For those of you who have noticed Ive spent about a year trying to solve getting a new rear ARB for the 4x4 as nothing else from the VAG range fits & having a one off made was horrendously expensive.

My cars been at Jabbasport whilst I was on holiday for them to fit a new clutch & develop a Rear ARB which will be available to all & last week it was fitted, Its 25 HT Dia Bar with Rose jointed Ends (No Rubber Bushes to move or wear)

I collected the car on Saturday & my initial Impressions are that its absolutely transformed the car.

I had already uprated the front ARB to a R32 one so the cars natural tendancy to understeer had been made worse but the car now feels completely neutral, you just turn & it goes where you ask, ABSOLUTELY Fantastic, It feels more positive than my old Impreza which Powerstation had set up. Ive just spent this morning throwing the car around the lanes & round the roundabouts & its like a different car, you turn in & it just does it, its just so much FUN

Its due an outing to the Track on the 1st of October & I get the feeling I should be able to get the back to move around simply by playing with the throttle

Jabba took a few piccies whilst the car was on the ramp if anyones interested, the other point is that it should fit any 4x4 vehicles built on the same Platform, Golfs, a3's etc.

If anyone has a 4x4 & is modding the suspension this must go on to the must have list

Stuart

Good news Stuart; I know that's bothered you for a long time

Its due an outing to the Track on the 1st of October & I get the feeling I should be able to get the back to move around simply by playing with the throttle

Where are you going?

Good news mate.

Been a long time since I fitted the front one hasnt it.

Good news mate.

Been a long time since I fitted the front one hasnt it.

Seems ages, from memory you were just about to leave so the date probably sticks better in your memory, remind me how long ago it was

I left AmD in July 2004.

excellent news stuart

now the big question, how much and exactly where from??

excellent news stuart

now the big question' date=' how much and exactly where from??[/quote']

Available from Jabbasport, They have kept jigs & will be getting them made to order, should only take a few days so talk to them re availability & cost.

As I said they took a few piccies which they could mail you.

Also when will your bumper be available

Stuart

ooohhh, forget about the bumper

next couple weeks mate

ooohhh' date=' forget about the bumper

next couple weeks mate [/quote']

Thanks,

Good news indeed!

Good news Stuart; I know that's bothered you for a long time

Where are you going?

Finalising booking on Monday, numbers are limited & its cheapo !!! so I will let you have details once I know Ive got my Place

Hello Stuart, great post and its certainly something i'll be investing in over the next few months.

A couple of questions for you. Was the rear bar primarily designed to work best with the R32 front one?

What other suspension rlated mods is the car running and what tyre/wheel combination do you run?

Are there any downsides so far to the front and rear arb's? ie lightness of steering when hitting standing water at speed, added vibration through the vehicle?

Cheers,

Lee

Lee,

List of most of the mods, I will probably miss a few

Suspension is KW Variant 3

Forge Motorsport adjustable rear links added (STUPID PRICE!! but I needed them in a hurry, they are a straight American Import so a bit of time on the Interweb would save some dosh) If you lower the car without these the rear camber is a tadge excessive !

17" Cesam redline wheels, These are toughened alloys so strong & priced well, I can mail you details of the supplier

Toyo Proxie tyres, adequate & a good price

AP 4 pots with 335x32 discs & Ferrodo DS 2500 pads. Bespoke kit from Godspeed, Ian can also shoe horn 6 pots + 335x32 Discs into std RS 17" Wheels

R32 Front ARB & Bushes

JAbbasport 25mm rear ARB

Car Tracked & set up by Powerstation in Tewkesbury

Bailey DV

Blue Flame full Exhaust with sports cat

Allard Front Mount

Jabba Map

Tricolour Pearlescent paint, extra spoiler & Meshed Grilles

Rally Bulbs

Sachs Clutch.

Re ARB's I originally intended to fit front & rear R32 ones as they are cheap, less than

Hi Stuart, again, great info so many thanks!

I have the 1st in my diary now so hopefully see you there (thanks for the offer btw!)

The dilema I have is that I want to keep the car a 'sleeper' so I've therefore decided to keep the standard wheels on the car - Ive also just spent out on four new Avon ZZ3's for it so I will definetly be hanging onto the current wheel and tyre setup; at least until I need new rubber! I want to be able to leave the car anywhere without it getting second looks ideally but have the hidden mods enhancing the car and letting me have some fun when the time is right.

