Jabbasport Fabia Rear Anti-Rollbar

I know another thread about the Jabbasport Fabia Rear Anti-Rollbar Ive read all the reviews but i still think its alot of money. As west yorkshire weather is crap(at the moment) i still havernt managed to get my car lowered on my eibach pro dampers and springs. Since i havernt driven my fab with lowered suspention i dont know what the improvements this will feel like etc.

But what i want to know is will the Jabbasport Anti-Rollbar still make a big differeance?? In my own head on a track i would say yes but i dont go on a track everyweek so would i really need it??? I do like to give it some now and again but 200quid is 200 on somthing else.

I think you summed this up yourself. Depends how you drive. If you speed around like a loony (like on a track) you'll need it. If you drive quite sensibly (like on the public highway) you will not need one. It's all in the 'do I need one'.

If you think you do, you probably don't. If you know what I mean. Sounds as if your car will be great with what you have in store already.

Then again, the slippery slope feels great eh ?

I had the full Eibach suspension kit & the rear ARB fitted at the same time at Jabbasport. I have no idea what its sole benefit is, but my car handles a LOT better than before I had it all fitted. I would certainly recommend it.

Well i wasnt going to do anything mod wise to this car as i love it to bits. i get slaged off still with it being a skoda but ive done the leon curpa R splitter mod, rear aero wiper, Green filter on the way with snail mail. and when the weather is good it shall be lowered. Iam also dieing to get some alloys but i dont think my gf is very happy at the moment, but id like 18's on 215/35/r18 Would these be too hard on lowered suspention?? i notice 'harrystainer' has 17's what are they like? As standard set up is soft but let hard (if you get me)

It does sound like a lot of money, so much so, I went and checked what I paid for a very similar part I purchased for our Saab last year...

I had an upgraded ARB on my Saab 9-3, it cost $89(US)+ $20 shipping according to my invoice from MP Performance.

From the pics I have seen on this website for the Jabba ARB, it is similar to the Saab upgraded ARB, i.e. a thick metal bar, shaped and with two brackets attached. Well, here are some pics, you decide...

Saab 9-3 50 quid ($89)

See link:

http://www.mpperformance.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1_23&products_id=73

Skoda Fabia 210 quid ($375 @ $1.79/GBP1)

http://www.jabbasport.com/product_fulldetail.asp?productid=33#

Jabba really must be making a fortune on this part! Hopefully this comparison will encourage them to lower the price to something more reasonable!

What I will say though, is the difference on the Saab was night and day, well worth the $89 I spent. Not sure I would spend 4 times that amount though. I can almost bring a set of shocks and springs back from the US or CZ for my Fabia for the price of this bar!!

Edit: As I thought http://www.autodoplnky.cz/index.php?typ=DMA&showid=6844&idzbozi=3020648 - a set of WEITEC shocks and springs for the vRS costs $487 (11201.70 Kč , 23.75Kč = $1 US) which is about 272 quid!

I have a friend in Prague, I don't speak CZ, so thanks goes to him for doing a little research on my behalf.

Does this brand have any known reviews. Buying a 'none heard of' brand is usually risky. Although that price IS excellent. The advert is in CZ ? Is there a English translation ?

WEITEC is a german brand. I can get the page translated, but if you post up the eibach part numbers for the vRS shocks and springs I will ask my Czech connection to get a price for the eibach kit.

http://www.weitec.de/start.php?lang=en

Ok, my mate translated that page:

WEITEC shocks with springs

Eibach springs ONLY:

http://www.skoda-shop.cz/index.php?odtud=12&tam=6&id_podskupiny=5&PHPSESSID=

Eibach - according to xe.com 7,367.00 CZK = 310.124 USD (173 quid)

Antiroll bar from this page

http://www.skoda-shop.cz/index.php?odtud=0&tam=6&id_podskupiny=10&PHPS ESSID=

1,092.00 CZK = 45.9693 USD (26 quid)

Antiroll bar from this page

http://www.skoda-shop.cz/index.php?odtud=6&tam=6&id_podskupiny=10&PHPS ESSID=

1,492.00 CZK = 62.8078 USD (34 quid)

Eibach pro-system kit:

here is a price list of one of the company that sell those Pro sets

http://www.renocar.com/cz/cenik/2005-letni/mo/pdf/kc/PL_2005_Eibach_Katalog_MO_kc.pdf

and its the final price with tax:

21,499.00 CZK = 909.279 USD = 507 quid

How does that compare to UK prices for the eibach kit? The eibach part number: 70-79-001-05-22

I have heard good things about WEITEC from other sites, German stuff has to be TUV approved and is normally of good quality.

