Cracked rear swaybar mounts on my A4Q. Please help!

[Jim Simone <jmsimone@ix.netcom.com>]

Just wondering if anyone has had the misfortune of cracking the mounting plates for
rear sway bar on their quattro.

I've had Neuspeed sway bars on my '98 A4Q for a few months now and recently added
Neuspeed sport springs and Bilstein dampers. The rear sway bar is adjustable and I
changed it to the "stiffer" setting at the suggestion of Neuspeed. I had called them
because the car didn't seem to handle well in tight turns. They, in turn, suggested
that the stiffer bar would promote a bit more oversteer a balance the car.

In fact, it did help for a week or two after which the handling deteriorated again.
I got back under the car only to discover that both of the rear sway bar mounts had
cracked! Audi, of course, says it's my fault (aftermarket parts, you know) and won't
fix it under warranty; Neuspeed is surprised saying that there must have a defect in
the metal that made it weak enough to crack. They say that they've sold upwards of
300-400 sets and no one else has had this problem.

So, regardless of who pays, I'm wondering what _did_ cause the failure. Is the 22mm
bar too stiff (compared to the 16mm Sport bar from Audi)? Could improper
installation have caused this? Can one tell, after the fact, that there was a defect
in the metal of the mounting plate? Has anyone else experienced this in their car?

Needless to say, I'm pretty bummed out by this. If I have to pay, it's going to cost
me about $2000 to buy a new subframe and have it installed. Does anyone think I have
a prayer to get Audi (or Neuspeed) to pay for some of this?

Thanks for your comments,
Jim