Rear ARB now fitted to an A2

Sarah at Awsome is a little bit evil!
She told me how the rear ARB transformed her Fabia.

I am round at Skiptons on sunday getting cruise control fitted, will have an extra iron bar hanging off my rear axel!

Only problem is that I wont know whether its the ARB or the FSD effect.

Will have to let Mike test drive and we will write a joint report on here.
 
Sorry to disillusion you Carl, but Betty never made her own hotpot - she had lackeys to do the work for her!

As to your new addition Conrad, yes, we'll go for a run out - I've got standard FSDs on Tank, you've got FSDs and a rear ARB, so we should be able to tell how efficient it is (mind you, Tank is a little different from your A2 to start with!).

I look forward to seeing the results.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Mike, just to get the full effect, I will bring two bit of ballast for the rear seats. (kids).
 
this sounds very interesting. Now all we need to do is pull the fuse for ABS, leaving ESP off and drifts should be yours for the taking, no? ;)

Bret
 
Regarding removing the ABS fuse. Bret

How about I give that a try at ADI and come back with some answers. Wish me luck:eek:

Malcolm
 
I got a very specific answer a while back on the German forum about what to do to turn ESP off, I will try and find it. When I get an opportunity in the winter (not far off, now...) then I will test....yep, the fuse itself. ABS may also be an option (that should be the 60A one next to the engine ECU).

Bret
 
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I'll be interested in turning ESP off, but still have ABS on. Bret, keep us posted please, thanks :)
 
Went to Skiptons on sunday for cruise fitting. He did the excellent usual job that built his reputation (clipped bits off my car that I would never dare remove, and rewired a multi-loom to get the thing working).

Anyway the reason for this post is that we went for a play in my car and Tank (never seen kids with that OMG expression since we went to Universal Studios on the scary rides).

We both agreed that the rear ARB makes a big difference. I have had 4 days of ARB and FSD and I am still grinning everytime I get in the A2. It really has transformed the car. It's still a great everyday drive, calm and no-fuss. But the handling, cornering and general composure are unlike anything I have driven before.

So, big thank you to Sarah at Awsome for twisting my arm into having this fitted.

I will take (and post) some pictures at the weekend of the ARB/FSD/Weitec rear set up.

If anyone in the Leeds area wants taking for a spin to help them decide if its worthwhile then I am happy to oblige.
 
Argh, new mod temptation alert! Liking the sound of this very much.
Which stiffness setting did you install it at? Most people I know with Whitelines usually plump for the "middle" setting.
 
ARB set to middle setting. It doesn't feel harsh, so might try it on the full fat version!
 
Can I just point out that the reason Conrads kids had that :eek: look was that we were having a bit of a demo ride in Tank, down the Isle of Skye road by Dovestone Reservoir.

The rear ARB does bring things together well and I'm tempted myself.

Good to see you at long last Conrad, keep on having fun!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Actually, since we are going into this "lets clarify things" arena, I suppose I must 'fess up.
Kids were in the back going WOOT WOOT...faster faster.
Dad was feeling a bit NPQ Junior.
 
They were strangely quiet though at first Conrad - only when the sweeping left-right-left section came up did they perk up. Think they bought your story of me being a rally driver after the ride?

Cheers,

Mike
 
Looking at the pictures, it looks like the two mounting points for the new ARB are a fair bit lower than the lowest point of the rear suspension - do we think this is going to cause any issues with ground clearance?

I'm not clear why you needed to bend the U-bolts?

How do the subframe mounts fit to the subframe? Did you need to drill any holes or are there already some conveniently placed?
 
Dan, you'll lose around 40mm ground clearance, but this shouldn't cause problems unless you go off road.

The bar fits to the rear axel and so there's no holes. This is also the reason you need to bend the U bolts - to make them the same profile as the axel, otherwise, you could pinch the axel, or put too much strain on the U bolt causing it to fail.

Cheers

Mike
 
Just seems odd for the fixing to be so far below the bottom of the strut.
Has anyone else fitted the bar yet?
 
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