This biggest thing here that people are forgetting is that Jabba aren't a very large company and have to offset any development costs against the product as is a bespoke production...the ARB is made in very small numbers...10 at any one time.

So due to economies of scale the cost is going to be a bit more.

IIRC Weitec do, do an ARB for the Fabia but it's smaller in diameter and not that easy to come by in the UK. Also you have to consider that this is Weitec's core business in supplying uprated parts and thus they manufacture in much greater numbers.

The ARB does...apparently...make a big difference. However lowering may well compromise the ride beyond what you feel is acceptable especially with larger alloys. A good compromise...and ColinD has done this with his Octy....is to uprate the arbs...retains the standard ride characteristics but improves the handling.

I had Eibach springs fitted to my Fabia first and this made a massive difference to reduce roll during cornering and also reduced diving under braking. All this with the added advantage of lowering the car -25mm which makes the car look so much more sporting IMO.

You could really push hard on corners and it inspired a lot more confidence than the std. set-up at the cost of some ride comfort. If you were close to the limit, you are aware when the front end starts to drift into understeer which is quite a bit later than the std. set-up.

With the rear ARB fitted, the understeer is reduced further and the balance is more neutral. This in turn offers more adjustability using the throttle.

Is it worth £200, materials only - probably not (same can be said re. remap) but from results - definately.

I personally think the most cost effective mods for fabia are remap, eibachs and rear ARB

This biggest thing here that people are forgetting is that Jabba aren't a very large company and have to offset any development costs against the product as is a bespoke production...the ARB is made in very small numbers...10 at any one time.

So due to economies of scale the cost is going to be a bit more.

IIRC Weitec do' date=' do an ARB for the Fabia but it smaller in diameter and not that easy to come by in the UK. Also you have to consider that this is Weitec's core business in supply uprated parts and thus they manufacture in much greater numbers.

The ARB does...apparently...make a big difference. However lowering may well compromise the ride beyond what you feel is acceptable especially with larger alloys. A good compromise...and ColinD has done this with his Octy....is to uprat ethe arbs...retains the standard ride characteristics but improves the handling.[/quote']

Adrian is right, you have to "try" to look beyond the sticker price, someone at Jabba has seen an opportunity for a supremely effective product that will transform a fabia vrs's handling. But they have had to develop it, test it, and then market it to, lets face it a fairly small audience.

On small production runs, costs are higher it's as simple as that. What I can also vouch for is quality, great welding, no pidgeon poo welds in sight and quality fasteners.

In the bangs for bucks market, NO other mod imho even comes close to what the rear ARB gave me grin's wise. It was

Antiroll bar from this page

http://www.skoda-shop.cz/index.php?odtud=0&tam=6&id_podskupiny=10&PHPS ESSID=

1,092.00 CZK = 45.9693 USD (26 quid)

Antiroll bar from this page

http://www.skoda-shop.cz/index.php?odtud=6&tam=6&id_podskupiny=10&PHPS ESSID=

1,492.00 CZK = 62.8078 USD (34 quid)

from what i can tell from the cz pictures these are front strut braces not rear ARB , so those prices are reasonable for strut braces .

I bought the jabba one for the 4x4 which was a heck of a lot more than the £200 you guys are paying as its somewhat more complex but still it was worth every penny.

Jabba have devoloped a brilliant product so I guess you pays your money & you takes your choice, just bear in mind its not just a bent bar, Using the high grades of steel needed to give a bar that wont twist means its very expensive to work & care has to be taken when bending it not to crack it.

You can use a lower grade of steel which any fabricator can bend which will give an identical looking product & being thicker will improve the handling but not as far as a bar made from higher grade steels

All isnt what it apperas.

I would add that Jabba have done well over £10000 pounds worth of work on my car, I have "price checked" them against others & at no time did they appear to be profiteering & products have always been quality wise excellent

I agree with Chowy... well worth the investment IMO. It makes a substantial difference (improvement) to the handling characteristics of the car...

