Hey guys!

If anyone has purchased one of these BWR23z's for a Mk2 Fabia vRS, then please can you contact me on 0161 776 0777 (opt1) or via e-mail: al(at)awesome-gti.co.uk

I'll do as much as I can to help get you guys sorted

Kind regards, AL.

Awesome Ltd.

Since doing this and examining the car underneath I am at a loss as to why an RARB will make the car stiffer. The rear is a one piece unit anyway. The suspension is not independent. I would appreciate any of your wisdom on this.

Even though the rear beam is one piece it still flexes, the RARB is limiting the amount of flex.

Hi Guys,

Please stick with Awsome GTI as these things happen from time to time.

The fact they are straight onto sorting it out shows you have purchased from a good Company that looks after the customer.

Skoda are not an easy car to match parts to between models .The fact that people have bought these and never gave any negative feedback for Asome to see is why it was left listed for the car.

Companies are not always on forums so the best point of call is to email the company first so they can sort it then if no answer or you are needing to get further answers then try the forum guys for help.

Just remember the Forum users can not send a replacement part if you have the incorrect part so always first contact the place of purchase or us the manufacturer and it will be sorted promptly as this is how we have survived in the car parts industry so long is customer service and good after sales follow ups.

Good luck with the new bars guys!!

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by Whiteline

I feel obliged as I initiated this post and documentation of my issue to set a few things straight. My intentions with this post was not to create a negative atmosphere regarding the services or products sold by Whiteline and Awesome GTi.

Before uploading the info found on the first post I was the one who contacted both Awesome GTi and Whiteline referring them to this post for their help and guidance cause I was in the impression I was doing something wrong and not that I got the wrong bar, a fact to which I was oblivious to. This forum has been very enlightening regarding tuning of my car and I value their input especially since many have installed sway bars made by Whiteline so it was only natural to share my experience with them and pick their brains about what I saw thought was odd.

regarding Whiteline,

I thank you for your swift and clear response in pinpointing the issue as well as to the fact that your product is of high standards. That plus the positive feedback from other Fabia owners having installed your sway bar kits was the initial reason I purchased your product and I didn't regret it.

regarding Awesome GTi

human error is at fault and can happen to all of us but rectifying the issue is what matters and Awesome GTi couldn't be more professional about it. Mike as well as Andy have been contacting me on email on a daily basis in order to sort me out with a correct bar replacement. It proves to me that Awesome is not just a title but part of their way of doing things regarding after sales support. They have added one more loyal customer to their client list as I value such honest and professional behavior.

Overall and even though the hiccup this hasn't been a negative experience and I'm still excited in getting the new bar set on my car.

So, one assumption I make out of all this is that some people have actually fitted the wrong bar (BWR23Z) in their Fabia II, but they just had not realised so far as you did by noticing the angled links...

Happy End! Thanks again to Awesome GTi and Whiteline. :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Crappy mobile phone photos follow:

Looks a lot better. Now get back out on the track and give us a review!

Topic revival!

I had my name's day a few weeks ago and guess what my mad friends bought me for a present... :yes: Whiteline Rear ARB :yes: I must admit I had been moaning how much I would like to get it and that the car could really use one blah blah blah... still It was quite a surprise to see they had actually ordered one for me!!!

Anyways, the bar arrived today and I am eager to install it soon, to profit from dry roads for as long as I can as its already started dropping to 0 Celcious in the mornings. So I studied the installation instructions, (which btw need corrections!) and I believe I can do the job myself. It's not a matter of money tbh, but more of giving me the satisfaction I did something like this myself. I have some mechanical know-how so only question is this:

The manual says that this product needs to be installed while the car is at normal ride height. So I am wondering, have other people that installed this bar, kept the car at normal height during installation? And If yes I assume it's either an "undeground" ramp as the one found in professional garages or I have to lie on the ground myself. Could I do this or the car's clearance from the ground would make this impossible? I will check tomorrow in the light, but I'd like to listen to other people's experiences as well...

Topic revival!

