22MM or 24MM ARB?
 

Going to upgrade My rear ARB and drop links with Whiteline equipment. I have a Standard UK Turbo Pre Face Lift. I want adjustable ARB so I can tweak the setting until I find a happy medium, should I get a 22MM or 24MM DIA bar? I understand that replacement of just the rear will correct under steer but do not want to go so far as to make the car twitchy............... :)

I'm one of a small number of drivers who run the 22mm bar at the hardest setting as normal, and knowing what I do now, would probably go for the 24mm bar if I was do it all over again.

Of course the problem is, you don't know what you prefer until you've tried it out. Most seem to find the hardest setting on the 22mm a bit too much. I may be wrong though!

when I went to buy my bars I was told the 24mm would be far to stiff for road use and should only be used on race/track cars. So I opted for the 22mm which allows you to have a almost standard setting or a nice rigid setting for spirited driving and a nice safe in between. 22mm :thumb:

Gaz

IMHO:
Gaz above is right.
for a good tweek on a road car a 22mm is a sound bet.

I'm at 22 front and 24 rear which simply bumps everything up one notch, the balance is the same, just everything is tighter, but road manners are of no worry, just so long as it corners hard and vice-free, which it does!

A stock front and a 22 on Hard is a good car for Silent obviously, the same on medium is more 'normal' but that's the fun; find ing what suits YOU so the car is faster and safe too.

Graham.

Thanks for the info chaps, 22MM it is then as I will be using it as a road car only! Cheers.. :)

You're not the only one that likes it on the firmest setting. ;)

Hey! That's two of us then! Anyone else?

Nope, that's it LOL !

Well, part from Corradoboy, but he saw the light (and the Bank Manager !) and bought coilovers.

Oh well, keep the flag flying eh? What about geometry settings? Am I the only SNer on here who uses Whiteline's settings of 1mm toe out on the rear each side?

Using an ARB at one end only, is a bit of a false economy in my opinion. Rear toe out an stiffer ARBs are all promoting less rear end grip to acheive the balance, it's better overall if you can do things to increase the front end grip and bite instead or in combination. Standard classic suspension has a lot to do with the understeer, and open front diffs can make it really bad on tight slow corners, many cars have a poor geometry setup.

A 22mm rear bar can be tuned further with mods to the ARB mounts and drop links. 24mm is overkill for a classic road car IMHO, but a cheap way to loosen up the back if that's all you want.

Paul

It is all a compromise in the end and how far you want/need to go.

In my case i wasn't too bothered about the road as I don't search-out islands to skid around, but finding a car that behaved in the right manner for me on the hill climbs (as opposed to sprint/track) needed a lot of changes.

The use of coilovers is good as you get so much more chance to adjust things.

On ARB's:
I totally agree with Paul, and when i started out I was told directly from Whiteline to use 22mm front and back (AND with their 1mm rear toe) and tune to my taste/skill the rear.

I'm not sure that you can dial out all the understeer simply (but i qualify this as 'on track understeer')
The car behaves quite differently on a clear smaooth track as opposed to a West Midlands A Road...

Graham

Interesting perspective. I was always of the thinking that I wanted the rear grip a bit lighter to counter the understeer. Having read your post I can see the sense in leaving the rear as is and concentrating on better front end grip as you say.

Mine is a classic WRX. How would I go about starting to beef up front end grip and eliminating the understeer?

Castor kit, more front neg camber (tyre wear allowing), lower front brace and also just decent tyres all round. Those combined with the 22mm rear ARB will definitely make a difference. If you want your car not to wash out coming out of tight corners, get a Quaife ATB front diff in there!

Coilover suspension can also be used to make a tremendous difference to the balance without sacrificing grip levels.

But if you've only got £115 to spend a 22mm rear bar is a great invesment!

Paul

Well I've kind of gone for a combination of things, but stopped short of changing the front bar. I can see the thinking behind going for more front end bite rather than loosening the back, but as mentioned, it's a lot cheaper, and it DOES retain the right sort of balance, well - what I want at least. But I still found the 22mm rear ARB on its own wasn't enough for my liking, hence I have 1.5 degrees of negative camber and an anti-lift kit on the front now, which together make a real noticeable difference, particularly at low speed on tight turns. You can really feel the front digging in rather than having to drive from the rear.

I had mulled over a front ATB diff. Wasn't sure what the effect would be if the rear diff was left standard. Or what the effect would be if you only replaced the rear one? Or both?

Off the topic for a minute.... can some one tell me which hole on my front ARB is the stiffest? it has two holes one at the front and one at the rear? Also in your opinions what should I try to get a good balance between the two? soft front medium rear or hard front hard rear?

Cheers,

Gaz