Has this been done by someone on the forums? Does this help at all?

 

I don't think you'll find many people that have done this, since a good set of endlinks can cost almost as much as an aftermarket sway bar, and given the choice between an aftermarket sway bar with stock endlinks, or a stock sway bar with aftermarket endlinks, going with the aftermarket sway bar is a much better return-on-investment.

 

*double-post*

 

Is there any difference between the cooper and cooper S sway bars?

 

The Cooper 'S' sway bar is a little thicker. I don't know the numbers off the top of my head, but I'm sure someone will chime in.

One thing to remember is that a little difference in sway bar diameter makes a *big* difference in stiffness. If you keep everything else the same (material used, hollow versus solid bar, heat-treating, etcetera), the increase in sway bar stiffness is equal to the ratio of diameters *raised to the fourth power*. So, if one sway bar is twice as thick as another, the thicker bar is actually *sixteen times* stiffer than the thinner bar.

The available bar thicknesses for the MINI don't vary over that wide of a range, but a more-realistic example would be an 18mm bar versus a 17mm bar. Assuming they used the same material and heat-treating, the 18mm bar is actually 25% stiffer than the 17mm bar, just because of the 1mm increase in diameter.

 

That was an excellent answer.

 

It depends.

The (pre-07) MCS only came with sports suspension plus.

The (pre-07) Cooper came stock with sports suspension but you could get it with sports suspension plus.

SS+ on a Cooper has the same swaybars as SS+ on an MCS.
SS on a Cooper has smaller swaybars than SS+ on an MCS (or SS+ on a Cooper).

 

Well, rather than the endlinks, how about the polyurethane bushings on a stock bar? Does anyone do these at all? It seems like this would be a great mod for the daily driven mini cooper looking to tighten up handling a bit. Please share your thoughts though people.

 

I've recently had my suspension setup changed with the following components:

M7 Coilovers
Alta 22mm Sway Bar
Alta Adjustable Front and Rear Endlinks
Ireland Adjustable Camber Plates

The only reason why I had to swap out my endlinks is because my mechanic could not get the stock endlinks to install with how low the car is sitting. So if your setup doesn't require you to buy new endlinks, I wouldn't bother and just keep with the stock ones.

GotMINI

 

I will take everyone's werd for the links. I just don't think they are worth the cash. However, if someone knows a bit about the polyurethane bushings that powerflex manufactures, I would love to know how these bushings affected performance of the stock sway bars. Thanks!

 

Many of the current endlinks available do not have the range of articulation required for suspension movement. There is but one manufacturer who offers race type endlinks with stock ball joints. All others are hiem joints and these will cause some binding, especially if you are installing these on an otherwise stock suspension.

Stick with the stock endlinks and use poly bushings - these will require some periodoc lubricating.

 

Changing front swaybar bushings is no easy task so I don't seeit as being worth it at all. Did I miss what suspension mods you already have, since it seems you are looking to do a mod, maybe we can help ya out.

 

I have the alta endlinks on my front with a stock sway bar. I really didnt notice any difference besides the alta was straight and my stock had a nice bend in it.

 

Same set-up here. The adjustable endlinks allow you to correct the anti-roll bar geometry on a lowered car.
Jim

 

So far I have H&R springs installed and a MCS rear sway bar looking to be installed. I was thinking that maybe the polyurethane rear sway bar bushings for the stock 18mm bar may be a nice addition, but I haven't been able to find anyone that has done these to the stock sway bar on the forums.