I've got a MCS and was thinking of getting me a rear sway bar but don't know which one will give me the best performance with stock springs and shocks. Can anyone give suggest some brands that are affordable and with good ratings? Also, I looked at the installation on the HOW TO'S, is this a do-it-yourself friendly project or will I have to get a professional to install for me

 

H-Sport. Affordable, Light, Adjustable.

 

The more ajustable the better you can fine tune it. Also the more you can screw it up. Just keep playing with it, until is suits your driving style. Two ajustments are better than one. Three is better still. Continuosly variable is the best, This is the only type I have used in over 15 years of street driving and racing. In everything from MINIs to Porcshes to formula car. The brand or supplier is your choise, but make it adjustable. Oh and get the neo. bushings to keep slop to a minimum.

Motor on

 

Think I saw a post somewhere that suggested a 19MM rear bar best for street. The reason being the a 22mm bar is great for autocross or track day use but, at high speed you will get trailing throttle overstear and, that could be a challange for some to deal with on the street. Regardless, get an adjustable bar 3 better that 2. Most all the ones I've seen would be OK for street use.

 

I know which one is really good that most use (ok, hardly anyone), it's called SEARCH! Not to be an *** or anything but they've been discussed to death here and on the other forums.

 

^thank you Bk_MCS: I think you're our new search-function **** :smile: If you're keeping stock springs and shocks, and using your MINI for a daily driver, my recommendations are identical to apexer's; ALTA makes a 19mm rear sway-bar that is an excellent balance between dialing out understeer, yet keeping the car stable at high-speed. About the installation; if you have reasonable automotive repair experience, this is not a tough install. If you're a bit apprehensive though, I would expect a good shop should be able to install it in less than two hours.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

I have the NEW Madness sway 22mm. WOW what a difference and it to is fully adjustable.

 

You can't determine the effectiveness of a bar based upon its thickness alone. There are other factors involved: solid or tubular, what kind of metal, how long the ends are, etc. What you want is adjustability that allows you to dial around neutrality in handling. For example, I have the RDR triple-adjustable, which I love, because at the softest setting, there is still some unersteer. At the middle setting, the car is pretty neutral, and at the stiff setting, it's tail happy. That equals superfun at the autocross course. Just don't forget to bring two jackstands with you to do the adjustments. :smile:

 

>>I've got a MCS and was thinking of getting me a rear sway bar but don't know which one will give me the best performance with stock springs and shocks. Can anyone give suggest some brands that are affordable and with good ratings? Also, I looked at the installation on the HOW TO'S, is this a do-it-yourself friendly project or will I have to get a professional to install for me

Minivan,
Aloha and welcome to NAM,
If you have a MCS with stock springs and shocks and just looking for a bit more neutral handling in corners then the following are worth a look. The stock rear sway bar is 17mm.
In no particular order:

Alta 2 hole adjustable bar in 19mm (for street use) and 22mm (for autocross or track, street use). $199.99
http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p.../swaybars.html
Available at Outmotoring and Webbmotorsports and others. Black finish. 9 pounds

RDR 3 hole adjustable bar (+35% stiffer than stock in farthest hole or softest setting) $235. Black finish
http://www.helix13.com/html/products/suspension.htm

Mini-Madness 3 hole adjustable 22mm sway bar. $190 red finish-power coated
http://www.webbmotorsports.com/suspension.php
http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...&ProdID=59

H-sport Sport 3 hole adjustable19mm sway bar $210 polyurethane bushings
http://www.h-sport.com/cgi-bin/EDCst...talogno=22800R
Rate Increse Over Stock. Rear: +54%, +88% & +128%
See webbmotorsports and others

H-sport Competition 4130 chrome moly tubular 3 hole adjustable 25.5mm bar (very light at 5.5 pounds or roughly 4 pounds lighter) $210 Bright blue color-powder coated with polyurethane bushings
Rate increse over stock. Rear: +226%, +294% & +383%. Mostly recommended for track and autocross.
http://www.h-sport.com/cgi-bin/EDCst...talogno=22810R
For installation- it is something that a mechanically inclined person could do but easier with a lift than just with jackstands. About 1.5 to 2 hours time. Study the How to instructions in detail.

The H-sport Competition has the advantage of lower weight and performs like a 22mm steel bar but has higher cost. Not really for street use as much as the 22mm bars. Take your pick based on color, price, and 3 holes if possible. The weights of the 19mm and 22mm bars are all close. Most times MC owners will pick the 19mm bar and MCS owners have a choice of the 19mm bar for street use, or the 22mm bar for street, track and autocross use. Play with the settings and start with the softest which is farthest out on the bar itself. All of these listed are quite good products.

Here is a thread from the past on rear bars.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...mp;topic=17970


_________________
ALOHA

 

with 22mm Alta bar on soft setting I still got lots of understeer on otherwise stock MCS with 16" runflats. I think 19mm bar would be waste of time. I like black stealth paint and the side movement locator rings welded to bar.

 

>>with 22mm Alta bar on soft setting I still got lots of understeer on otherwise stock MCS with 16" runflats. I think 19mm bar would be waste of time. I like black stealth paint and the side movement locator rings welded to bar.

I think it all depends how hard you push the MINI through corners. Sure you can reach limits with the 19mm bar even on firmest setting. If so then the 22mm bar would be a better match. At the same time you don't want it to be too firm.

I have the H-sport springs and Madness 22mm rear bar on firmest of 2 holes and it works just fine for me. Softer setting would also work OK for street driving, it's just a little less neutral. But then I also have over 25 HP more from mods other than the pulley and ECU and aftermarket lightweight wheels with Yoko ES100 tires.