205 gti arb

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GRAHAM WALLIS

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Jumped back into my S1 GTI today after a few weeks and noticed the way the rear tends to roll too much and make the front end push, some of this feeling is no doubt due to the manual steering but not all.
This is not present in the Sis even though they have a small rear ARB and plenty of roll, I guess the front is set to achieve balance with the rear.
Maybe rebuilding the beam will help, it does need it going by the clunks coming from there.
Bigger rear ARB is probably the way to go, is there any way of doing this cheaply?
I should know but probably wasn't paying attention when mentioned in various posts!
Alternatively has anyone got an uprated rear bar for sale?
Graham
 
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I will be interested to see where this goes Graham. From what i know, there is a place in sydney that does it but best to rock up in person. i have a 23mm bar from a vts that i was looking to have re-splined but local quotes where around $400-$500

23mm not an ideal size to recut due to the end plate sizes available 24mm would be ideal, i cant remember the exact details but this has some info

http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101790
 
I think maybe try the welding method, after all what is the worst that can happen if it breaks?
At least I can see what the difference is for no cost.
Graham

djvu205 said:
I will be interested to see where this goes Graham. From what i know, there is a place in sydney that does it but best to rock up in person. i have a 23mm bar from a vts that i was looking to have re-splined but local quotes where around $400-$500

23mm not an ideal size to recut due to the end plate sizes available 24mm would be ideal, i cant remember the exact details but this has some info

http://www.aussiefrogs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101790
Click to expand...
 
I have a 21mm 306 ARB, a brand new 25mm 205 ARB and a pair of 306 arms that suit either. Make me an offer.
 
Cut and weld. 306 arm one side, 205 the other. Or do it properly and re-spline.
 
That's what I was thinking, see previous post, but thought you were talking about trailing arms, sorry.

PeterT said:
Cut and weld. 306 arm one side, 205 the other. Or do it properly and re-spline.
Click to expand...
 
respline it. Im having one done over the next month or so. I can ask to get 2 or 3 done at a time. Im using a 24mm from a 306 cut to my rear beam width. One of the best mods ive done, crazy stability and turn in..

Cam
 
....or you could buy my 25mm bar & plates. Make me an offer. It needs to go.
 
There isn't that much of a differance between the 24 and 25 (I have both) - if you don't want the hassle of cutting/welding or resplining get the 25mm bar.
 
Yea true. The 24 is stiff enough, the extra wont make a difference really as the chassis flexes/moves about too much anyway.

Cam
 
Graham, the 106 gti, saxo vts?, 306 s16/gti-6, all came with 24mm bars factory. Might be worth a try.
 
It is a lot bigger than standard though and really it isn't all that bad especially since taking some gear out of the back!
Do you find the rear wheels come off the ground all the time?
The GTi does this a lot more than the Si with only 3 mm bigger ARB, 16 to 19.
Graham

DRTDVL said:
Graham, the 106 gti, saxo vts?, 306 s16/gti-6, all came with 24mm bars factory. Might be worth a try.
Click to expand...
 
It's a lot bigger than the base model ones, and a decent size bigger than the gti's but only for 205/309's... The later performance models all ran the 24mm bar standard.

The inside rear lifts a little more but it's already soo light there it's not funny - it's not really doing much.... You just need to be a little smoother to prevent liftoff oversteer. I found the stiffer bar really helped with grip out of the corners a lot also..

I've had my 205 out on gravel with the 25mm bar and its been fine.

Did you also do the si to gti torsion bars when you did the arb? Did you lower the rear to compensate for the increased spring rate? I know when I went from the 19 to 22mm torsion bars with the same shock bolt distances the car sits higher - making it more prone to roll in the rear...

As cam said the 205 get so much better with the much stiffer rear end - you will need to adjust your driving style a little if your getting a lot of rear end movement.
 
The rally car (1.9 Si) is OK, it has 20mm rear bars and 160lb front springs with GTi ARB, subframe etc.. Also Bilstein challenge shocks. I don't know if there is any improvement in handling over the standard springs and Konis though and not as good on rough roads possibly due to not being able to use the front bump stops (inverted shocks) and having to rely on the internal Bilstein ones. I'm using standard ARbs, it is pretty taily on gravel, would be worse with a bigger rear ARB bar I would think.
I had a very competitive run in an Autocross last weekend but then I was competitive there last year with the(Si) base model suspension just fitted with Koni yellows and it was easier to drive so I'm not sure where to go now.
I'm doing an autocross this weekend in the standard Si road car to get some sort of a benchmark.

Regarding the ARB discussion I'm just thinking it would be good to get a little better turn in on the GTi road car,which I don't use much, more of an investment/classic car, so hence the question about something like a 21mm rear ARB.

Graham
DRTDVL said:
It's a lot bigger than the base model ones, and a decent size bigger than the gti's but only for 205/309's... The later performance models all ran the 24mm bar standard.

The inside rear lifts a little more but it's already soo light there it's not funny - it's not really doing much.... You just need to be a little smoother to prevent liftoff oversteer. I found the stiffer bar really helped with grip out of the corners a lot also..

I've had my 205 out on gravel with the 25mm bar and its been fine.

Did you also do the si to gti torsion bars when you did the arb? Did you lower the rear to compensate for the increased spring rate? I know when I went from the 19 to 22mm torsion bars with the same shock bolt distances the car sits higher - making it more prone to roll in the rear...

As cam said the 205 get so much better with the much stiffer rear end - you will need to adjust your driving style a little if your getting a lot of rear end movement.
Click to expand...
 
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