I had my name's day a few weeks ago and guess what my mad friends bought me for a present... :yes: Whiteline Rear ARB :yes: I must admit I had been moaning how much I would like to get it and that the car could really use one blah blah blah... still It was quite a surprise to see they had actually ordered one for me!!!

Anyways, the bar arrived today and I am eager to install it soon, to profit from dry roads for as long as I can as its already started dropping to 0 Celcious in the mornings. So I studied the installation instructions, (which btw need corrections!) and I believe I can do the job myself. It's not a matter of money tbh, but more of giving me the satisfaction I did something like this myself. I have some mechanical know-how so only question is this:

The manual says that this product needs to be installed while the car is at normal ride height. So I am wondering, have other people that installed this bar, kept the car at normal height during installation? And If yes I assume it's either an "undeground" ramp as the one found in professional garages or I have to lie on the ground myself. Could I do this or the car's clearance from the ground would make this impossible? I will check tomorrow in the light, but I'd like to listen to other people's experiences as well...

Hi,

Ride height means using a hoist that the wheels are used to lift the car and not a 2 post hoist that lets the suspension hanging.

Also car ramps/stands can be used as the car is still stiing on the wheels and keeping the suspension loaded and at ride height.

The car does not have to be on the ground just do not let the suspension hang.

The reason for this is that the links will not be under load and when you tighten them will go all the way easy.

Hi,

Ride height means using a hoist that the wheels are used to lift the car and not a 2 post hoist that lets the suspension hanging.

Also car ramps/stands can be used as the car is still stiing on the wheels and keeping the suspension loaded and at ride height.

The car does not have to be on the ground just do not let the suspension hang.

The reason for this is that the links will not be under load and when you tighten them will go all the way easy.

Thank you for the reply. I get it now. I assume this means it would not be possible to install the bar in my own garage? ie. not using a ramp, just sliding below the car?

Thank you for the reply. I get it now. I assume this means it would not be possible to install the bar in my own garage? ie. not using a ramp, just sliding below the car?

No it means you can install it on any ground with a set of car ramps or use car stands unger the axle so the rear suspesion has the weight of the car on it so it is back at the height it would be if on the ground.

it just means you cannot jack up from the chassis and leve the rear axle hanging with no load.

No it means you can install it on any ground with a set of car ramps or use car stands unger the axle so the rear suspesion has the weight of the car on it so it is back at the height it would be if on the ground.

it just means you cannot jack up from the chassis and leve the rear axle hanging with no load.

So, can this be fitted by one person with some mechanical know how and a pair of axle stands?

Yes, just put the stands under the rear hubs , not the body. This way the rear shocks remain compressed.

An update: Today we tried to install the bar with a friend. As a solution for the lack of a proper ramp, I drove the car till the edge of my elevated parking place (~10cm) so that the wheels were sitting on the edge of the pavement, giving me just a little more space to lie below the car, although I still needed to be very close to the car's bottom for fixing the D shaped poly bushes. After 1 hour, we had the job done... As I said, a very satisfactory feeling for doing this ourselves...

And now a few words about the driving behaviour... It really does make a difference! I had passed over some steep turns yesterday so that I could clearly remember today the amount of bodyroll the car experiences when going past them. My feeling after going over the same turns after the arb was fitted, is that the car starts to roll but only until a point from where it almost stops an just drives through the corner! It's like having set a limit for the maximum roll that the car will produce... Of course the obvious question is what happens when you go faster, asking to produce more bodyroll than this limit allows, well... you got it... oversteer!! at last!!! In these 3 months I had repeatedly tried to produce some oversteer but with no success. Today going around a small round-about with 60 KMH, my-oh-my the tail started going a bit loose and the tyres screaming as never before... I thought I was drivin a RWD car for a few seconds. But what is more important is that I always had a sense that I was in control of this oversteer... I guess the electronics help to get his feeling.

