There are several threads on this subject, but the key points are spread out ,so I'm trying to bring things together to try to come to a conclusion.

The first thing to realise (which will be obvious to some ) is that the the fitment is the same for the mk2 Fabia as it is for the mk1,so any bar listed for the mk1 will also fit the mk2,unless I'm much mistaken.

The Uk market seems to consist of three,Whiteline,H&R and Jabbasport (Eibach apparently not).

(Although the H&R one has been a recent group buy,the rear one alone seems unobtainable locally to me ...Strange.)

The H&R and Jabba ones are similar,with a direct attachment to the bottom of the spring/damper mounting point whereas the W/L one is attached by way of a link with bushes at each end.

At this point you could say that this is a theoretical disadvantage of the W/L bar, because there are four bushes to wear out that the others haven't got,but perhaps the others without these bring a certain harshness?

The W/L bar has three adjustment positions,the others none,but the W/L bar is the thinnest of the three.

The other factor of course is, what springs are they to be used with?...since this will affect the perfomance of the bars.

I think I'm correct in saying the stiffer and lower the springs the less effect the bar will have.The other thing I'll throw into this is that when you fit a set of uprated springs they may have a different front to rear rate than the OE,i.e the springs alone may have already changed the under/oversteer balance before any roll bar addition.

Getting difficult isn't it? I wonder how many have even experimented at all to even know the differences in the set up they have...bar with standard springs/uprated springs alone/uprated springs and bar.

At the end of the day you have to make a decision.

I've already got the Skoda approved Eibach springs with the modest 20mm drop (not fitted as yet) and I think I'll go for the W/L bar with its adjustability and the fact that although it's the thinnest It should work OK with springs that are not extreme.

UNLESS ANYONE KNOWS BETTER???

Whiteline certainly makes a difference (I have it on the middle setting).

To my knowledge the Jabba bar does not fit the mk2 vRS unless you have a modified exhaust

My mate has a white line on his Ibiza Cupra and its made a massive difference to handling

I got the whiteline on and I'm very happy with it. It made a big difference when I was wearing my KONI sports suspension. I like too the fact that I can adjust it and not stuck to one setting. At the moment I got coilovers on so I don't know how it would be without the RARB - maybe I will do a test one of these days, weather permitting.

Also regarding how thick the RARB is, surely another keyfactor is the metal/alloy used to make it, meaning how strong and stiff it is. Don't think that thickness is the only way to measure these RARBs

My mate has a white line on his Ibiza Cupra and its made a massive difference to handling

has he got it lowered though?

ive got some not so fancy apex 40mm springs on mine (which ill be changing for maybe coilovers soon) and im after a RARB too so im definatly interested in the affects this has on handling with/without spring/ both together like stated above...

Moist Von Lipwig is correct regarding the Jabbasport bar. It fits with a Miltek Cat back, but not the stock cat back exhaust.

I agree that the stiffer the spring/damper setup, the less effective the ARBs will be, as a fair few guys have testified, Hurdy for example running the Bilstein B16 Coilovers, said the ARB had made little difference on his, if at all. This is what put me off buying the whiteline, although with just the springs on my car no doubt it would still have made a difference. Had the Jabba bar fitted, i would have certainly fitted it along time ago. Many on the Mk1 Fabia forum started with the Whitelines, found minimal difference (predominantly guys with stiff suspension) then later upgraded to the Jabba bars, so i think its fair to say the Jabba bar is the sitffer of those two options.

With the whiteline, Its got more things to maintain and go wrong IMO particularly with the drop links that connect it to the lower shock/spring frames, which IMO will add flex and a weakness point as its more connections and as you say, the extra bushes that this method involves will be open to wear and tear.

And if the Mk5 Golf platform Whiteline Anti Lift Kit(WALK) is anything to go by then you can potentially expect those bushes to perish after a relatively small period of time. There are many guys on the GTI forums now having to replace them after only 20-30k, as well as the Whiteline bump steer kits, and poly bushes etc which have all worn much faster than expected. Just something to bear in mind.

I have the front/rear H&R kit, i was only originally going to buy the rear bar, but had a last minute change of plan and thought it better to save money in the long run by doing it in one go rather than two separate ways. You can see from the pics that the H&R bars are substantially thicker and they connect directly to the spring/shock frame which IMO looks to be a much stiffer and more secure mountingmethod.

I cant speak regarding the rear H&R bar alone as i havent driven with one, but there are a fair amount of people on here who have, however I know at a soaked Mallory park trackday last month, with semi slick tyres, no rear ballast weights etc that there was no oversteer issues at all, and the car was very neutral in its handling with minimal understeer and loads of traction. Tha its using VWR lowering springs and Super pro bushes which I dont think are harsh at all tbh, and I am not a lover of really stiff suspension on a road car. Of course I can make the car lift off oversteer if i wanted, but i could also do that to a stock car, thats just bad driving, not a result of anti roll bars. Plus the H&R front and rears have been designed to work together, so adding a front ARB to the whiteline or Jabba might not be the best option and could prove to be negative improvement.

