3shedz
Member
Totally agree feel the same about mine .
H&R Anti Holl Bars (ARB) Front + Rear
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Totally agree feel the same about mine .
Pablo
Member
Had mine fitted yesterday. They definitely make a difference in terms of body roll but you have to be driving fast around corners to really feel the benefit. I drive country roads every day where I live so justified my purchase based on this. In my opinion there is no point in doing this upgrade unless you drive fast. I also think the lower your van is the less difference you will see. If I could go back and make the decision again I probably wouldn't have bothered.
I have also found much better handling on roundabouts and cross winds on motorways.
Guess it also depends on how much load you have in your van and maybe SWB vs LWB too. Ours is a full camper conversion is a LWB on 40mm H&R lowering springs.
There is no way I would go back to the originals.
Guess it also depends on how much load you have in your van and maybe SWB vs LWB too. Ours is a full camper conversion is a LWB on 40mm H&R lowering springs.
There is no way I would go back to the originals.
Fitted some H & R anti roll bars today and set the front bar to its stiffest setting. Standard T32 suspension, standard 17" wheels and tyres and modified into a camper with a pop top. Conscious of the placebo effect but have to say the non scientific, uncalibrated seat of the pants, arse cheekomometer reckons there's a noticable reduction in body roll. I tried a wee experiment to try and measure the lean angle of the van going round a round about at different speeds, with the factory fit ARBs before hand. Once I get the fuel level back to the same nearly empty level, I'll try the experiment again and see what the true difference is.
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Where are you based? Mine was pulling to the left so i took it to A Line in bilston. The guy there knew his stuff....used the correct setting on the hunters and the checked every possible reason why it would pull.....even had a special spirtlevel to make sure the steering wheel was spot on level....its now not exactly perfect but it's way less noticeable and less of an issue to hold it in a straight line...he did say my rear camber on the nearside is out way more than the offside so I'm going to get the rear adjustable polybushes done.....if they don't cure it they might at least reduce the rear tyre wear so I can justify the cost of them and not a wasted effort to solve the problem once and for all
Well today was the day .... got around to it at last. Unsurprisingly chose @BognorMotors to do the fitting. Usual great job, treating your stuff like their own and huge experience fitting these things.
I'm almost excited writing this. The buzz hasn't worn off
Added the H&R ARB's front and back (in stiffest setting) today to current set-up :
T32, 204ps, LWB, 4Motion, DSG with -40mm Cobra Springs over standard shocks and 275/40's on 20"x 9
I mention current set-up as it may play a role in the result you get / feel and may be something to do with your bus's weight.
The result was so marked I noticed it straightaway. Sometimes hard to verbalise these things but I'll have a go:
- The steering felt more instant but not in an overly sensitive type of way
- The steering feels more precise/accurate and the van feels very planted into the line you choose. This is particularly noticeable at motorway speed when changing lane.
- The van really locks (comparatively) into bends/corners under power better. (4Motion may make the overall result better in this respect)
- Inside lining (very surprised) people on roundabouts and chicane like features is hilarious. I was still grinning when I got home
- The overall ride quality has suffered no increase in harshness
Really hard to quantify these things but from my point of view, body roll and understeer are reduced very significantly and the improvement is very marked to the extent it is immediately noticeable. The answer to my question is also very clear now. These ARB's are definitely not just a benefit for those who have gone B14's.
Thanks to all who contributed their experiences to this thread helping me make my decision.
.
I'm almost excited writing this. The buzz hasn't worn off
Added the H&R ARB's front and back (in stiffest setting) today to current set-up :T32, 204ps, LWB, 4Motion, DSG with -40mm Cobra Springs over standard shocks and 275/40's on 20"x 9
I mention current set-up as it may play a role in the result you get / feel and may be something to do with your bus's weight.
The result was so marked I noticed it straightaway. Sometimes hard to verbalise these things but I'll have a go:
- The steering felt more instant but not in an overly sensitive type of way
- The steering feels more precise/accurate and the van feels very planted into the line you choose. This is particularly noticeable at motorway speed when changing lane.
- The van really locks (comparatively) into bends/corners under power better. (4Motion may make the overall result better in this respect)
- Inside lining (very surprised) people on roundabouts and chicane like features is hilarious. I was still grinning when I got home
- The overall ride quality has suffered no increase in harshness
Really hard to quantify these things but from my point of view, body roll and understeer are reduced very significantly and the improvement is very marked to the extent it is immediately noticeable. The answer to my question is also very clear now. These ARB's are definitely not just a benefit for those who have gone B14's.
Thanks to all who contributed their experiences to this thread helping me make my decision.
.
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Agree dude, they complete the handling for me, where as before the van was a bit wobbly it's now as sharp as you could expect for a big old bus.
I find on very bad roads where there are tree roots, man hole covers, potholes etc the van gets rocked about a little, worse than it did before, but it's a very minor compromise.
I find on very bad roads where there are tree roots, man hole covers, potholes etc the van gets rocked about a little, worse than it did before, but it's a very minor compromise.
Yeah for sure ... that's a good way of putting it. I genuinely can't see any reason why you wouldn't have it done. The additional precision it imparts to the handling makes driving such a relatively large vehicle another degree easier / more relaxed.
I haven't been on any roads as bad as you describe with them yet but I totally agree, there's very little if any vehicles that iron stuff like that out anyway.
Had the H&R ARBs on for three weeks now and had a chance to drive the van over various types of road.
