Front Sway Bar + ALK installed in Tiguan

[tigger73]

I had a Whiteline front sway bar and ALK installed into my Tig the other week (installed the rear bar myself).

Appears to be some fitment issues with the parts for the front bar and ALK. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar.

There is very little clearance on the lower suspension arm and so the workshop who put the bar on jacked the mounts up 3-4mm by adding some washers under the mounts.

However under hard acceleration the cover for the tailshaft makes contact with the middle of the sway bar...

[tigger73]

So I'm part way through sorting out the issues with the front sway bar and anti-lift kit.

Just so everyone's clear about what we're talking about it's the following parts:

Whiteline X-heavy duty front sway bar: BWF20XZ

Whiteline Anti-Lift Kit: KCA316

These parts were professionally fitted onto my 2011 125TSI - much bigger job than I'd attempt as the whole engine sub-frame has to be dropped to get the front sway bar in. Then a wheel alignment was done as the ALK changes the geometry of the front end.

Now since this time I've been working with the guys at Whiteline and the local Pedders who are the Whiteline dealer (wish I'd found this out earlier as I would have got them to fit the bar) to sort out the fitment issues.

Since the first post, I've had the washers taken out from under the mounts for the front sway bars and links put in to move the sway bar away from the lower suspension arms. This has meant the tailshaft no longer makes contact with the sway bar (makes an awful racket when it happens).



I've also had the anti-lift kit removed and stock unit re-installed as the housing for the Whiteline ALK did not fit properly. When bolted to the chassis rail there was about 5mm space between the mount and the subfame which had to be spaced out with washers.

The car has now had another wheel alignment done to correct for putting the old lower control arm bushes back on.

So two steps forwards one step back at the moment...

Steering is noticeably lighter now, but doesn't turn in anywhere near as well as before with the ALK on.

[tigger73]

OK so now after talking to the Whiteline guys again the ALK has now been put back on. Even though the housing doesn't bolt flush they reckon the loads on it aren't high enough for this to be a real problem. They use the same kit on a number of different makes/models so it's a bit of a compromise in terms of fitment.

Nice thing was due to my pain an suffering they threw me a couple of other mounts which got fitted too so I've got a few more yellow bits on my car now (front engine torque arm insert, rear trailing arms).

Nice to have the ALK back on it's quite a difference in handling (much flatter in corners). Also significantly less dipping under brakes and lifting on acceleration.

[Tiggy1]

Hi mate. Good to hear you're getting somewhere
Another case of the poor old Tigs being neglected by after-market accessory manufacturers!
I've got a H&R 26mm rear ASB and Whiteline HD adjustable end links on the way for mine. After your dramas I'm going to leave doing the front until after seeing how it handles with just the rear ( hopefully won't make it too tail-happy?!)
Cheers.

[tigger73]

Rear bar is a big difference as the stock one is pretty lightweight in comparison. Nowhere near as noticeable change doing front - a bit but not worlds apart. Stock front bar is already reasonable.

Having said that I'm loving all the bits as handling is greatly improved. And body roll is almost non existent in comparison.

[tigger73]

OK so here's the rest of the pics of the various Whiteline bits.

KCA316 Control arm - lower inner rear bushing (anti-lift/caster correction)
"Whiteline Anti Lift Kit (WALK) is designed to add 0.5 deg static positive caster to both front wheels while changing the nature of front anti-dive & lift. This leads to superior traction under power including cornering & dramatically reducing understeer & front wheel spin. The additional castor coupled with the new firmer bushings supplied serve to dramatically sharpen initial turn-in response then forcing more consistent alignment angles through the corner due to the reduced bush compliance"

I can say that the ALK is a definite "must have" mod. I didn't ever have wheel spin issues with the AWD system, however cornering turn-in is greatly improved and also the lack of nose dive on braking and lift on acceleration is a noticeable improvement.




Due to my "pain and suffering" Whiteline were good enough to supply a couple of other parts for me to fit to the underside of my Tig.

KDT914 Engine - torque arm insert bushing.
"Whiteline's synthetic elastomer torque arm inserts work in conjunction with the OE rubber bushing giving your car better throttle response as well as more crisp and defined gear shifts. Suits both Automatic or manual transmissions."

I can't say that I've noticed much in the throttle response/gear shift department. Maybe if I didn't have a DSG box this would be more noticeable.






W0504 Rear Trailing arm - front bushing
Whiteline bushings utilise the latest technology synthetic elastomer combined with effective designs such as the internal bore knurling and grease retention lips for optimum lubrication & performance.

Probably not a mod I would have done otherwise. I haven't really noticed anything much after a couple of days of city driving with this bushing and not sure what effect this is likely to have either - perhaps less squeaking from rear suspension??

[Tiggy1]

Good to hear you've got it all sorted, and extra goodies certainly can't hurt
I've got the Superpro front lower control arm bush replacements, and definitely makes a difference to the turn in/steering responsive (as you say). I replaced my rear trailing arm bushes as well (mainly because that‘s where I thought rattling noise was coming from) and as you say hasn't made noticeable difference to handling, but having seen how light/flimsy the original ones are I'm glad I did it anyway!
Just the rear ASB and links to go (should be here soon) and mine should be getting pretty close to where I want it. Except for the tune of course, but that‘s a whole other story

[HaywireTig]

Just spoke to a guy from Pedders this morning regarding the front sway bar for the Tig from Whiteline. Apparently he said that the guys at Whiteline told them that they've recalled the front sway bar due to fitment issues. It's back to the drawing board for them and they hope to have a new design in 8-10 weeks time. FYI.

[tigger73]

Just spoke to a guy from Pedders this morning regarding the front sway bar for the Tig from Whiteline. Apparently he said that the guys at Whiteline told them that they've recalled the front sway bar due to fitment issues. It's back to the drawing board for them and they hope to have a new design in 8-10 weeks time. FYI.

Yeah tell me about!!

The current Whiteline front sway bars have clearance issues on the tail shaft and lower control arms (rear bars fit fine).

If you drop the front sway bar it hits the control arms and if you raise it then it contacts the cover on the tail shaft under acceleration. I guess I could have replaced the engine mounts to resolve the issue but then where does it end.

Ended up getting around it by installing new end links - thankfully Whiteline came to the party on these.

The difference with the rear bar is massive but the front sway bar is not as noticeable. Actually the stock front bar is already pretty substantial (rear is pretty lightweight in comparison).

For the hassle of the installation, I probably wouldn't do it again. Front bar requires dropping the engine subframe to get the bar in unlike the rear bar which is bolt off/ bolt on in the driveway.

[HaywireTig]

Thanks for the tips on your experience mate. So around corners, u reckon there's enough "feel" difference w the ALK + rear sway bar, and not so much with ALK + front sway bar?