A1 sway bars

[saurkraut]

Any opinions on sway bars for rabbits?  My '79 has none, and i don't want to change the springs/ride height.

I've also read somewhere that the stock rear bar tends to bind on hard cornering.  Any body try a front and rear combination that they liked for highway speeds?

[BlackTieTD]

run whatever you can up front and no rear sway is the general concensus IIRC.

[RabbitJockey]

?  i've always heard the opposite, if you have a fat sway bar up front and none in the back you're going to under steer like crazy,  which is cool because of the smoke show but not very effecient for manuevering a turn.

[745 turbogreasel]

Overswayed in the rear makes a real funny driving handful of vehicle....

[clbanman]

Balance, balance, balance.  I can't speak to VW's because I've never modified the swaybars on one, but the first car I changed swaybars on was a RWD.  I left the front stock, the car came without a rear. Put a rear swaybar on, and instant throttle oversteer in turns.  Too much is not a good thing.

[Slave2School]

For the MK IV's the REAR bar is the one you want to increase the size of, this keeps the front flatter so you can put down power in a corner, also why you don't want a fat bar in the rear of a rear wheel drive car.

Too big a bar in the back and you'll be crapping your pants in the winter with the rear end sliding all around

here read this http://stealthtdi.com/SwayBars.html

[VWCaddy]

The rear beam axle on the Rabbit is sort of an anti-sway bar, in that the center section can and will twist under heavy cornering loads.  

I run a front and rear bars on my Caddy and it makes a big difference.  THe rear bar helps with the weight of the tall camper shell I have on the bed and with a live rear axle, there is no built-in anti-sway bar.

http://www.4crawler.com/Diesel/CheapTricks/RearSuspension.shtml#SwayBars

[saurkraut]

My appologies.  i should have been more specific.  I want a matched set of bars to reduce body roll with out really hozing up the ride qualities.  i realize the ride will change some over un even bumps as the bars will come into play

i put the question to the A1 TEX and the response was to run the Shine bar in the rear and put 500 lbs springs up front.  There goes the ride qualities right out the window.

There are a number of bars available that use the stock mounting style on the rear.  Appearently, this set up binds under load, and yields some quirky results.

The Autotech rear bar looks pritty good for solving the rear bar problem, and I would assume their front bar will balance out the suspension.

Anybody run the Autotech bars, or bars from other manufactuers that don't use the stock brackets to attach the ends of the rear bar to the rear axel arms?

[RabbitJockey]

haha i think with suspension it's really all personal taste and what you're going to use it for.  imo mk1s have alot of understeer, in a turn a little tap on the go pedal and the front tires start sliding.

[saurkraut]

I have a couple rear and one front neuspeed bar on the way.  Got them used.

The A-holes at Neuspeed wouldn't reply to my Email about the handling differences between the 28mm and 25mm rear bars, so sclew them.

I'm going to make the rear adjustable, Neuspeed says their bars are, but they're not.  They bolt the heim joints right to the shock bolts, so there is no adjustment at all.  I'm going to make some threaded things with three holes in them to screw into the ends of the sway bar, then use a double heim joint link to connent the bar and shock bolt.

As soon as it rains here enough to wash the salt off the roads, I'll bring the '79 out and report my findings

[saurkraut]

Well, its on the road.  Front and rear Neuspeed sway bars.  I have the 25mm on the back.

Haven't really gone nuts with it yet, but it stays really flat while cornering.

Maybe some evening i'll try it on the Home Depot skid pad and see which end breaks loose first.

[somepunk22]

Well, its on the road.  Front and rear Neuspeed sway bars.  I have the 25mm on the back.

Haven't really gone nuts with it yet, but it stays really flat while cornering.

Maybe some evening i'll try it on the Home Depot skid pad and see which end breaks loose first.

Nice! Offering test rides?  

[lord_verminaard]

My 84 Scirocco with stock bars front and rear is fairly flat (although the front struts and springs need help) but I do have HOR rear springs with cheap shocks in the rear.  It will however begin to oversteer slightly if I poke the brakes lightly while under a hard turn.  In the rain or snow, the thing is very easy to flick sideways, aka like a rally driver, no e-brake needed.    It also slides pretty neutrally and controllably once in the slide.  It's got cheap-o tires too.  I've gotten really used to how it handles and when I go hog-wild and upgrade everything I know it will be better but I'll have to learn how to drive it all over again.  

Brendan
84 Scirocco 8v  <--- TDI in progress
01 Jeep TJ 4.0