Decided to fit them from a comfort point of view to reduce the tip you out your seat, 'standby to go about' lurch on the bends. Have to say they've come up trumps. On what's pretty much a permanently half loaded van, I would go so far as to say they've significantly reduced body roll with my standard T32 suspension. Generally, a much taughter feeling of turn in and overall a more enjoyable to drive.
Can't comment on understeer/oversteer balance, as I've yet to make that kind of progress since they've been fitted. Well, that combined with valuing what's left of my current tyres and preservation of the on board crockery.
Two things I've also noticed. Firstly over uneven surfaces, the movement is a bit more up and down as opposed to side to side. This in my view is a good thing in terms of comfort. To be expected, as stiffer ARBs reduce the amount of independence the suspension has across each pair of wheels.
However, and its only a small thing that you have to tune into to notice, and its only with fine irregularities in the road surface. But there is what I would call a low amplitude, higher frequency resonance, through the steering wheel. It maybe due to the harder bushes. Or maybe the standard dampers being slightly underrated to deal with the energy stored, with the increased torsional rigidity of the roll bar. Especially when its added to the existing spring rate. Perhaps a little too much combined twang in the set up without uprating the shocks. It's the balance of compromises thing again.
Although, VW recommend 56 psi in the fronts with my Devonports, dropping the front tyre pressure SLIGHTLY, helps take this resonance out the steering. Although I'm not condoning such behaviour, before anyone kicks off. Just saying. I've played about with the pressure, purely in the name of donkey science and curiosity.
So would I fit them again? Well, wish I'd fitted them sooner.
Decided to fit them from a comfort point of view to reduce the tip you out your seat, 'standby to go about' lurch on the bends. Have to say they've come up trumps. On what's pretty much a permanently half loaded van, I would go so far as to say they've significantly reduced body roll with my standard T32 suspension. Generally, a much taughter feeling of turn in and overall a more enjoyable to drive.
Can't comment on understeer/oversteer balance, as I've yet to make that kind of progress since they've been fitted. Well, that combined with valuing what's left of my current tyres and preservation of the on board crockery.
Two things I've also noticed. Firstly over uneven surfaces, the movement is a bit more up and down as opposed to side to side. This in my view is a good thing in terms of comfort. To be expected, as stiffer ARBs reduce the amount of independence the suspension has across each pair of wheels.
However, and its only a small thing that you have to tune into to notice, and its only with fine irregularities in the road surface. But there is what I would call a low amplitude, higher frequency resonance, through the steering wheel. It maybe due to the harder bushes. Or maybe the standard dampers being slightly underrated to deal with the energy stored, with the increased torsional rigidity of the roll bar. Especially when its added to the existing spring rate. Perhaps a little too much combined twang in the set up without uprating the shocks. It's the balance of compromises thing again.
Although, VW recommend 56 psi in the fronts with my Devonports, dropping the front tyre pressure SLIGHTLY, helps take this resonance out the steering. Although I'm not condoning such behaviour, before anyone kicks off. Just saying. I've played about with the pressure, purely in the name of donkey science and curiosity.
So would I fit them again? Well, wish I'd fitted them sooner.
No. The holes closest to the torsion bar or furthest from the ends give the stiffer setting.
If you've got a decent trolley jack, some good axle stands and a specced socket set & spanners, it's possible to do it yourself.
I've fitted full Eibach Pro Street suspension and Front & rear H&R roll bars in the last week.
I've fitted full Eibach Pro Street suspension and Front & rear H&R roll bars in the last week.
I think I'll have a go at adjusting mine, can you tell me what jack and axle stands you used please? If I dropped the rear a little, how long a job would it be roughly, assuming mediocre to average mechanicing ability?
I have a Clarke (Machine Mart) CTJ2250LS jack (no longer sold I'm afraid) and some Clarke CAX6TBC 6 Tonne Axle Stands.
Front is quite easy as there is somewhere to place the jack to get space to get the axle stands in place on both sides at the same time,
The rear has to be done one side at a time as there's no central position strong enough to lift on.
I adjusted my rear ride height easily, one side at a time, in half a day, you need a pair of 21mm sockets for the bottom damper bolts (or a socket and a spanner) so you can pull the arm down to release pressure on the adjustable spring collars to turn them easily, mark position on base and collar and adjust the same amount both sides.
Front adjustment is just a case of getting the wheel off and using the collar C spanner to adjust, again the same amount both sides.
The hardest bit was getting the second side of the rear ARB into place, a second pair of hands and a light weight jack under the roll bar to lift it into place so the U bracket can be bolted up helped.
I fitted a set of adjustable drop links like these to the front.
Front is quite easy as there is somewhere to place the jack to get space to get the axle stands in place on both sides at the same time,
The rear has to be done one side at a time as there's no central position strong enough to lift on.
I adjusted my rear ride height easily, one side at a time, in half a day, you need a pair of 21mm sockets for the bottom damper bolts (or a socket and a spanner) so you can pull the arm down to release pressure on the adjustable spring collars to turn them easily, mark position on base and collar and adjust the same amount both sides.
Front adjustment is just a case of getting the wheel off and using the collar C spanner to adjust, again the same amount both sides.
The hardest bit was getting the second side of the rear ARB into place, a second pair of hands and a light weight jack under the roll bar to lift it into place so the U bracket can be bolted up helped.
I fitted a set of adjustable drop links like these to the front.
Would you mind clarifying exactly where you placed the jack and axel stands please? Thanks
Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but why adjustable drop links @Grim Reaper?
I am interested in getting the ARB replacement on my van to go with the B14’s, and being a fairly practical chap have no issue completing the work myself. Have seen various posts where people have replaced the drop links at the same time but do not understand why. Haven’t seen people mention adjustable ones previously either.
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