Okay...the next mod (and FINAL..yeah right) I am seriously thinking about is an H-Sport rear sway bar. But, I can't decide between the Sport 19mm or the Competition 22mm versions.

I am predominantly a street driver. But, would like to do autocross in the near future a few times per year. I do like the option of driving aggressively on the street though.

I've read reviews that the 19mm sway for street driving with occassional track driving is sufficient. And, that the 22mm in the hands of the inexperienced has been known to cause the rear to slide out, hence dangerous and not fun to drive due to constant worry.

BUT, the 22mm Competition bar is $2 more at Helix and is lighter.

I'd like to hear peoples opinions on which I should get. I don't want to sacrifice street safety since that is the main purpose of my car. I want to be able to take an on/off ramp with spirit and not have to worry about losing control. How is the soft setting on the 22mm compared to the middle setting on the 19mm? Are they comparable?

My Cooper is stock but with the whole JCW package. I will also be getting a LDG tune and 17" Volk LE37T rims with 215/45/17 Eagle F1 GS-D3's.

Thanks.

 

I just put the comp bar on (it's 25mm BTW) and there haven't been any drivability issues at all. The only issue may be that it is so large that there coud be some rubbing issues because it really fills the space. I'm running it on the softest setting, but almost went to the middle last night. The only reason I didn't was that I was adjusting the shocks (yellows now set to the middle) at the time and didn't want to change 2 things at once. I might have gone with the sport bar if I'd thought it through though. I've got a little skawk when the car comes to an abrupt stop and settles from the nose dive. I don't know if the sport bar would solve this, but my feeling is that it would.

 

See " Swaybar & a Hack saw" topic in this section.
Get a Webb----easy out/ easy in---fully adjustable.
I should be getting some kind of commission from those guys

 

Just realized that there were very recent threads discussing the same thing.

From what Ive read maybe H&R would be a step up from the H-Sports. Is that the general consensus? Seem the teflon bushings with the H&R prevent squeaking.

For those who bought H&R sway bars...where did you get them?

 

I'm pretty sure my bushings aren't squeaking. There's a bunch of silicon grease on them, which wasn't there when I first did the install. No change before/after grease, and there is a zerk fitting on them to add more when/if needed. The hollow H-Sports reduce weight also, now I'm considering their front bar too .

 

My only experience is with the 19mm H-sport rear sway bar. I have had no issues wahtsoever. Even on the "softest" setting, I notice better handling. I've not changed to the other settings yet but will probably bump it up a notch in the near future.

I suspect you would be perfectly satisfied with the 19mm H-sport rear sway bar-- until the AutoX bug bites you hard, so interpret that as you see fit.

HTH

 

19mm here and darn happy with it! PS: Softest setting on a 22 is more than the firmest setting on the 19....

 

teflon bushings? Don't let that make your decision. Just wrap teflon plumber's tape on the bar. Besides...the H-sport has xirc nipples for greasing.

I have the h-sport 19mm on full stiff with a Koni Sport Kit (yellow struts with lowering springs), front camber plates and rear camber links. I still have some body roll and I'd like a bit more turn in, but Texas Speedworks recommended not going to the Comp rear bar for street driving or track duty (only for auto-x). Something like a 21mm or 22mm would be a good compromise.

 

For any owners thinking about autocross and running stock, a rear swaybar upgrade will bump you out of stock.

But in this case you have an MCS with JCW upgrade and tuning (DSP???)
so any rear swaybar upgrade is allowable.

Basically the choices are-
19mm adjustable bar
22mm adjustable bar
25mm H-sport comp (oversized with thinner tubing)- lighter weight with strength like the 22mm bar.

For street use the 19mm is a good choice. You can use the three holes and adjust up from the softest setting.

For track use the light Comp bar is nice but it's stiff. Try the softest setting and get used to it before adjusting further.

22mm bar is for those who feel the 19mm bar is not stiff enough. It won't really help much for street driving. If autocrossing try the softest setting.