Weitec are/were imported by VW tuners CR Enterprises. Not sure if they are still around as I don't move in VW GTI circles anymore.

As for the rear ARB cost - yes it's dearer than a US product in the US but so is Revo in this country, or APR or McDonalds or whatever. Everything seems to cost less in the US. VW for instance only have a short ferry journey for their cars to get to the UK, but it must be a hell of a job getting them to the US where they cost half as much (before taxes).

Weitec are/were imported by VW tuners CR Enterprises. Not sure if they are still around as I don't move in VW GTI circles anymore.

As for the rear ARB cost - yes it's dearer than a US product in the US but so is Revo in this country' date=' or APR or McDonalds or whatever. Everything seems to cost less in the US. VW for instance only have a short ferry journey for their cars to get to the UK, but it must be a hell of a job getting them to the US where they cost half as much (before taxes).[/quote']

Yeah but the price difference is usually only a factor of "pounds for dollars", i.e. something that costs $4.90 here (big mac meal) costs 4.90 quid in the UK. Thus, I expected the Jabba product to be 89-110 quid rather than twice that. While they also fabricate in small batches, MP Performance are practically a 'one man band' company, so I imagine their overheads are much lower than Jabba's; maybe this accounts for the price difference... Also, MP Performance wouldn't have had much development cost, if any, as their product is just a heavy duty version of what's already fitted to the Saab's rear end. The stock Saab ARB is made out of...wait for it...rubber :eek: (very thick heavy duty rubber, but rubber nonetheless)!

The smaller VW cars (there is less profit margin in a smaller car) are generally made in Mexico. The smallest cars VW sells here, Beetle, Golf & Jetta are made south of the border then shipped into the US. That's the only way VW can be competitive here. There is more margin in the larger cars, Audis for instance, AFAIK they are all made in Germany and shipped - hence the 'not much lower than UK' prices on the Audi range here.

Is the Jabba ARB worth 200 quid? Probably - based on everyone's comments so far it seems to make a great difference. Just seemed a lot of money to me at first...

But as I said, the difference with an uprated rear ARB, in my experience on a FWD car with sporty-ish stock suspension (ie firm but body roll), is like night and day. It really is an effective mod!

Anyway, the main thing is that people are happy with the product and feel that it was money well-spent! If that's the case then fair enough

Sorry for taking the thread off topic with the suspension prices and all, btw!

Bryand and myself had the ARB fitted before Eibachs and the difference in the handling was amazing without any decrease in ride quality at all.

Bryand and myself had the ARB fitted before Eibachs and the difference in the handling was amazing without any decrease in ride quality at all.

£200 is a lot of cash for a bit of bent bar' date=' but Jabba will have spent many hours with their fabricator under the car trying the fit and adjusting and then trying again. This process ties up the 4 post lift for hours that should have been bringing in cash from other jobs, so I think the price is fair for a good quality, well fitted and bespoke piece of low volume production. [/quote']

I agree with what your saying but couldnt you say if the price was say 100 pound more people wouldnt think twice and they would sell more of them??

If you take into account a Nuespeed Rear ARB for an Octy is £195 then Jabba's price looks reasonable.

can someone start a group buy on the ARB then we can get it a bit cheaper perhaps

can someone start a group buy on the ARB then we can get it a bit cheaper perhaps

I'm in for 160 quid I'd buy it. Even then I think it's a little steep but I'll shut up about that now, not wanting to sound like a stuck record (or a skipping CD for you youngsters lol)

Or if anyone is selling one used, PM me...

It's a nice improvement, will probably get it repainted now though

As it's under the car it takes a LOT of cr*p from the road so the original paint didn't last too long (a few months). Not due to paint quality, just coz it gets hit by grit :(

Is it worth it? Of course it's worth it. Yes the beniefit on a track is huge, and yes the benefit on a public road is also huge.

Totally transforms a car that handles ok, to a great little car. Use of the throttle to influence turn in, angle of exit etc is amazing.

I had never really pushed mine REALLY hard on roundabouts pre arb, as the understeer was so great. With the arb, slightest whiff of understeer, ease off the gas, car tucks in, reapply gas and away. Or lift off totally for a predictable and safe drift.

After the arb was taken off, i tried a lift off on a roundabout i know intamately, and the result was snap out oversteer, so fast, i only just caught it.