Daryl Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 One of my good mates has an 8P S3, and we were discussing how to make it a little more exciting. We have talked about getting a Haldex controller, so we can put the power rearwards a litle more, and discussed a rear anti roll bar. Obviously the ARB is cheaper, but just wondering what peoples thoughts were on this, if you could pick one or the other, what would it be? I know it depends on what the owner actually wants out of the car, but my thoughts were that if you put an ARB on, then it would give you more turn in and still retain the 4WD to power you out the corner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 4wd is very sanitised driving. It's good like but I dunno.....sort of lacks soul. Ekona has a particular hatred for Haldex if I remember right but can't remember why Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 yeah thats pretty much what the owner has said. He had a E92 M3 before the S3, but sold that, bought the S3 and an S1 Elise. Trying to research about the Haldex, and there appears to be alot of bull floating around about how it works, and what it actually sends to the rear wheels etc. As the Haldex controllers are expensive, im suggesting that the owner gets an anti roll bar at the back, and see if that gives him what he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 Ekona has a particular hatred for Haldex if I remember right but can't remember why Never realised I'd made it that obvious! I have a hatred for any 4WD system that prioritises the front wheels. If I'm right, the 8P has the 4th gen Haldex, correct? I'd get the controller first and foremost. My theory is that you should sort out the biggest thing first, and then work your way down to the fine tuning. That works with anything if you think about it: If you want big power you go FI, then worry about adding exhaust and intake. If you want less weight, strip the interior before changing every bolt to a titanium one. With the balance of the car entering and exiting corners, you want to ensure the power goes to the rear as much as you can without compromising on the benefits of the 4WD system, and you can then fine tune the handling characteristics by changing ARBs etc. Now that's all very much depending on how good a driver your friend is, no offence intended. If he knows his stuff and can play with a car on the throttle, then the Haldex controller will work best for him I would think. If on the other hand part of the attraction of the S3 was the Quattro system, then he would be better off tuning the geometry and smaller things. Our Impreza had the ability to change the 4WD bias on the fly, from full auto to locking 50/50 to my preference of a 35/65 split. The difference in handling traits was staggering, and it felt so close to RWD at times that you could almost swear it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 He bought the S3 as it is fast and practical, and he has to negotiate a crap road to get to his house, and the M3 was struggling, not to mention it costing a fortune to maintain. He is a pretty good driver, and maybe the Haldex controller would be ideal for him. However, as the ARB is pretty cheap, would it not make sense to see if that gives him what he wants first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 No harm at if it's spare cash, but do both ARBs and tune the whole car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 (edited) If he wants the back to help turn im, would doing both ARB's just give same sort of characteristics, or get adjustable ones and set the fromt to soft and the back to hard? Edited August 17, 2014 by Daryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted August 17, 2014 Share Posted August 17, 2014 If you get adjustable both ends then he can play with the balance. Just changing the rear is likely to make it far too spiky, same reason you wouldn't just change rear springs to make the rear stiffer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Fair enough, il have a chat with him and see what he thinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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