Whiteline Rear ARB - Fitting to a 1.9 Scout ;)

[Decron]

One of the things I've really missed from my VRS was the rear ARB (Jabba), it's completely dispensed with roll, balanced the handling out reducing the understeer drastically and just generally tightened the whole package up.

Now I am not unhappy with the Roomsters handling. Given what it actually is I think it's quite impressive with very tactile and direct steering and not as much roll as you would think. However, like I have never been able to resist "tinkering" especially if there is a performance gain to be had out of it and a rear ARB is about the easiest thing you can do (Well, it's supposed to be. More on that later...) ) Given the fact the Whiteline range seemed to be reasonably priced I did some research.

What would fit it if anything? I trolled Teh Intarweb for information and after a while I found the Golf mk4 or Octy VRS bar "should" fit, no one was certain but it was a good bet.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. £128 delivered, jobs a good 'un.

So I purchased a bar from Balance Motorsport and it arrived yesterday. Looked a good kit, well put together. I did however notice that the two ends seemed to look a little different but thought I must be going a bit mad....

I offered it up, and put all the fixings in place loosely just to make sure that it was going to fit on the beam properly. HUZAAH! It seems to work.... Almost....

The main brackets fitted fine;

But wee seemed to have a clearance issue on the offside....

Whereas on the nearside it was close but workable. You might be able to see the difference in the shape of the bar at either end, there is deffo more bend in the nearside...

To get clearance on the bottom of the beam I did two things;

1. Shimmed out the main brackets. These are made of MDF but have now been replaced with some plastic instead

2. I trimmed the offending bit down...

This is the original;

This is the Decron version;

There is still an interference and the bar will have to have it's shape changed to cope with it. The quality of the kit overall is excellent it's just a shame that the bar seemed to be so odd.

Overall it now looks like this;

So, what effects does it have? Was it worth the hassle and money?

Did the 9 miles of lanes where I live twice to get a good feeling for it. The bar really flattens the car out and I mean drastically. You don't get that usually just sliding out of your seat feeling it's spot on. This makes the car much more competent on adverse cambers and generally gives you more confidence in the car going in the right direction. It also reduces the understeer a little, the Roomy isn't really known for it but it's now even less of a likelyhood and I'd say is about 50/50 (I have manged to get the back out but it was wet and the ESP ruined that for me...:rolleyes

It's still early days yet and I am going to have it back off next weekend to alter it properly. I have seen photos of others who have fitted it with the box sections round the other way but the interustions said that the needed to be the way I have done it. I'll try a few combinations.

I can't tell if the effects are worth it yet, it's too early to say and I need to get some more miles under it to pass judgement. It has sorted the slightly rolly pollyness out a lot but that won't appeal to everyone and the sharper back end deffo wont appeal to a lot of people! It also hangs very low, very very low....

My initial impressions though are :thumbup::thumbup:

One question I feel I need to answer before anyone asks; Why?

Simple answer: Because I could :P

[oilburninnut]

would one be correct in saying you are the pioneer of roomster modding?

Jolly good show:thumbup:

But the question should be, just because you can,does it nesessarily mean you should?

[Decron]

would one be correct in saying you are the pioneer of roomster modding?

Jolly good show:thumbup:

But the question should be, just because you can,does it nesessarily mean you should?

Maybe in the UK, although I think someone remapped on a while back but he hasn't been on for months

Once a modder, always a modder...

[Chrispy]

OMG....those ends look hideous! WTF is going on there? They look like they've been araldited onto the main bar. Mine looks nothing like that, far more professional. I see now what you were complaining about.

There's very little clearance too. Does the bar foul on the spring cups then? Hard to gauge depth on the photos.

[oilburninnut]

lol and so true,at the end of the day who cares what the thing looks like,its how it performs that matters,i would rather have the ugliest arb in the world if it worked the best:thumbup:

[Decron]

OMG....those ends look hideous! WTF is going on there? They look like they've been araldited onto the main bar. Mine looks nothing like that, far more professional. I see now what you were complaining about.

There's very little clearance too. Does the bar foul on the spring cups then? Hard to gauge depth on the photos.

Yeah, not best pleased. the offside still fouls just....

I can sort it though

[StuartBell]

lol and so true,at the end of the day who cares what the thing looks like,its how it performs that matters,i would rather have the ugliest arb in the world if it worked the best:thumbup:

It would be good if they could be persuaded to do a kit specifically for the Roomster, and owners who haven't got the ability to do more than bolt a kit on. Like me. ;-)

Stuart

[Chrispy]

Agreed. How are you going to resolve it? Gouge a lump out of the spring cup so it doesn't foul or somehow alter the bar?

The ends may look nasty and because they're under the car it shouldn't matter, but when they're that deformed it makes fitting difficult/ causes clearance issues then it becomes a problem.

Personally I like neat and tidy myself.....shows that care has been taken through the entire manufacturing and fitting process.

