Sway Bars
05-23-2006, 03:58 PM
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Sway Bars
Anyone know the measurements for A4 non-sport suspension sway bars vs sport suspension sway bars vs B6 S4 sway bars? Will S4 sway bars fit a B6 A4 sport suspension? Thanks
05-23-2006, 04:16 PM
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The measurements for the rear sway bars are:
B6 A4 Non-Sport Package: 15mm in diameter
B6 A4 Sport Package: 16mm
B6 S4: 19mm or 20mm
I came from the non-sport and got the H-Sport B6 S4 Rear Sway which is 24mm in diameter. I absolutely LOVE what it did to the cars handling paired with my Bilstein/Eibach shock/spring upgrade.
B6 A4 Sport Package: 16mm
B6 S4: 19mm or 20mm
I came from the non-sport and got the H-Sport B6 S4 Rear Sway which is 24mm in diameter. I absolutely LOVE what it did to the cars handling paired with my Bilstein/Eibach shock/spring upgrade.
05-23-2006, 05:15 PM
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A4AdMan- I don't think that is right. I think sport is bigger than that.
***This is a post from JetJockey on AZ, props to him for this info:
All OEM sway bar sizes on the B6 are the same, whether FWD or Quattro.
IIRC, the OEM front sway bars whether on a non sport or sport suspension are the same.
OEM rear sway bar sizes on the A4 are as follows. On a non sport suspension = 16 mm and on a sport suspension = 18 mm. On the S4 = 20 mm. These bars are all non adjustable.
The Neuspeed rear sway bar is 21 mm. Strangely they claim it won't fit on a FWD A4. I don't know why because the suspension is the same as a Quattro car. The bar is adjustable.
The H&R rear sway bar is 20 mm. However, H&R claims their bar will fit on both FWD and Quattro models. The bar is adjustable. Also available from H&R is a bigger front sway bar at 32 mm.
One of the differences between H-Sports and the others, is that the H-Sport kit is a two bar kit. If you decide to buy the H-Sport bars you must use them together, period. The set was designed and tested that way.
The other major difference between H-Sport and the others that offer rear bars is that the H-Sport units are hollow and not solid like the NS and H&R bars.
If your main objective is to reduce understeer, and your are happy with the other aspects of your car's handling, get only a rear sway bar. This will stiffen the rear part of the chassis and reduce your understeer and maybe even provoke some oversteer.
If you want to reduce understeer and reduce roll to improve your handling, a combo set like the H-Sport kit is your answer. Because now not only are you stiffening the rear but also the front. H-Sport claims that their set was designed to reduce roll while keeping the car's handling characteristics almost identical to stock, perhaps reducing some of the understeer on the least stiff position and having the car's handling become more neutral to some oversteer at the stiffer setting. BTW, this is by far the best way money wise (cheap) to improve your car's handling but not necessarily the best way technically.
Finally, if you have money and time, you do it the proper way. You either design and test a suspension kit like STaSIS (Motorsport coilover) or as I did, modify a PSS9 kit by trial and error. You see sway bars are only a Band Aid solution. The proper way to reduce roll, improve handling and reduce brake/acceleration squat is to fine tune your shocks and springs. Usually that means getting stiffer springs and shocks that work well with each other and the chassis. Then a final tuning can be done with the smallest sway bars available. The bigger the sway bar the more independence you will loose in your suspension. On a bumpy road or on a wet surface the two sides of the same axle will be tied together by a bigger bar actually creating wheel lift on the opposite side as the outer wheel's suspension gets compressed, this will also cause the car to skip across a bumpy road a lot faster if they are interconnected by a bigger sway bar, like a live axle on a Mustang or Camaro.
So personally, I would recommend you try a OEM S4 rear sway bar. You can pick them up for real cheap and this way you can experiment at a very low cost your car's handling characteristics
All OEM sway bar sizes on the B6 are the same, whether FWD or Quattro.
IIRC, the OEM front sway bars whether on a non sport or sport suspension are the same.
OEM rear sway bar sizes on the A4 are as follows. On a non sport suspension = 16 mm and on a sport suspension = 18 mm. On the S4 = 20 mm. These bars are all non adjustable.
The Neuspeed rear sway bar is 21 mm. Strangely they claim it won't fit on a FWD A4. I don't know why because the suspension is the same as a Quattro car. The bar is adjustable.
The H&R rear sway bar is 20 mm. However, H&R claims their bar will fit on both FWD and Quattro models. The bar is adjustable. Also available from H&R is a bigger front sway bar at 32 mm.
One of the differences between H-Sports and the others, is that the H-Sport kit is a two bar kit. If you decide to buy the H-Sport bars you must use them together, period. The set was designed and tested that way.
The other major difference between H-Sport and the others that offer rear bars is that the H-Sport units are hollow and not solid like the NS and H&R bars.
If your main objective is to reduce understeer, and your are happy with the other aspects of your car's handling, get only a rear sway bar. This will stiffen the rear part of the chassis and reduce your understeer and maybe even provoke some oversteer.
If you want to reduce understeer and reduce roll to improve your handling, a combo set like the H-Sport kit is your answer. Because now not only are you stiffening the rear but also the front. H-Sport claims that their set was designed to reduce roll while keeping the car's handling characteristics almost identical to stock, perhaps reducing some of the understeer on the least stiff position and having the car's handling become more neutral to some oversteer at the stiffer setting. BTW, this is by far the best way money wise (cheap) to improve your car's handling but not necessarily the best way technically.
Finally, if you have money and time, you do it the proper way. You either design and test a suspension kit like STaSIS (Motorsport coilover) or as I did, modify a PSS9 kit by trial and error. You see sway bars are only a Band Aid solution. The proper way to reduce roll, improve handling and reduce brake/acceleration squat is to fine tune your shocks and springs. Usually that means getting stiffer springs and shocks that work well with each other and the chassis. Then a final tuning can be done with the smallest sway bars available. The bigger the sway bar the more independence you will loose in your suspension. On a bumpy road or on a wet surface the two sides of the same axle will be tied together by a bigger bar actually creating wheel lift on the opposite side as the outer wheel's suspension gets compressed, this will also cause the car to skip across a bumpy road a lot faster if they are interconnected by a bigger sway bar, like a live axle on a Mustang or Camaro.
So personally, I would recommend you try a OEM S4 rear sway bar. You can pick them up for real cheap and this way you can experiment at a very low cost your car's handling characteristics
05-23-2006, 06:13 PM
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Grab a B6 S4 sway from your dealer for about $105 w/bushings (more)
... it's 20mm, will bolt right up to a B6 A4, and is probably the winner in the bang-for-the-buck category.
Just my 2cents worth
Just my 2cents worth
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