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Arb Vs Compression Struts

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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:17 AM
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Default Arb Vs Compression Struts

Which of these would be best suited for rd car which does a few track days a yr.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:49 AM
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ARB all day long imo.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:50 AM
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You need the ARB.


In fact I am shocked that there are still no aftermarket ARBs for Cossies. It's one of the cheapest and bestmods you can do on other cars.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:52 AM
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dont sacrifice the ARB for compression struts.

you will regret it and be lighter in the pocket for the pleasure.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:54 AM
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Can I ask why the ARB please?
Not disagreeing, just curious
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:58 AM
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Anti-roll bar influences body-roll, steering responce and cornering balance at the same time.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:03 AM
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as above.

if you were rallying then maybe i'd suggest the compression struts.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:05 AM
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I wonder how complicated it would be to fit Grp.A ARB's to a road car.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:09 AM
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if you can source the Grp A crossmember it would be quite easy
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:11 AM
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But probably crossmember means you need different arms, and arms need different uprights and so on?
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by SteveH
Can I ask why the ARB please?
Not disagreeing, just curious
Because to compensate for the removal of the ARB to control the body roll, you need springs of vastly harder poundage than with the ARB, so the ride quality goes to rat-shit.

Azrael,
If you look at Martin's resto thread, he has this set up on his own car (page 12ish from memory) . Its a SUPPLEMENTARY cross member, so everything else remains the same .
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:19 AM
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As discussed here:
https://passionford.com/forum/general-car-related-discussion/169075-anti-roll-bar-vs-compression-struts.html

With pictures etc
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:21 AM
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the Grp A crossmember sits ahead of the standard crossmember.

this inturn houses the ARB, and has drop links to the TCA's.

so you can then run compression struts in place of the standard ARB.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:34 AM
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If the parts were easier to source it would probably one of the greatest mods.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:42 AM
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Suhe Motorsport does a kit with both. But no adjustable TCAs then...

http://www.ccundc.com/os/product_inf...fbc7d4fc4ac076

Just dont look at the nasty Escort on their first page

Its even TÜV approved
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:49 AM
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Are those alloy TCA's or just painted?
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Azrael
Are those alloy TCA's or just painted?
No idea. They look like one of the better solutions without spending a fortune on 909 parts or getting creative with the welder though.
Sent them email, hope they understand English. My German is useless...

Last edited by JHS; Oct 15, 2008 at 01:23 PM.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by JHS
No idea. They look like one of the better solutions without spending a fortune on 909 parts or getting creative with the welder though.
Sent them email, hope they understand English. My German is useless...
My german is somewhat better then useless, maybe I'll try and we'll see.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Azrael
My german is somewhat better then useless, maybe I'll try and we'll see.
Show off .
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:41 PM
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.....not that it is any good next to my English LOL
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 01:54 PM
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I just got thinking, if eveyone is modding those front arms for adjustability etc, why doesn;'t anyne just make wishbone typ front arms for Cossies? It wouldn't be that complicated it's just combining 2 or 3 products into one.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike Rainbird
Because to compensate for the removal of the ARB to control the body roll, you need springs of vastly harder poundage than with the ARB, so the ride quality goes to rat-shit.
Thanks Mike.

So if I was building a super hard sprung track car, what are the advantages of compression struts over the ARB?

Steve
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 05:11 PM
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Racing cars use ARB's as well, even F1 cars....
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 05:14 PM
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Originally Posted by SteveH
Thanks Mike.

So if I was building a super hard sprung track car, what are the advantages of compression struts over the ARB?

Steve
They offer 100% accurate damper location so the geometry (mainly the caster) remains rigid under heavy braking / acceleration.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 05:36 PM
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Thank you mike!
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 06:23 PM
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i do think that Mike paints a picture thats so bad about not running one, its not always donw to haveing a harsh spring ratio, my last car ran no more than 380lb on the front with no arb, and was not harsh at all, im not putting one on the new car either, i may try one, but if it turns in as nice as the last, i wont be wasting my money.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:38 PM
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Most only see the fear factor Mark

And your right no one has mentioned the improved grip and turn-in yet.

Its a simple bolt on bolt off set-up, so if you have a road car that does 'the occasional trackday' why not swap between the two to get the best of both worlds.