A few guys have found that they have fitted the H&R bar and it has squeaked. Apparently it comes without grease. I know Alex greased mine and it makes no sounds, so its an easy fix, but maybe something I can mention to Alex and have him speak to H&R about.

Regarding the Jabba bar, im intrigued as to the route it takes across the rear sub-frame that causes it to fall foul with the std exhaust. Both the H&R and Whiteline bars come no where near it.

At 32KOFDATA i agree the materials used, in particular the manufacturing process of that material are a key factor, but ultimately, the likes of H&R, Whiteline, eibach etc have been doing this for years, so id bet the materials are 99% identical.

That Jabbasport bar only fits my mk2 as I have an aftermarket exhaust. It bangs on the standard box.most guys with the mk1 said the w/l made little difference especially when paired with coilovers whereas the jabbba was noticeable. So its worth taking into account what mods you plan to do in the future and do them in the right order to.

yea definatly, pay for what you get for so to speak aswell, as for what somebody said ref road cars on coilovers too being a stiff ride, whats ur GAZ set up like pitbull? understandably i cant have the best of both worlds, the low look with the performance but a less of a harsh ride so would going for uprated springs and shocks be the way forward, which IMO would be a waste of time and money and may as well go for coilies..

Regards to the RARB there seems to be lots of varying opinions on the performance of them fitted as to what set up your rolling on, so fair point pitbull with planning mods and doing them in the right order..

Something I found on my last car was the coilovers ruined the daily ride to the point that i removed them and I was wary of using hem again. After driving the APR Demo Golf R which rwas running ASTs coilovers with progressive springs I changed my mind and decided on them for mine but in the end i dropped it as the VWR springs made it handle alot better than stock anyway as well as maintain a decent ride comfort. So for me i wanted to keep that comnfort but reduce the roll slightly further.

The way i saw it was if i want to resist the body roll as much as possible you have two options.

Stiffer coilovers - Such as the ASTs or Bilstein B16s( I dont see the point in getting coilovers unless you do it properly and get the best youy can, but these and most other coilover kits in my experience are stiffer than what im willing to deal with on a daily basis.

or

Spring/damper combo with stiffer ARBs. This gives me the ride comfort im after, the ride height Imafter, with the minimal amount of body roll and maximum control that I want.

For me the springs/damper/stiff ARB option was the best compromise for handling/ride comfort.

Also when you consider that a top end set of coilovers cost say £900-1200 and need fitting and setting up correctly which will cost you at least another £150-200 plus alignment costs on top. But a set of springs (£150 fitted), front and rear ARBs (£360 fitted), full poly bushed chassis (£280 fited) and the lower engine mount £120 fitted) will cost less than that and be a damn sight better and leave you with about £300 saved which could easily go onto a 312mm brake upgrade or a mini holiday or even add some B8 dampers to the springs.

Ultimately, it all depends on how stiff you think is to stiff, the roads where you live and what you are willing to live with i guess, so no setup is perfect for everybody

I personally really like the setup I've got at the minute but its still got a way to go before being finished. Needs to be remembered how much I've stripped out the car and other mods I've done aswell to give the overall product.

vRSy! top bloke much appreciated the info, sorted out what i want from my ride i will get rid of my lowering springs ( or do i have to) get better springs and damper combo instead of the coil overs option with ARB's.. how come they are so much (£360ish)? and forgive my ignorance but what is the full poly brushed chassis??

again thanks for info!

@P1TT8ULL

Something else to bear in mind though, your coilover as well have been designed with the standard front and rear axle weights in mind. Once you start removing loads of weight, the axle weights change and you potentially cancel out the improvments made to the car when originally fitting them. 100kg+ weight loss is a fairly hefty amount of weight to lose. This why i keep all the interior in my car for trackdays etc, that and its funny having two child seats in the back of the car when people look in lol

@ vRSWhore.

I have tried absolutely shed loads of different coilover packages on firends cars over the past few years such as KW, weitec, AP, Bilstein, AST etc as well as a fair amount of spring/damper combos.

IMO the best package on the market that I have driven is the Bilstein B12 spring/damper combo. It absolutely runs rings around all the midrange coilovers such as eibach, weitec, AP etc. Its not as good as the likes of a Bilstein B16 or AST setup, but it is also substantially cheaper and much more usable on a daily basis. Plus the bonus is its very eay t make the B12 kit with seperate springs and dampers. the B12 kit uses Bilstein B8 dampers o if you find a set of springs that have the exact ride height you are after, then just add the dampers and you have a bespoke B12 kit then. I was also a fan of the lowering spring with Koni FSD dampers.

vRSy! top bloke much appreciated the info, sorted out what i want from my ride i will get rid of my lowering springs ( or do i have to) get better springs and damper combo instead of the coil overs option with ARB's.. how come they are so much (£360ish)? and forgive my ignorance but what is the full poly brushed chassis??

again thanks for info!

If you already have lowering springs, you can ekeep them. Just add a good damper such as the Bilstein B8 and your good to go.

The Anti Roll bars were £360 for the H&R front and rear kit fully fitted with a fast road alignment which is about £75 on its own. The front bar requires the subframe to be dropped, so its not a simple job.