[Neo_VR]

So hang on a mo... is there a possiblity that this bar could actually be the same dimensions as the fabia one.. bearing in mind the fabia one fits on the outside of the shockabsorber mounting, and this is on the inside, with a fair wedge of a spacer? :confused:

Might be worth just measuring it end-to-end to check?

[Meadway]

Well, I suppose it's an anti-roll bar but talk about rough and ready . . . and, errrm, you were propping the vehicle as well as using the trolley jack, weren't you?

[Chrispy]

Mine (Polo 9N bar) is 1m 3cm wide measured from the outer edges of the flat sections with the holes in.

[Chrispy]

Well, I suppose it's an anti-roll bar but talk about rough and ready . . . and, errrm, you were propping the vehicle as well as using the trolley jack, weren't you?

When fitting the ARB , the cars rear wheels must be in the normal position, not dangling like when jacked up. This means the use of ramps to reverse up, or axle stands under the rear spring cups and the car lowered onto them.

[Decron]

When fitting the ARB , the cars rear wheels must be in the normal position, not dangling like when jacked up. This means the use of ramps to reverse up, or axle stands under the rear spring cups and the car lowered onto them.

Hence the jack under the wheel to move it into position. Might look a bit strange but it works fine.

[VrsMad]

Ouch, that ARB looks so low:eek:

Don't think I'd be happy with something that close to the road.

[Decron]

It's about the same hight as it hangs on the Octy, but it's on an unsprung part of the car meaning it won't get any lower and it shouldn't have any grounding issues unless the tyre is flat.

[Emily-Elizabeth]

What's next on the planned list, or don't you know yet?

It's a bar on the underside of the car - what do you want it to look like?

[Guest parsko]

Think I will wait til somebody has pefected it a bit more.

Emily-Elizabeth are you sure you are in Davis CA or David's KA

[Chrispy]

Providing the fitment is good and the bar doesn't catch on the ground/ speed humps it doesn't really matter. Trouble is the fitment on Decrons bar was poor and as such catches in certain places. The Polo 9N one seems to be better in this regard.

[Emily-Elizabeth]

Emily-Elizabeth are you sure you are in Davis CA or David's KA

Off topic, but I am in Davis CA, unfortunately.

[skisbp]

It's a bar on the underside of the car - what do you want it to look like?

Something along these lines:moon::moon::moon:you get the gist!!!

P.S. Once again off topic. Used to live in Sac-Town... You must be in university, how's it goin?:orb_readi

[Decron]

500 mile update

It's settled down a bit and now I am a bit more used to it it's a revelation. The overall handling is now brilliant, it's flatter, more composed and more stable. The steering is more accurate and there is no understeer.

I have no idea why they don't leave the factory like this

All I need to do now is get it to fit better :(

[RapidRonnie]

They need to make a Roomster vRS!

[Chrispy]

500 mile update

It's settled down a bit and now I am a bit more used to it it's a revelation. The overall handling is now brilliant, it's flatter, more composed and more stable. The steering is more accurate and there is no understeer.

I have no idea why they don't leave the factory like this

All I need to do now is get it to fit better :(

Outstanding. Mine's going on this weekend weather pemitting. Also I can take a look at why my rear suspension is creaking over speed humps too. Bloody salty roads has probably knackered the rear shock mounts/ bushes.

[StuartBell]

500 mile update

It's settled down a bit and now I am a bit more used to it it's a revelation. The overall handling is now brilliant, it's flatter, more composed and more stable. The steering is more accurate and there is no understeer.

I have no idea why they don't leave the factory like this

All I need to do now is get it to fit better :(

And the manufacturers to make one specifically for the Roomster! We can but dream . . .

Stuart

[Decron]

Post Modification Update

Took the car up the workshop today to modify the bar to get fitting properly

I introduced it to the 20 ton hydralic press I happen to have handy and "tweeked" the offending end a little. I then refitted the bar without the shims I added

This is much better, as the clearance is now spot on with the other side. Looks like MK1 Eyeball is still king for measuring these things up

Whilst I was under it I decided to make another change. The instruction show the box sections fitted as in the above photo which would make sense to me but everywhere else I have looked have shown them fitted 90 degrees round, so I changed this and got a little more clearence :rolleyes:Bar now looks like this and I am happy it's now a good fit;

Conclusion;

Was it worth it? Ultimately yes, the car now handles fantastically, better than a standard Fabia VRS (I am afraid so and it also has a better ride) although it's difficult to compare I feel the car is much more capable. The farting around I have done here will hopefully help anyone else who wants to try this get round these issues much easier and have a much better experiance. True the bar needs to be the right shape to start but knowing it could be problem you can just return it if you get one that isn't symmetrical, I reckon I had a duff one. It also helps knowing the instructions are there to be ignored I don't think the height off the floor is an issue, I haven't caught it in 800 miles and doubt I will as it's going to follow the wheel.

I always look at these type things as a challange and when they get more complicated than they should be I tend to just roll with it. If your looking for a simple plug and play solution this may not be it especially as you have to remember your fitting a part that isn't *really* meant for the car

Bottom line: I would really recommend this mod as long as you go into it knowing what I have discovered here.