neilmc Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Emailed my local dealer today(Truro Audi)about having 22mm RS4 anti roll bar fitted to my May 2007 A4 2.0T Q s line special edition.They refused to order the parts,let alone fit them,stating that as they are not standard fit to that model that any warranty issues to the rear suspension would not be honoured!!!.They really are the worst dealer.My previous 8 month old Special edition had the boot and 3/4 panel painted 4 times due to poor paint,a bent suspension arm on the front and a rattling headrest.Got so fed up I traded it in.The new vehicle has far better paint but suffers from steering wheel shimmy at between 60-75 mph and was delivered with awful swirl marks on the roof and bonnet,so bad that it is being machine polished out and then Zymoled.Anyone got any ideas on the roll bar issue or the steering wheel shimmy.Many thanks and great forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 To be fair, would you reasonably expect a dealer to do it? Why would you even consider getting them to? At the rates they charge it's crazy. Just take it to your local exhaust/tyre/independant that's got a drive on lift and get them to do it. Mine cost about £30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisg Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I think it took me less than 40 mins to do mine, with ramps and I'm not a regular at this type of work VAGParts will send you the bits but carriage is about £12 ....it's a heavy bar ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilmc Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Fair enough but if i'm willing to pay them.Problem is would they even have noticed if it had been done and how will everone else get on with warranty issues if the dealers does notice it.Plus they will probably be looking for it now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupramax Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I'm amazed at the amount of people doing this mod. I'd be very interested to see the REAL results of this mod when pushing on though... I bet it would result in a visit to the nearest hedge in the wrong hands. IMHO the dealer is right to refuse to fit this as you have no idea in real world handling turms what the end result will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Neilmc - Warranty implications are simply if your change causes the problem. Therefore it's very unlikely with this mod. ChrisG - The problem with using ramps is it means the rubbers will be twisted when the car is placed flat and not, as the recommended installation, where the rubbers are at ease. Cupramax - I don't know about other cars but on the S4 it simply dials out some understeer and makes it more neutral. It doesn't make it a mad tail out car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Neilmc - another thought. Anything non-standard fitted by a dealer (or anyone else) has the same implications. Just coz you pay a dealer more doesn't mean you get any additional cover what so ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilmc Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I agree with you about the results,however the A4 has such a high degree of understeer built in that an increase of 4mm in a rear anti roll bar will not result in that big a difference to the handling even in very inexperienced hands.The mod is more designed to reduce understeer and and corner the car a little flatter at the rear.I am lucky that I am qualified to a very high standard as I am ex police traffic!! but even so I would not expect a HUGE problem,although I may be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilmc Posted June 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 I will be giving it a miss I think now,shame really as I was quite curious!Anyway thanks for you quick replies and any ideas on the wheel wobble? Past experience on other cars is always wheel balance,but never found it on a new car on ever after a tyre change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Mines been on for over 30,000 miles and I think if it was NOT for the 22mm ARB my car would probably be in a bush now The main dealer near me also refused to supply it without a reg no, I ended up getting mine from VAGparts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark_90 Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 [ QUOTE ] I'm amazed at the amount of people doing this mod. I'd be very interested to see the REAL results of this mod when pushing on though... I bet it would result in a visit to the nearest hedge in the wrong hands. IMHO the dealer is right to refuse to fit this as you have no idea in real world handling turms what the end result will be. [/ QUOTE ] It totally transformed my A4, it felt like a different car and made it much more neutral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3_Scot Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 have extra thick arbs for an s3 and it makes it more fun and more feedback. don't really know what you are saying cupramax.. ovb. too thick arbs are foolish but one designed for an a4 (as an rs4 is an a4) can't really go wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cupramax Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 [ QUOTE ] don't really know what you are saying cupramax.. ovb. too thick arbs are foolish but one designed for an a4 (as an rs4 is an a4) can't really go wrong! [/ QUOTE ] What I'm saying is the RS4 may well be an A4 underneath but its a totally different car from the point of tyres, wheel offsets, the rest of the suspension geometry etc etc and hence just putting one part of the RS4 setup on a standard car will have an effect of the safety of the cars handling. Stiffening the rear end will have the effect of creating more oversteer and not everyone has the skill to catch it if you overcook things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtiller Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I bought my A4 in SE spec, as I found the S-Line suspension too uncomfortable (it's a personal choice thing) Having fitted the RS4 ARB, it really has made the biggest difference for the better. For me, it's the best of both worlds, as I get the comfort of softer suspension, but the support of extra rigidity when taking roundabouts and motorway slips at higher speeds. It's got to be one of the most in-expensive mods you can do which makes the biggest difference. I wouldn't be surprised of your dealer is refusing to comply, as they may remember some of the horror stories from the Audi TT Mods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allroadman Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I can understand why they would not want to fit it for you, as they are taking on all the liability that goes with fitting it. Should something go wrong and a claim is made, the dealer would be responsible and Audi would not be interested in stepping in. This might seem a bit extreme but i do know of a case of such a thing happening. As a result, a person was injured. Even the dealers insurance company did not want to pay out. Eventully it was sorted but it took 3 years of legal wrangling. As for them not willing to order the part in, i can't see any reason why they should refuse, but they do have the right too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 [ QUOTE ] What I'm saying is the RS4 may well be an A4 underneath but its a totally different car from the point of tyres, wheel offsets, the rest of the suspension geometry etc etc and hence just putting one part of the RS4 setup on a standard car will have an effect of the safety of the cars handling. Stiffening the rear end will have the effect of creating more oversteer and not everyone has the skill to catch it if you overcook things. [/ QUOTE ] Uprating the rear ARB really doesn't have that much of an impact. Having just removed a 22mm rear ARB from my R32 before I sell it, the main thing it did was to remove some of the understeer. Because of the huge weight in the front of the car with the 3.2 engine, it's nigh on impossible to get the car to oversteer, unless you're being very lairy around a track. Yes, the A4 is a different car, and with the Torsen 4WD, a Quattro version behaves differently to a Haldex-based 4Motion VW, but simply the weight of the engine up front, as well as the fact that the car is designed to understeer means that you won't, just won't get rid of the understeer by fitting an RS4 rear ARB. I've run uprated rear ARBs on all my A4s and haven't ever had tail-out experiences. You'll reduce understeer by fitting an RS4 ARB, but it certainly won't make it dangerous to drive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenjaminTDI Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Has anyone noticed that this mod makes the ride slightly harder? I went out in my brothers B7 s-line the other day and it seems to ride a LOT smoother/less crashy than mine. Not sure if this is due to tyres or the ARB. He is on continental sport contact 2 and i am on michelin ps2s. (same wheel size, width etc) & the 22mm ARB won't increase oversteer on a significant level, but I do understand the concerns of it removing some of the built in safety of the A4 which is one reason why I am considering having mine removed and replaced with the standard S-Line one again. Would be grateful to hear any input you guys have on the ride issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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