Its hardly an expensive mod in the scheme of owning a cossie track car !!
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 10:48 PM
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Tony, have you not looked into developing the kits a little further to accomodate an ARB aswell as the compression struts?
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:33 PM
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The kits sell in enough quantity as they are Kelv and no body has ever returned one and said they dont work !!

Produce a GPN set-up and people will compare it to a GPA set up and slag it off.

Produce a GPA set-up and people will compare it to a WRC set-up and slag it off

Leave it as it is, and sell them around the world to those that want to use them is the option.

Mike Little used to run the works cars without ARB's until the GPA set up was developed and that was due to progress and adjustability requirements, not because they didn't work without !!
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:38 PM
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Tony is there no way to develop a kit that usess the original arb along with the comp struts, bu having a second part on the mount then clamps to hold the arb to the compression strut similar to the RS1600i set up.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:46 PM
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if you have suitable dampers then you do not need to run the front arb on a fast road/track car. try it then develop your own fixings if required.

money can be spent on better things than developing something you dont need. i.e decent dampers, not 500000lb springs mike seams to be pressing people into needing if they remove the arb.
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Old Oct 15, 2008 | 11:52 PM
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removing the front ARB can reduce understeer quite a lot somtimes
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by NEIL A
Tony is there no way to develop a kit that usess the original arb along with the comp struts, bu having a second part on the mount then clamps to hold the arb to the compression strut similar to the RS1600i set up.
Anything can be developed - its if it works or not thats the main thing.

To do that we'd be asking people to cut (if you can) and ruin a thick steel sprung bar, that you would then never be able to revert back to standard should you wish. Cutting the bar shorter would alter its tension.

As for the 16i set-up I binned that after testing as it offers no advantage for me on track, so why would it work in bigger forms ?

Fine for road use but no advantage gained on track

If it worked people like AGmotorsport / Reyland etc would have had it sussed about 10 years ago

Last edited by NUTS RuS; Oct 16, 2008 at 12:14 AM.
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 12:11 AM
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Originally Posted by NEIL A
Tony is there no way to develop a kit that usess the original arb along with the comp struts, bu having a second part on the mount then clamps to hold the arb to the compression strut similar to the RS1600i set up.

heres my setup as discussed in thread in tech room
still retains anti roll bar with the comp struts ....

bolts up to the arb mounts and the arb piggybacks on top of these
pics











this way you get the best of both worlds even roll bar itself on ends is adjustable
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 12:17 AM
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Loving those drop links stage 3 muppet , I have a set of Comp-brake TCA's and Compression struts, not driven the car yet so not sure if it will need the group A bladed ARB kit I have to fit, but I need a way to attach them to the tca's, and that looks like a good idea .. How strong does the attchment have to be? Was thinking about clamps around the TCA's with rose joints, but I do like your method, just wondering if the bolt would be strong enough?
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 12:34 AM
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my good friend in the know assures me they will be up to the job .... pics make them look small but are infact a reasonable size .also dont forget most of the force through the arb has now been transferred to the comp strut so is under a lot less stress using this setup
the roll bar itself has some small adjustment for end-float aswell which i like

he says the weakpoint in the setup will be the galv drop links which i will be replacing anyway with proper jobbies.
whole lot will also be bolted and welded for added stiffness and strength ..

best thing is like i say the arb can now just do what it was intended for ,instead of acting as a compression strut itself and being under a constant pressure .
should also do away with any body roll you usually get when running just comp struts on their own .also means you dont have to stiffen your coilovers up to the max to suppress the body roll

Last edited by stage 3 muppet; Oct 16, 2008 at 12:37 AM.
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 12:57 AM
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sourcable from where, with what costs involved?

cheers.
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 01:01 AM
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Fascinating thread, thank you
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 03:12 AM
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That looks smart Jed, would the arb not foul the cv joint/driveshafts though if used on 4x4?
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Old Oct 16, 2008 | 08:30 AM
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Markk,
You're doing the Tim Finch thing of comparing full on race cars that ONLY get used to do events, with road cars that get the occasional use on the track (okay, he always compares everything with a full on WRC car , but you get what I mean ) .

I desparately want to fit compression struts on my car (WITHOUT sacrificing the ARB), but NO-ONE can tell me what bladed Grp A style ARB I need to be as stiff as the standard one in it's mid-setting (so I can try both softer and harder to see what improvements this gives (as in making the ARB softer or harder)).

Last edited by Mike Rainbird; Oct 16, 2008 at 08:33 AM.
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