Re: please educate me

["John Van Vuren" <veedublu@prod.net>]

>can someone please explain the differences/advantages/disadvantages, if
>there is any, between the following:
>
>stress bar - helps to reinforce the chassis, prevent flexing, letting the
suspension do it's job better.  On A1's, the most important is the lower
front, which you don't need on your A2.  Upper front and upper rear are also
available

>sway bar - prevents too much difference between the wheel on either side...
for example, jack the passenger front wheel up and the swaybar tries to lift
the driver's front wheel.  It is a solid bar mounted on two pivot points on
the chassis, and resists twisting (torsion and all of that kind of stuff)...
the thicker the bar, the harder it is to twist...   or, sometimes the shape
will make a difference, if the "ends" are shorter, the suspension a arm will
not have as much leverage.
These are also known as anti-roll bars, and help prevent body roll.

>tie rod - on vw's, it connects the steering knuckle to the rack and
pinion...

>subframe - another name for a lower front stressbar

>add something if i'm missing it


Hehehehe, I think I'd better be careful with that one  :)

>and in what combinations can they be used, or would make sense?


On your A2, I would go with an upper front stressbar (which I just installed
for you), a nice set of tie rods  :), and possibly a set of stiffer swaybars
front and rear.  If you were to add a bigger front swaybar without changing
anything else, it would probably in effect reduce the traction you have on
the front wheels when cornering.  There are tons of variables to this
though....

hope this helps

John

'87 16v Scirocco
and lots of other stuff
website - http://www.prod.net/jvanvuren/vw.htm


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