OK, so I was looking into an upgraded rear sway bar for my '03. I saw mentioned that 19mm is the recommended for the R50. Further research saws that the stock JCW is 18.5mm. Does that make it a good upgrade for me (that might even be had cheaper)?

 

I have a Cooper S Sport+ rear bar which is 17mm and it is good. The 18.5mm from a JCW would work perfectly I would think.

 

It won't hurt. But honestly I've done it and it left me wanting more as it wasn't enough. We found for the R50 the 19mm bar on the middle setting to be ideal and I would go for that rather than doing it twice.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/tsw-re...-bar-19mm.html

If you do decide on the JCW bar measure it to make sure as many people think they have a JCW bar and when you measure it you find it's only 17mm

 

Way,

Thanks for chiming in. As much as anything, I wanted to confirm that I had read correctly that the JCW stock was, in fact, 18.5 mm. That 19 is a great price, I was just nosing around car-part.com and saw that several scrap yards w/in 90 miles are listing 1st gen JCW sway bars for ~$45.

If I go that route, I'll definitely take my slide caliper w/ me to confirm that I'm getting an actual JCW piece (who knows, I may luck out and get an aftermarket instead).

 

The stock JCW bar is 17. I have a 17mm hairpin paperweight now if anybody would like it. I am thinking that somebody that knows how to work and weld metal could take the stock bar and mod it to achieve a stiffer setting. The longer the bar tip equals less and shorter equals more. If you could create a mounting hole about an inch further in I am thinking you would get better handling.

Just my two cents.