Re: question: thick sway bar effects on A4Q (longish)

["Rudy Consolacion" <rconsolacion@kumhotech.com>]

Try unbolting the end links of the sway bar and go for a test drive. 
If it doesn't pull, then there's pre-load on the sway bar. Pre-load 
in the sense that it is uneven from left to right.  Your sway bar 
may not be perfect from side-to-side and/or the mounting points are 
not symmetric.  (It's like tires are never perfectly round.)  I'll 
plead ignorance to how the sway bar end is fastened since I haven't 
studied my own car, but you may need to go to spherical rod ends to 
eliminate any pre-load of the sway bar.  You should do this with the 
vehicle loaded -- meaning add your weight to the driver's seat.  An 
empty vehicle is a lot different.  Let me know what happens. HTH!

Rudy Consolacion
87 5ktq - for sale
97 a42.8q


> ...before you guys mumble: "is this guy stupid or what?",
> i've always wondered about that myself especially lately.
> 
> anyway, the saga continues... basically after the alignment
> problem is finally fixed (many thanks to WAGNER audi service
> who had been very patient and didn't give up on me), the car
> still seems to pull to the right.
> 
> my wife's car:		2.8Q avant (with sports package)
> 
> what's changed:	eibach front sway bar (32mm?)
> 			lltek front strut tower brace
> 			235/40-17 tires (first dunlop SP8000; now toyo T1 proxes)
> 
> i realize that with wider tires and stiffer front sway bar,
> any imperfection on the road is magnified. but i don't think
> that the car should be pulling that much. especially since
> i compare my wife's avant to my M3. sure these 2 cars have
> very different suspension designs, but i'd think that the
> end-result should be about the same. and my M3 is even
> stiffer than stock since i take it to driving schools.
> 
> i have done the following (trial-and-error) tests trying to
> eliminate what is causing the car to pull:
> 
> 1. swapped the wheels+tires with another A4 2.8Q avant with
> sports package (but stock sway bar). result: this car went
> straight! IMO, there goes the wide-tire theory.
> 
> 2. i swapped the eibach sway bar with the stock bar this past
> weekend. the car doesn't pull as much. but there is still somewhat
> a perceptible drift. altho with all honesty, this could just be
> psychological.
> 
> someone warned me about the sway bar being pre-loaded. but
> yesterday, the guys at WAGNER audi put the car weight on its
> suspensions and tightened the end-links of the sway bar.
> the car still pulls to the right. granted, if i stay to the
> left (ie: wrong way) of a 2-lane road, the steering starts
> pulling to the left. but on the center lane of the mass turnpike,
> 99% of the time, the car pulls to the right.
> 
> BTW, the pressure on those tires are: 38 front, 36 rear.
> 
> does anybody has similar modifications to their A4s (ie: wider tires
> and stiffer front sway bar) and have similar steering feel?
> i'm really baffled. this is my first audi, so i have no experience
> with the tendency of an audi suspension design.
> 
> meanwhile, i really must let AoA know if i'm still demanding a
> replacement car. before i said yes or no, i want to make sure
> that this is a common/expected result of the above modifications
> to an A4.
> 
> i'd appreciate any experience/tips/suggestions. TIA.
> 
> 
> 
> ---
> Thai Tjen
> thai@tiac.net
>