Regarding poly bushed chassis: The car has aload of soft rubber bushes which connect the suspension to it the chassis etc. These allow alot of slop and play, but are there to stop NVH encroaching on a daily ride for the everyday user who isnt interested in the best handling possible. I have Superpro polyeurethane bushes which are much stiffer and give more control, response and feel into the steering and handling of the car. Pics in my build thread prob around the July point.

They can supply kits based on original axle weights however mine are not. Gaz also built some for a rally car which obiviously had stripped interior etc. And mine are based on this. You can also spec different rated springs, with or without helper springs progressive or non progressive springs.

Happy days

sweet yea, understandable with the poly bushes! nice one so will have to find myself some b8 dampers!

jesus the list of things i need just keeps going up daily!! would i be an idiot if (for saving a few quid) just fit a jabba RARB instead of whole front and rear set up?

Haha a Jabbasport bar is not saving a few quid. Its about 900 quid due to needing a custom cat back.

sweet yea, understandable with the poly bushes! nice one so will have to find myself some b8 dampers!

jesus the list of things i need just keeps going up daily!! would i be an idiot if (for saving a few quid) just fit a jabba RARB instead of whole front and rear set up?

As P1TT8ULL said, its definitely more expensive to hget the Jabba bar if your still running the stock exhaust.. Plus as i said in post look at the amount of work you can get done for the substantially less money than a set of good coilovers.

Yu can buy the H&R Rear ARB on its own as well you know. That will be less than half the price i posted above and wont need alignment sorting either.

definatly?! for mk 1 furbie wont just bolt on without fouling the back box..

As P1TT8ULL said, its definitely more expensive to hget the Jabba bar if your still running the stock exhaust.. Plus as i said in post look at the amount of work you can get done for the substantially less money than a set of good coilovers.

Yu can buy the H&R Rear ARB on its own as well you know. That will be less than half the price i posted above and wont need alignment sorting either.

how does the h&r rarb fit on it? can that go on with std back box?

definatly?! for mk 1 furbie wont just bolt on without fouling the back box..

sorry was late reply to pitbull

SY

Thanks for your comments,I agree from what you say that the H&R bar could be the way to go.

I'm not into track stuff,I just want a car that has sharper handling on the road so it feels more like a sports car than just a standard family car.

On the other hand,I don't want anything too extreme.Daughter recently owned RS 200 Clio,with the Cup suspension,and that was stupidly hard,but it would be nice to have steering feel and turn-in like the Clio.

I just want something with better steeering feel and fairly neutral handling that doesn't wallow about .

Will the springs and rear arb help the steering...or does the tweak to the steering software need to be done to achieve this.

Has anyone altered the castor angle on a vRS?...in theory this puts more self centering effect into the steering and improves feel.

But one step at a time I suppose.

@ XK140

The bushes helped the steering LOADS. My Front control arm bushes give extra castor which stiffens up the steering and gives a bit more dynamic camber when cornering which is great.

If you want a neutral handling car i think you need both the front and rear ARBs. The Rear will push it more to an oversteer bias, which is still great, but not what i would call a neutral handling style. You will also get a bit more feel with the ARBs i guess, as there is less roll so the car reacts much quicker to steering inputs.

Mine isnt as harsh as a Clio RS, Nor does the steering have as much Feel. Your dealing with an inferior system to begin with on the Fabia. However, id say my car has every bit as much cornering ability as a Clio RS if not more but the bonus is, mine isnt anywhere near as harsh to drive.

how does the h&r rarb fit on it? can that go on with std back box?

The Jaba has a different shape to the bar which means it kncoks into the stock exhaust. The H&R bars are designed to avoid the exhaust. Im running a standard cat back on my car and as you can see in the pic below, its no where near the exhaust.

@ XK140

The bushes helped the steering LOADS. My Front control arm bushes give extra castor which stiffens up the steering and gives a bit more dynamic camber when cornering which is great.

If you want a neutral handling car i think you need both the front and rear ARBs. The Rear will push it more to an oversteer bias, which is still great, but not what i would call a neutral handling style. You will also get a bit more feel with the ARBs i guess, as there is less roll so the car reacts much quicker to steering inputs.

Mine isnt as harsh as a Clio RS, Nor does the steering have as much Feel. Your dealing with an inferior system to begin with on the Fabia. However, id say my car has every bit as much cornering ability as a Clio RS if not more but the bonus is, mine isnt anywhere near as harsh to drive.

The Jaba has a different shape to the bar which means it kncoks into the stock exhaust. The H&R bars are designed to avoid the exhaust. Im running a standard cat back on my car and as you can see in the pic below, its no where near the exhaust.

Thanks again,the front bushes mod is certainly food for thought.

Regarding fitting just a rear bar. I was assuming this would just reduce understeer.I agree you certainly don't want a car that is so tail happy it's unstable and unsafe.As long as the oversteer only happens with a big lift off going very quick,that's OK.

It does seem that H&R want to sell their bars in pairs whereas W/L are happy to sell just the rear,which might say something.

Is there any feedback yet from those who just got the rear bar only in the recent group buy?

P.S

Have you tried the easy little experiment with yours of disconnecting the front bar drop links to see if you get too much oversteer?