) come out when coming off the throttle hard mid bend.:eek:

Great handling mod - probably the best in fact

Lee

Cheers Lee

The reason i put Understeer is because that is defo what they did. Im no expert on Suspension or Chassis Dynamics so i don't know if something else was causing the understeer.

The reason i thought it was understeer was due to the rear end being stiffer that stayed flatter thus "pushing" the front more than normal and especially if only one wheel was in contact with Tarmac.

After EGC's comments i understand a bit more and more than happy that adding a rear ARB only "should" cause "oversteer". However the vRS's that i have been in (and its 4 different cars) have all understeered when pushed.

When you said about the Second car coming out in the Wet. That could have been caused due to Lift off during mid corner so sudden transfer of weight from back to front. Dunno im just theorising.

Anyway as we both said they are a great handling mod and a must if you want to go quicker when power options are starting to get expensive

Carl:thumbup:

I've no power, but im getting tempted to go to Koni FSD's and front and rear Eibach roll bars.

The sound of no understeer is really tempting me!

Dont make me do it guys!

I've no power, but im getting tempted to go to Koni FSD's and front and rear Eibach roll bars.

The sound of no understeer is really tempting me!

Dont make me do it guys!

do its worth it definately , and you know you want to.

find someone close who has them and beg a ride.

do its worth it definately , and you know you want to.

find someone close who has them and beg a ride.

I have got Eibach 30mm Lowering springs on already;)

Really tightened the back end up somewhat aswell as holding it flatter in corners.

I presumed it had towing springs on when i got it, after cruising down the middle lane of the M1 overtaking cars poodling along at 60mph. Some kind person decided they would try my brakes out by drifting into my lane.

At the same time they tested the pampers effect of my underkegs!

The front dropped hard and the rear end started swaying all over!

Now thats sorted, im wanting FSD's and roll bars. The case being £420 for the FSD's alone. And i've got itchy feet for a Seat Ibiza PD130 Sport....:eek: