I'm looking to put a new rear swaybar on my 2005 MCS. Any thoughts on brand and size?

Thanks!

 

I would recommend the Hsport Comp sway bar, it is perfect for an R53. If your looking for a 19mm Hsport makes that too. Either way the Hsports are the best because of their quality, and bushings that will make them outlast all the other sway bars without squeaks.

 

I got the 19 mm from Way. It's great.

 

19mm on my car, set to full stiff it's a great mod. Enjoy!

 

So the 19mm is the way to go? What if i go thicker?

 

19mm is the way to go for a street car. If you autocross you might want to go thicker. I'm not an expert on suspension by any stretch, but as I understand it, if you go too thick you're more likely to lose the back end if you go off throttle under hard cornering. 19mm is plenty stiff for the street. I'm sure someone more versed will chime in.

 

Danny has a Cooper NON S, so this is what works on his car. And I would recommend a 19mm for a NON S. But on an R53 S I recommend the Comp bar on the middle setting.
The Cooper has different springs, and less weight in the rear so it requires less bar. An S has stiffer springs, and more rear weight, dual exhaust, battery etc.

Either bar will make a difference, the bigger will just be more prevalent.

 

+1 on the 19mm from way, perfect for street and canyon carving. (2003 mcs)

 

I've had both the H&R and H-Sport comp bars and both performed equally. I swaped out the H&R for the H-Sport as it is hollow and as long as they perform the same why not go lighter ?

Randy
m7 Tuning

 

If you go for the 22 (which may be more than you need), start with the softest setting first, especially if your car is lowered. A 19 is probably the way to go for most of us; if you go too big you may run into oversteer issues. I love my H-sports from Way.

 

19mm here from Alta its on medium stiff love it.

 

Is there a significant handling improvement with a 19mm bar while running stock springs? Any ill effects?

 

Will the 19 be good for the occasional track day? Track days may be once a month at most, probably more like once every other month.

 

get the bigger one.. you can always run it on soft and then you have the option of stiffer.. ive never had any issues with it.. aka - never got sideways or backwards because of it - so no safety concerns.

 

I run a H-Sport Comp Bar (25.5mm hollow) on the middle setting.

 

Be aware that the larger bars (even if on the softest setting) will increase your tendency to oversteer, which lead to some interesting 'moments' on the track.

 

I had a 19mm on full stiff for awhile. It just wasn't quite enough for me. I know it's a bit expensive for a swaybar, but I have the Tarret 23.8mm hollow adjustable rear swaybar. It's absolutely PERFECT. I can adjust it to the stiffness of a 19mm for the street, or a 22mm for autocross. I'm loving it in between those settings, however. If you don't care about your stock rear swaybar, you can just cut the end off of it, pull it out, and install the Tarret rear swaybar without even needing to lower the rear subframe! Not that it's difficult to do. Anyway, here's a link to the Tarret rear sway if you're so inclined - http://www.tarett.com/items/mini-coo...sba-detail.htm

 

I didn't seem to notice a ton of understeer at the track. Could have been my inexperience (likely). That said, I don't want to be in a position where I have an oversteer problem either. If I have the Comp bar on the middle or softest setting is it going to make a difference in the cars handling for the better or am I looking at oversteer issues?

Bottom line, everyone I talk to says this is a great mod. I'm just curious why they say that. Presumably because the understeer is reduced. But is it reduced to the point where it creates too much oversteer?

 

Also, I'm not going to be at the track all that often. Is the bar going to cause me problems with daily driving?

 

I recently installed the alta 22mm and started on the stiffest setting. It made a big difference in the car. as long as you don't go into a corner too fast and have to hit the brakes it's great. If you do hit the brakes in a hard corner the back end will want to come out. If your planning on tracking the car go for the 22.