 

went from stock to 3-way adjustable 22mm bar. really like the effect. tried all settings and like the middle one for street. noticeably stiffer than stock 17mm bar. found the 3rd setting in the firm direction too firm, probably even for track. found the 3rd position in the soft direction to be just a tad stiffer than stock bar

 

I believe the stock MCS swaybar is 16mm, someone please correct me if I am wrong...

 

Stock size for the rear bar on the MCS is 17mm. 16mm is the stock size for the Cooper, although if you ordered a Cooper with the SS+ suspension, it had the same 17mm bar as the 'S'.

(All the above sizes are for the pre-R56 models - I don't know the sizes offhand for the newer cars).

 

Confirmed for R50 and R53.

That's why 19mm is usually stiff enough an upgrade.

 

I put on the 25.5 mm H Comp (its a bit more than 25mm).

After reading a ton of post on various bars, much of the discussion appeared to me to be just from people inexperienced in handling oversteer or neutral cars.

The H Comp has jerk settings, which was the clincher for me, making it much easier to grease. Squeaking antisway bars ... been there done that ... not fun at all.

When installing it, you remove a bit of the sticky insulation under the car for extra clearance ... then nothing scrapes. I left it on the softest setting and told my wife to go drive around some onramps.

She said it was fine, barely any difference from stock. Good enough for me

YMMV but don't get scared by all "oh, the car will be neutral or oversteer hype". If oversteer does bother you, then don't do it.

The question is ... why are you changing the rear-sway bar anyway? For normal street driving, unless your at 9 or 10/10s, what's the point? If your just "thinking" of autox ... its, IMO, a waste of money until you really do autox.

 

I think you mean "Zerk fittings". I have the same sway bar, and I agree that the fittings make it a breeze to keep the bushings lubricated. That's also what I like about the H-Sport control arms.

 

Nah, mine had Jerk settings. You could just push a button and get some Beef Jerky out of them.

Yeah ... senior moment

 

There was barely any difference because she was street driving even a bit quicker than usual.

pl4ypl4y mentioned in the first post that he has an JCW MCS with autocross plans. Since he's headed to D Street Prepared class the stiffer bar would likely be helpful. I have a 22mm set to soft and that works, otherwise 19mm set to soft to start and adjust with how your MINI handles given your driving style. I could have used the H-sport comp bar set to soft but it was more expensive and just came out at the time I was upgrading.

 

Correct. no autox for us

The OP wrote would like to do autocross in the near future

hence my comment:

If your just "thinking" of autox ... its, IMO, a waste of money until you really do autox.

Take it as a lesson learned. I'm seeing a lot lately of people realizing they have been throwing money away by just bolting on stuff because they have modding fever. In this case, unless the OP is truly doing some autox ... cool. But if its just in the thinking stage, I hate to see anyone just throw money away

 

OK, I think you might be on to something.

His quote was-
"But, would like to do autocross in the near future a few times per year."

That seems more like considering "thinking" not "serious" thinking.
The cost is about $200 plus labor worth of thinking.

So- 19mm adjustable bar or leave it stock.

 

 

LOL. Yes very perceptive. I think I will be going with the 19mm bar Its not terribly expensive so, if it ever becomes inadequate then I will just upgrade to something else. Now, I'm just trying to figure out if the 19mm H&R or the 19mm H-Sport is better. I'm guessing theyre all about the same. Especially for me who is not seriously "thinking". hehehe

 

With the H-Sport 19mm bar you get 3 adjustment holes. I believe the H&R only gives you 2. I've had my 19mm H-Sport on for 20,000 miles & it's been dead quiet. There are also zerk fittings on the saddles to grease the bushings.

 

I got mine from MiniTuner (+free shipping).

 

Way from Way Motor Works put the 22 on my car, on the middle setting, and I'm not making this up, I bought it at DDM's shop so Way's girlfriend wouldn't have to sit on it on the ride home, like she did on the ride down.

Chivalry got me a GREAT bar at a good price, installed by a MINI icon.

 

check turner for sale on h&r..