Is it safe to disconnect the antiroll bar?

oscarloco · Post by **oscarloco** » 04 Apr 2005, 21:29

A friend of mine has recently bought a ZX 2.0 petrol and he feels that the car has too much understeer [:0]. He is thinking of trying disconnecting the antiroll bar by removing the links that go betweeen the bar and the shock absorbers to tame the understeer. Is this safe?

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 04 Apr 2005, 21:33

My mother had a Volkswagen Jetta MKII that had no front anti roll bar, it handled like a boat. It was a 1250cc car and I doubt you'd want to go much faster than the little engine could push it, in fact it felt nervous over 70mph.
I would not want to drive (or be driven in) a 2 litre petrol car with no front anti roll bar. All that will happen is loads of body roll so the outside suspension bottoms out and then he'll lose grip over the slightest of bumps. Citroen fitted the ZX with anti roll bars for a reason.

ActivaV6uk · Post by **ActivaV6uk** » 04 Apr 2005, 21:33

Its possible, rally car drivers do it all the time. wouldnt it be better for him to get the tracking changed instead? or even slow down

also i dont see how this will help understear. there is a good chance that cornering will be much more fun though.
Andy

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 04 Apr 2005, 21:51

Rally cars that have disconnected anti roll bars also have rather different suspension setups to the road cars. The WRC rally cars don't share a whole load of suspension components with the production cars.

simonelsey · Post by **simonelsey** » 04 Apr 2005, 22:20

Could his anti roll bar be loose , Ive seen some bars slide left to right /right to left .

ActivaV6uk · Post by **ActivaV6uk** » 04 Apr 2005, 23:07

When club members go rallying with modified road cars they unhook the ARB. i didnt mean pro rally cars...
Andy

Post by **cheesesliceking** » 04 Apr 2005, 23:54

leave it on...surely itsthere for a reason[:p]

oilyspanner · Post by **oilyspanner** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:08

Surely the anti roll bar contributes to the handling? I did try driving a car with the rear shocks removed, absolutely hilarious, seasick within seconds;)
Stewart

Post by **Thunderbird** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:23

The answer is simple: It is not safe! (unless you don't drive it! [:D])
I also had handling problems in my Xantia HDi - The anti-roll bar (both sides struct/arms on the front) had to be replaced at 80.000kms (50kmiles).
It is quite normal, since I usually push it to the limit in every corner. [}:)]

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:25

True less roll-stiffness at the front will reduce understeer. More roll stiffness at the rear will increase oversteer. As the suspension is so soft the way to 'reduce' understeer would be to increase 'oversteer' by putting a fatter roll bar on the rear not make the front even more soggy. If he did that it would be very slow turning into corners and changing direction.
Having said all that it cant be that badly balanced that it wont oversteer if driven properly. If he is smooth and knows what he is doing then he would be able to get anything to oversteer. Chances are he wont know what he is doing and I would stay away from him and for everyone's safety, someone who complains of understeer in their road car, should be kept off the road. Go and remove essential parts of his engine. You're doing the world a favour.

Homer · Post by **Homer** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by oscarloco

A friend of mine has recently bought a ZX 2.0 petrol and he feels that the car has too much understeer [:0]. He is thinking of trying disconnecting the antiroll bar by removing the links that go betweeen the bar and the shock absorbers to tame the understeer. Is this safe?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
It's certainly not safe. It will certainly fail an MOT in that condition. The handling is likely to be extremely unpredictable.
But also it is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
First thing to check are the tyres (front and rear). Tyre pressures can make a big difference but so can the make/model of tyre.
If he really does want to start modifying the suspension then he needs to do a proper job, replacing springs/dampers and possibly replacing the anti roll bar.

ItDontGo · Post by **ItDontGo** » 05 Apr 2005, 00:52

I have to take issue with the 'its dangerous' replies. Roll bars are for tweaking the handling. They dont hold anything in place so if you take it off the wheels will all point in the correct direction etc..
I think the most dangerous thing about this post is the driver not the car. If the guy wants to go around driving like a lunatic then it doesn't really matter how his car handles because he's probably going to crash it anyway.
It wont make a scrap of difference unless you abuse the roads like some people do so the danger will come from the fact that the car is being driven fast not because the car now handles like a dog. I assume Citroen put them their to aid turn-in but it will cause some slight understeer relative to without it.

Post by **Thunderbird** » 05 Apr 2005, 01:08

ItDontGo, read my leaps: "It is not safe" [:D] (no question about this).
If a kid appears suddenly on the road, running after his ball, and there's a car coming in the other direction, with anti roll bars the non-professional driver won't be able to avoid both... [:0]
In Germany, there are amazing statistical numbers concerning the use of ESP - the reduction in accidents provoked by loss of control of the car was dramatic! The same dummy drivers were behind the wheel... they made the same mistake and technology saved them (as the innocent victims).
This is just an example. There will only be total safety on the roads when, even if you want to kill yourself, the car won't let you. Otherwise it's the open and unpredictable human mind that's in control... Unless you want to eliminate those who don't drive safe... [8]

oscarloco · Post by **oscarloco** » 05 Apr 2005, 01:30

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by cheesesliceking

leave it on...surely itsthere for a reason[:p]
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
That's what I've been telling him. I have also told him to instead of doing something that harsh, he should adjust his driving style to the particularities of the ZX.
He claims that he read an article about CART saying that the mechanics disconnected the front antiroll bar due to excesive understeering and thats where he got the idea.
Just in case, I will go and weld the nuts to the scews that hold the antiroll bar so he can't proceed. [:D]

Forth · Post by **Forth** » 05 Apr 2005, 02:29

"There will only be total safety on the roads when, even if you want to kill yourself, the car won't let you."
Hmmmm..... but doesn't that resolve down into a reality like as in Railtrack and a train passenger?