I fear because of this I wont get the advantages you are seeing as you have already lowered the cars centre of gravity and given the tyres a bigger footprint to enhance grip. On my last car I ran a full bilstein PSS9 coilover setup, slightly wider rubber, strut braces front and back and finally Eibach ARB's front and rear too - in that case the arb's were simply the icing on the cake and seemed to tie all theelements together - im not sure how simply swapping out the arb's for the thicker ones on the Tavia would help the car with standard factory spec ride height and damping still in place. If I changed my mind and lowered the car I would get the ARB's sorted at the same time though.

Saying all the above; if I keep the standard wheels then Im also limited on brake upgrades.... :thumbdwn:

Anyway, my plan is to get an FMIC sorted first and then look again at handling. This is of course before Ive experienced your car on the track so all the above slepper style plans may simply get changed very quickly indeed.... :P

Thanks again for the help.

Lee

Stuart,

in your list of upgrades I didn't see the Haldex performance ECU that Amd Technik are now offering in the UK. Am thinking of getting this, wondered if any 4x4 owners have any reports on the difference it makes, in theory the rear wheels are supposed to get driven much more of the time.

Adam.

Lee,

List of most of the mods, I will probably miss a few

Suspension is KW Variant 3

Forge Motorsport adjustable rear links added (STUPID PRICE!! but I needed them in a hurry, they are a straight American Import so a bit of time on the Interweb would save some dosh) If you lower the car without these the rear camber is a tadge excessive !

17" Cesam redline wheels, These are toughened alloys so strong & priced well, I can mail you details of the supplier

Toyo Proxie tyres, adequate & a good price

AP 4 pots with 335x32 discs & Ferrodo DS 2500 pads. Bespoke kit from Godspeed, Ian can also shoe horn 6 pots + 335x32 Discs into std RS 17" Wheels

R32 Front ARB & Bushes

JAbbasport 25mm rear ARB

Car Tracked & set up by Powerstation in Tewkesbury

Bailey DV

Blue Flame full Exhaust with sports cat

Allard Front Mount

Jabba Map

Tricolour Pearlescent paint, extra spoiler & Meshed Grilles

Rally Bulbs

Sachs Clutch.

Re ARB's I originally intended to fit front & rear R32 ones as they are cheap, less than

Anybody checked the price on this with Jabba yet?

Stuart' date='

in your list of upgrades I didn't see the Haldex performance ECU that Amd Technik are now offering in the UK. Am thinking of getting this, wondered if any 4x4 owners have any reports on the difference it makes, in theory the rear wheels are supposed to get driven much more of the time.

Adam.[/quote']

Im totally happy with the handling of my car & dont see the need for it, Id guess coming from AMD it wont be cheap & if they fit get a guaranteed quote as their Hourly rate is one of the higher ones, dont accept it should only be about x hours you need an exact figure.

If you can fit it yourself trawl the net, it may well be available in the States for less

Anybody checked the price on this with Jabba yet?

I've asked for a costing for a group buy.

Im totally happy with the handling of my car & dont see the need for it' date=' Id guess coming from AMD it wont be cheap & if they fit get a guaranteed quote as their Hourly rate is one of the higher ones, dont accept it should only be about x hours you need an exact figure.

If you can fit it yourself trawl the net, it may well be available in the States for less[/quote']

AMD charge

I've asked for a costing for a group buy.

Excellent, keep us posted!

Well just got back from the track & the car is an absolute joy to drive, we had a dry morning & a wet afternoon (4x4 in the wet is ), The circuit was an Airfield with a mixture of Some Tarmac & a lot of polished Concrete but the car was just so controlable, even with cheap tyres & a knackered strut on the front) , If it all started drifting just lift very slightly & the front would bite again, lift more & the oversteer would start. I tried driving really eratically in one of the faster corners & at no point did I get close to loosing the car, it almost felt like it could be driven on the throttle. Big Plus was at no point could I induce understeer. I think Ive finally got the handling 100%, now I need the better seats to stop me being thrown around.

The Combination of R32 Front & the Jabba Rear ARB with the Kw's is great even with the knackered strut (KW are replacing)

excellent news mate, will have to sort this in the future