dbtong

I have a 96 2.8QM (non-sport obviously). I've upgraded to Eibach Pro/Bilstein Sport. My question is...what would be the effect if I added an upper stress bar versus going with some OEM sport swaybars. How is handling affected? I'd like to reduce body roll.

Also running on 225/45/17s if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

James R.

normally the stress bar is used to take chassis flex out of the front end...but in the case of the A4 we have that secondary firewall or tub as somepeople call it. It's that sheet of metal which seperates the engine from the battery compartment...it pretty much does the job of an upper tie bar.

The sport lower anti-sway bar will make a marked improvement in performance...in particular body roll during things like fast lane transistions will be greatly reduced. You have to understand though that it does not come w/o a cost...as you travel over irregular surfaces you'll find that the ride may be cosiderably rougher...this is because basically the sway bar makes your independent front suspension LESS independent effectively the left and front are tied together with a torsion beam...even a minute change in diameter or pick off point will make for pronounced increases in stiffness. I had the Neuspeed front anti-sway and feel that it was very streetable...hope this helps.

regards,

James R.

2001 A4 1.8TQMSXP (Brakes After Feb 10th, AWE Stainless Steel Lines, Oettinger Pedal Set + Dead, Oettinger RE's 17x8, Yoko AVS Sports 225/45/R17, European Xenon Housings, Bailey BPV & RS4 Grill)

BIG NIPPER

Anyone else has second opinions on this?

James R.

BTW that was supposed to read, Left and Right front wheels...darn

kcS4

stress bars reduce chassis flex, sway bars reduce body roll, I put 19mm Neuspeed on rear of S4, big difference: low speed much les;s understeer, at hgih speeds, (70+) I can now induce power on oversteer quite easily. I also put uuc drave line stabilizer on, the shifter no onger moves under acceleration.

dbtong

OK, so it reduces chassis flex. What does that translate to as far as performance goes?

James R.

due to the construction of the engine bay. If you want to get one...cause it sounds like you're looking for justification then buy one. You should get some sway bars instead. While true that you can't really see them...you can't really show them off to your friends (unless you lay on the ground) they're the best place to put your money handling wise after you've done springs and shocks. If you want crap just for show...then be my guest and buy an upper stress bar...but be warned some have had a history of shorting across the battery terminals...most of these issues have been addressed, but I'm just giving you a heads up.

Regards,

James R.

2001 A4 1.8TQMSXP (Brakes After Feb 10th, AWE Stainless Steel Lines, Oettinger Pedal Set + Dead, Oettinger RE's 17x8, Yoko AVS Sports 225/45/R17, European Xenon Housings, Bailey BPV & RS4 Grill)

dbtong

I wasn't sure how the reduced body flex would translate into driving feel and performance...and I still don't know. No, I do not want to spend money on something that is not going to help me achieve my goal of decreased body roll. I've seen a stress bar installed and the clearance does seem like a concern. I know that sway bars are the way to go. Just trying to find out what these other parts do.

SKS

I moved my battery to the trunk, so I was able to stiffen the stress bar by making it into more of a truss. The double firewall will be stiff enough for most street coilovers and tire combinations. When you really start loading in lateral G's with a track suspension and some sticky track tires it needs some help. This is not the first car to have this type design, the 914 Porsche from the 70's has a similar wall between the strut towers and is actually a much stiffer design then the Audi. Granted the suspensions differ somewhat but handling on the Porsche decidedly improves with the addition of stress bars. It difficult to get the A4/S4 chassis stiff enough especially with all those sub-assemblys, but every little bit helps.

Žob

In the PAST, people have had problems with the upper strut tower bar coming to close the battery cable. If you do NOT make sure your battery is properly positioned in the area it has availble, this could become an issue. In fact, I bought someone's strut tower bar who had this exact same issue, bolted up to my car, and have been running it for a long time now with no problems. All comes down to installation technique. NOW for the other part. A lot of people feel these braces are worthless on the A4, double fire wall, etc. Well I decided to run BOTH the LLTek Strut tower bar AND the Neuspeed lower subframe brace. The double firewall is so flimsy you can bend it with your hand practically. Turn in response is DEFINITELY better. Cornering over bumpy corners doesn't upset the car as much, and the car seems to be more predictable in a 4 wheel drift now. Anyone who would like to doubt me I'd gladly give them a ride in the car with and without them on. If they couldn't feel the difference, their level of driving isn't even up to the limits of the car then anyway.