April , I have a technical question

[wbk]

one of the postings on the allroad site is from a guy who replaced the rear sway bar on his allroad with a heavier one from an A6. Is changing the rear sway bar only a dangerous thing? Is he screwing up the balance of the car or suspension?

[April]

some people would like for it to be more neutral or even oversteering - hence the larger bar. If you make the rear too hard via sway bar and springs, you can create snap oversteer ( transitions very quickly from understeer to oversteer with little chance to correct ). This is most often seen with BMWs, but can happen with almost any car.

Oversteer is fun if controllable - especially in the dry. Hanging the tail out and going around a corner is great fun. Much less fun on city streets and in snow.

The best/ideal set-up for driver enjoyment and fast track times, is to have a car that is neutral and will oversteer or understeer depending on how you modulate the throttle.

You need to decide how much stiffness in the rear/oversteer is enough for you. The A6 platform understeers a lot in stock form, but can be provoked to oversteer if you try hard enough:-) Just the bar is not going to upset the balance a lot. Play in an empty wet parking lot and see what techniques you usually use, and if changing them will make you feel more or less comfortable. If you want oversteer, use a front wheel drive technique called drop throttle oversteer.

• How to adjust your line in a corner

[Stoney]

I remember that S6 video with the British reviewer doing 360s after putting the tranny in N.

[April]

start to turn in, back off gas sharply - maybe even stab brakes lightly to unweight rear - when desired angle drift is done, back on gas. Practice on slippery surface to keep speeds down. I like shopping center parking lots in the rain after hours:-)