[s-cars] Re: 26mm rear swaybar

[Salinas212 at aol.com]

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Hey guys-

I just saw this and am compelled to write. When I added the rear sway bar to
my S4 with the crossmember from a '92, I also wanted a larger rear bar... one
a bit larger O.D., but NOT a 26mm bar!! Thats HUGE by anyone's standards and
only 1mm smaller than a 93-up front bar and but 2mm smaller than a 92 or
Avant front bar. I was thinking more along the lines of a 19/20mm bar.

I'm afraid a 26mm rear bar is gonna cause some problems with potential
catastrophic results. This bar is gonna oversteer in a MAJOR way on anything
other than rush hour commute speeds. At 50mph+ this bar is gonna make for
some very exciting recovery tactics in any sudden steering maneuvers if
something crosses your path unexpectedly. On the track it'll be a
precariously balanced juggling act just keeping the rear behind you and I'll
bet dollars to doughnuts you won't be able to keep your inside rear tire on
the ground in tight turns. All this manifested by the larger diameter bar
then further aggrivated by solid Heim joints which eliminate any compliance
that the stock sway bars enjoy by virtue of it's rubber-bushed end links...
then further exxagerated by 90-110 Duronometer hardness urethane bar
bushings. Don't get me wrong, Heim joints are a great end-link on a stock or
even slightly over-sized swaybar. But on a bar of this magnitude on a car
that see's 99%+ street use and once/twice a year track duty it's a recipe for
disaster.

IMHO this car is going to be dangerous. If at highway speeds you try to avoid
a spun-off recap from a semi ahead of you or a UFO or some unidentified
object in the road, odds are FAR better than 50/50 you're going to lose it,
totally. If anything happens in front of you at 70mph and you need to avoid
it, you're gonna lose it. And if you're like me and love 140mph+ dalliances
you are at great risk/peril with a bar that size with it's associated
near-solid hardware.

Now, dont get me wrong, I'd love to drive an S4 prepared this way around 2nd
Creek just to get the feel of it, try and wrestle the best times from it. But
my gut tells me a stock sway bar with Heim joints, urethane bushings in an
identically prepared suspension/drivetrain will kill the 26mm car... by
probably 2 seconds or more due to acute oversteer and the inside rear wheel
being off the ground half the time.

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade here. I love innovation and all
things that contribute to faster laps but this one should be a little better
thought-out. Sure it'll corner flatter, and feel tighter... right up to the
point it breaks loose cuz it's on three wheels instead of four.... then
you're in for the ride of your life trying to save it... at EVERY turn.

22mm doesn't work on the rear of the neu S4's even with race suspension on
the lightest setting. We tried it on Prestige's one-lap car. We tried it on
Norm Babcocks NASA car... same result. The dog won't hunt. The car's are not
disimilar.

It's too big guys.

Mance
(sans UrS4 add 98 A4 1.8QTM... here we go again)