But I think I understand why the ARB is not fitted as standard. The increased amount of bodyroll acts as a warning for the inexperiend driver to let go of the gas pedal earlier. With the ARB, you make be going in corners faster and with much more grip so you are not as aware that you are approaching the traction limit. And when you exceed this limit the car will surprisingly oversteer and that may scare the intermediate driver. But to me it was exactly as I would have expected this car to be all along, and I surely enjoyed this behaviour. All in all, I am very happy with the result. When moving at normal everyday speeds, I can just benefit from the reduced bodyroll and take corners much more nicely. And when the conditions allow it, I know I can push the tail away... but that may not be the case for everyone and I can totally accept that.

Left Link

Right Link

Doesn't that look a little angled compared to the left one? Maybe a correction by unscrewing/rescrewing needed? Or maybe such a small angle is inside "working tolerances", but I would appreciate a second opinion.

Entire view

The right and left pictures are taken from different angles as it looks to me, could be that.

There is some other solutions to make it abit more tailhappy aswell!

Happy really really really grippy tires in the front and just grippy tires in the back .

Oh, and get rid off the 25 kg off weight in the back on the crash-bar!

Links look fine maybe you need to slightly move the bar to the right so both are the same. Your differences I would say are marginal - no big deal.

Newbie, it is nice point about the reason why rarb is not fitted as standard!

Im thinking about whiteline rarb but im little bit worried about oversteering. i has never driven RWD car before so i have no experiences about oversteering. oversteering scares me little bit which setting do you use? soft, medium, hard?

i suppose i can feel the difference (with and w\o rarb) under normal not sporty ride too. am i right? i want to eliminate understeering and dont want to have oveersteered car at the same time

PS: sorry about my english

If your worried about oversteer then start with the softest setting and work up to a point when you find the balance is what you want.

To be fair when it does oversteer it is very progressive making it easier to control.

Newbie, it is nice point about the reason why rarb is not fitted as standard!

Im thinking about whiteline rarb but im little bit worried about oversteering. i has never driven RWD car before so i have no experiences about oversteering. oversteering scares me little bit which setting do you use? soft, medium, hard?

i suppose i can feel the difference (with and w\o rarb) under normal not sporty ride too. am i right? i want to eliminate understeering and dont want to have oveersteered car at the same time

PS: sorry about my english

I would agree with P1TT8ULL... It does not suddenly turn into an oversteering monster! Under normal driving, you will probably not be able to tell the difference except from reduced bodyroll, but it won't start to oversteer unless you really push it. And even when it will do so, it will let you know early enough and you will be able to correct it accordingly, so I don't think you should worry about it. I am switching to hard any time soon as I like the tighter feeling and still don't feel its enough as it is in Medium. However I start to realize more and more, what a transformation would be to this car, to combine the RARB with lowering springs, but that's another story...!

Why i can't wait till Friday. Full coilovers, nice fat Tyres, jabba goodies and a whole lot of weight reduction. Should handle like a gokart

Why i can't wait till Friday. Full coilovers, nice fat Tyres, jabba goodies and a whole lot of weight reduction. Should handle like a gokart

Aaah... sounds great...

After 1 year of ownership I firmly believe that the first mods on this car should by far, concern the handling and not the throttle. I wouldn't dare add 1 more single hp with stock suspension on, it already leans on the side too much...

Aaah... sounds great...

After 1 year of ownership I firmly believe that the first mods on this car should by far, concern the handling and not the throttle. I wouldn't dare add 1 more single hp with stock suspension on, it already leans on the side too much...

I'd agree. Handles like a boat sometimes. Very interested to see what a tuned MKII could do. Need to get off Santa Pod and do some track days! Guess Brands and Snetterton are your usuals?

I would agree with P1TT8ULL... It does not suddenly turn into an oversteering monster! Under normal driving, you will probably not be able to tell the difference except from reduced bodyroll, but it won't start to oversteer unless you really push it. And even when it will do so, it will let you know early enough and you will be able to correct it accordingly, so I don't think you should worry about it. I am switching to hard any time soon as I like the tighter feeling and still don't feel its enough as it is in Medium. However I start to realize more and more, what a transformation would be to this car, to combine the RARB with lowering springs, but that's another story...!

This is exactly what i wanted to know! thanks newbie!