Although my JCW hatch with JCW Pro coilovers handeled well I still felt the back end lifting & unloading during hard cornering.
So i chose the VIP 23mm rear sway bar since it is the largest diameter out there.
The install is very time consuming . ~3 hrs. labor as u need to drop the entire rear sub frame to access the sway bar mounting points/bushings.
It also will require a rear alignment as well so this upgrade is a very expensive ordeal. $200.00 for VIP rear sway, $300.00 labor & $125.00 rear alignment on a Hunter machine.
But in the end the car is transformed. Night & day difference. I actually like driving it now compared to my Porsches. I fell the handling benifits out weigh the cost.

 

a rear sway bar is a very nice almost absolutely necessary mod.

Just wanted to correct one thing though about the VIP 23mm bar being the thickest. NM-Eng has a 25mm bar

$300 labor?! ouch. also you don't need to completely drop the rear subframe, just lower it a little bit. i was able to do the install on jack stands in less than two hours. no need for an alignment afterwards either (unless of course the rear subframe is completely taken off which I'm guessing whoever you went to did)

 

Swaybars, mufflers, headers, tunes, tires, shocks, it all comes down to the hands on the steering wheel. Had a recent tour of the mountains here in NC, no not Deals Gap, but still some very good twisties. Our group had just about every type of MINI there was, stock and modded. A R50 with a good driver, turned out to be a pro driver, kept up with cars that had twice the HP.

 

NM Eng. STUFFS SUCKS

 

Uh ok. Great constructive post. Regardless you stated that the VIP bar was the largest bar out there which it is not. Doesn't matter what you think of NM.

Just clearing up something wrong that was posted so people don't get incorrect info.

 

No everything is fine.

Thanks

 

Dang! Now you tell me!
After I installed their wheels, sway bar, end links, springs, lower control arms, and stainless brake lines. Now what am I gonna do?

 

The 25 NM works together with their Linkage kit very well. Also their bearings are fine Love the nippels - very noisy during set.

 

I believe the NM 25mm bar is hollow, and possibly the VIP 23mm bar is solid. If so the 23mm bar is quite a bit stiffer than a hollow 25mm bar. I had a 19mm solid bar on my 2007 MCS and it improved the understeer quite a bit. Mine cost $200 plus $100 in install by Way Motorworks in 2008. No links or alignment needed.

 

Apples to oranges, NM has a 25mm tubular. The tube is for weight loss. Doesn't make it stiffer.

Had a long discussion over coffee, about this, with a person that owns a suspension company, years ago regarding tube sway bars.
Also the need to match sway bars, by using front and rear.
Except for the MINI, since no one buys front bars, due to difficulty of installation.

 

Right, I don't think you could even find a 3rd party front sway bar for the R56. Supposedly the thicker front bar increases understeer the opposite of the thicker rear bar. I think the front bar on the factory sport suspension is a little thicker than stock though.

 

Not entirely true.
Understeer is loss of grip on the front,.
A single rear bar will not minimize understeer, it will cause oversteer.

On a MINI, the outside front will hit the bump stop, then you lose traction from the outside wheel. So a slightly bigger bar in the front can actually minimize understeer. Along with an increase to the rear.

 

I hate to disagree. The NM 25mm bar and end links is an incredible mod. Most impressive is that the instructions were spot on and the fit was like factory. My installer was very impressed as everything fit exactly ... not exactly common with many aftermarket mods.