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Home » Products » Suspension » Sway Bars

Alta Sway Bar

Reviews	Views	Date of last review
12	22930	7/16/2010

Recommended By	Average Price	Average Rating
92% of reviewers	$193.33	8.4

supersize	supersize

Description:	.....MINI USES A REAR SWAY BAR THAT IS SIMPLY TOO SMALL FOR PERFORMANCE DRIVING. .....To make the problem even worse, us spec cars have smaller sway bar than similar models sold elsewhere in the world. The key to making your car turn better comes from replacement of the rear sway bar By increasing the diameter and leverage, more cornering force is applied to the outside wheels. Thus forcing the car to "turn-in" better. Additionally reducing sway also increases the contact patch of the rear tires. The Alta Performance™ rear sway bar goes one step further than simply making the bar bigger. Although size is increased , Alta has added the flexibility of changing the bars leverage with 2 different end link attachment points. This allows the end user to custom tailor the way his or her car handles. The Alta Performance™ rear sway bar is available in both a 19mm and a 22mm dia. bar. The street enthusiast will enjoy a 19mm upgrade to improve cornering in ordinary driving conditions. Race and hard line drivers will enjoy the 22mm sway bar option as an aggressive, forceful sway bar for excellent cornering and turn in during hard cornering.
Keywords:	Alta, Swaybar, 19mm, 22mm
Web site:	http://www.altaminiperformance.com/

Author

OldRick
6th Gear

Registered: October 2005
Posts: 1421

Review Date: 1/8/2006

Would you recommend the product? No | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 3

Pros:
Cons:

Mediocre bushings will eventually squeak. Welded bar ends are more prone to failure than forged - that's why every quality vendor's sway bar is single-piece with forged bar-ends.

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mnimniac
2nd Gear

Registered: February 2006
Location: Snellville, GA
Posts: 54

Review Date: 4/24/2006

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	handles quite well, took it on the dragon and performed great.
Cons:	needed 2 people to install.

22mm sway bar install was not bad though i needed help.
the drive is a great improvement. on the dragon it handled much better than expected.

rjtrout2000
6th Gear

Registered: December 2006
Posts: 1150

Review Date: 8/27/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Excellent performance upgrade, modest price
Cons:	Bit of a lengthy install

Overall, I have been very impressed with the difference in performance from stock to the 19mm sway. I have seen a definite change in the handling and feel of the car. With the newfound crispness, I have officially found the sweetspot for my daily driven mini cooper.

r56mini
6th Gear

Registered: March 2007
Location: Northpole
Posts: 1971

Review Date: 10/17/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Improved handling
Cons:	possible squeaks

It is a vast improvement over stock 17mm. I have been driving around with the 19mm in the middle setting and it makes the car handle corners like no other. No car can keep up with me anymore. I can't wait to try it out in the stiffest setting on the track next spring!

minibeel
Coordinator :: PDX MINI

Registered: June 2005
Location: Beautiful Vancouver, WA
Posts: 377

Review Date: 10/18/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 9

Pros:	Better handling, adjustable, simple installment
Cons:	Sqeeky bushings, makes me want to speed

Excellent product! The customer service was top-notch when I had questions. The car pushes far less; it's neutral and the 19mm bar is at middle setting. This bar pairs well with other suspension mods.

AndyW318
1st Gear

Registered: February 2007
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 28

Review Date: 11/15/2007

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Performance is Excellent
Cons:	I would have preferred a black bar, red is pretty bright.

19mm here too with no other suspension mods. I'm using the middle hole. The car will now rotate on lift throttle hard cornering, but only when pushed very hard. I'll probably experiment with the stiffest setting on track days. I'm very happy with the changes to the handling. Even my wife noticed the change when she drove it.

bdog1
1st Gear

Registered: February 2006
Posts: 48

Review Date: 3/19/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	handling improvements
Cons:	some hassle to install (but worth it!)

I've been running the 21mm for a year. Helps get around a corner by reducing understeer. Unlike other comments mine was squeeky at first, but went away, never to return. Run it full stiff right off the bat!

Canvasmonkey
2nd Gear

Registered: March 2007
Posts: 56

Review Date: 5/19/2008

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $219.99 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Improved handling & looks
Cons:	Pain in the a$$ install

Solid piece, this bar rocks. Yes, it's that good. It looks good and performs even better. Running mine in the middle hole, which is a little harsh for a daily driver but it does what I want it to. Install was a wee bit more involved, and wasn't expecting to have to remove sub frame bolts to get that baby through. No squeaks yet either. Overall a good deal though!

VELOCITYCRUNCH
1st Gear

Registered: January 2009
Location: TX
Posts: 13

Review Date: 5/15/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 8

Pros:	Best Cheap Performance Upgrade!
Cons:	Installation! Beware the dreaded subframe!

I am loving my Alta 22mm Sway Bar!

Jrpsaros
1st Gear

Registered: August 2009
Posts: 27

Review Date: 10/3/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $180.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	Handling, quality
Cons:	Install

This bar has transformed the way my car handles. It is the only suspension mod I have. I'm still on run flat tires. I did the install by myself on jack stands. It was not terribly difficult, but I did run into trouble bolting the sub frame back on. I ended up using a jack to lift the sub frame as I bolted it on. The install is the only negative I can give this bar so far, and that is the way the Mini is built and nothing ALTA can do. I am very happy with this bar and recommend it to everyone.

limskee88
Neutral

Registered: May 2009

Review Date: 10/5/2009

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: $180.00 | Rating: 9

Pros:	corner like a mad man
Cons:	so stiff when going over something uneven it lifts one of the back wheels off the ground

This bar is bad ass and I would recommend it to anyone! When you enter into a turn you have full confidence the wheels are just going to hook up. The only thing i feel the need to mention is that when you go over something like a speed bump or steep driveway at an angle one of the back wheels will lift up because the rear no longer flexes as much as it used to but I guess that's the whole point of it so it's not really a complaint just fyi

smoke05S
4th Gear

Registered: May 2005
Location: So CAL
Posts: 349

Review Date: 7/16/2010

Would you recommend the product? Yes | Price you paid?: None indicated | Rating: 10

Pros:	Fit and finish, performance, customer service
Cons:	too easy to engage traction control now

I have read horror stories about welded swaybar fittings breaking. I knew that going in. But in my 30+ years of driving I can't say that I have ever heard of anyone breaking a swaybar (except maybe on a mobilehome, not a 2700 lb speedster). I got a 6 month old 22mm Alta rear bar on ebay from a salvage yard (still set on full stiff and the previous owner had stock non sport suspension). I paid $65 after the ebucks discount. It was missing the urethane bushings. I ordered a new set from Alta. Customer service was great even though I made it known I didn't purchase the bar from them. This was very refreshing. They just earned my future business. I have otherwise stock (sport) suspension on my JCW and I run it on full soft (hopefully not repeating the same mistake of the previous owner). Big improvement over stock, stays flat, inspires confidence and does not rotate if you lift mid corner on this setting. It is easy to lift the inside wheel and trigger the traction control now which is the only con. One person install, no problem. If you are worried about urethane squeek, wrap the bar with teflon tape inside the bushing, problem solved permanently.

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