R52 Any Cabrio owners have a sway bar?
#28
#29
Sway bars don't affect normal ride quality. Where they come into play is when you are turning. Suspension stiffness (degree of sway) must be balanced between front and rear sufficiently to avoid severe under or oversteer (inability to turn-in vs tendency for rear end to break loose) or otherwise upsetting the balance of the car. Cars are normally designed with some understeer (safer), but front-drive cars with the higher percentage of weight in the front tend towards too much understeer. The first stage in correcting this is to increase stiffness in the rear. Up to a point no front stiffness increase is necessary. Up to 22mm rear bars, even on the stiffest setting, are about right without any change to the front. Larger bars in the rear will require larger bars in the front as well. The overall effect is to maintain balance, but also maintain the car in a flat, nearly parallel relationship to the ground, while turning.
#30
#31
#32
#33
That sounds right. The chasis, A-pillars, etc are all beefed up on the cabrio, and I wouldn't doubt that the swaybars are bigger as well. Therefore is it necessary to get an upgraded swaybar? Would it make that big of a difference?
#34
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I installed a 19mm bar on an 05 MCSC and the factory bar was 16mm same as a MCS.Made a big difference on the way the car handled,but after he drove my MCS with an Alta 22mm bar,he was wishing he had gone with the bigger bar.Also people install the MCS bar on the MC as an upgrade as the standard MC bar is only 15mm.
Allen
Allen
Last edited by wtadye; 05-30-2007 at 06:28 PM. Reason: added more info
#35
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I have the 19mm Alta in the middle position on my Cooper Cabrio. I had it installed by a pro. I had heard that the OEM S sway bar was 18mm and the Cooper was 16mm. So some Cooper owners have been known to use the OEM bar from an S for a cheap (or sometimes free) upgrade. If those numbers are right, you probably wouldn't notice much of a difference on an S, going from 18mm to 19mm. But there was a big difference with my Cooper and I loved having that bar installed when I was at the Dragon.
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Guess I should have read through the whole thread before posting. Sorry about that Paul. Glad to hear the 19mm sway bar makes a big difference on the S too. M7 USS is next for me and I hear that's huge.
#40
The USS plus H-Sport 19mm equals cabrio bliss. At least for me.
And watching Bee's Dragon videos - he was enjoying those twisties as much as I was - he was probably just a little less planted and/or more terrified.
But, yeah, I did superglue my retinas before a couple of those runs...
When you install your USS - make your you loctite ALL the hardware and re-tighten it after a couple hundred miles. Word from the wise...
#41
Get the Xtreme Sway Bar
Last year, I installed the WMS Extreme Sway Bar. The advantage of this install, if you're doing it yourself, is that I didn't have to drop the struts. Just cut the curve off the old sway bar, and the WMS bar slides right across to the other side.
The difference in handling is amazing, highly recommended.
The difference in handling is amazing, highly recommended.
#42
I have the H Sport Comp. I installed it myself. The instructions neglect to mention the presence of an extra frame bolt on the Cabrio about mid-way between the wheels, up behind the heat shield. They also neglect to mention that removing the old (and inserting the new) sway bar requires loosening the gas tanks to give you enough play to cheat the bar around that same frame bolt's mounting bracket. If you are aware of those two issues, a self install should take 2 or maybe 3 hours. Less, if you are not as much of an idiot incompetent than I
The improved handling is noticeable and the mod well worth the money.
The improved handling is noticeable and the mod well worth the money.
#43
I watched one get installed last weekend on a cabrio after doing one on an MCS (not mine) the day before. My advise would be if you're going to do it yourself, remove both shocks, on the Cabrio remember the center bolt and give your self about 2 hours for the first one you do 1 hour there after, make sure you have a good selection of extensions. Also because of the way everything is setup on the cabrio, make sure you can unbolt the back end of your exauhst because you will need to lower it slighlty to get everything to fit if it is welded in place it ends up being a real pain based on what I observed. Best of luck, hope this helps .
#44
#45
^ I'll be getting a USS and STB in the next few days -- no rear sway yet -- so I'll be able to answer the first part of your question.
There has been a lot of discussion on this -- I think most appear to agree that, at least on the cabrio, the USS makes more of a difference than the RSB . . . so if you're only getting one get the USS. BUT the car does get even better if you do get both.
I'm not sure the STB is going to do much for me (especially with a USS on there), but I'm mostly getting it (the M7) for the anti-mushrooming protection.
There has been a lot of discussion on this -- I think most appear to agree that, at least on the cabrio, the USS makes more of a difference than the RSB . . . so if you're only getting one get the USS. BUT the car does get even better if you do get both.
I'm not sure the STB is going to do much for me (especially with a USS on there), but I'm mostly getting it (the M7) for the anti-mushrooming protection.
#46
#47
Got the USS only no sway and for most street driving won't get the sway. USS helps at smooth out the handling. In other words stops the chatter. Tested this at VIR's Patriot course during parade laps. (yea right}
In normal street driving none of this stuff is needed except non-runflats and maybe Koni FSD's.
In normal street driving none of this stuff is needed except non-runflats and maybe Koni FSD's.
#48
USS is great - reduces understeer, makes whole care feel tighter - especially over bumps.
STB makes no diff in handling - only gives peace of mind re: mushrooming.
#49
I don't mean to hijack this thread or anything, but I have a question about the USS. I have an aftermarket exhaust (Blueflame that had to be modified to fit the cabrio). If I went with the USS, would there be any fitting issues? This is definitely something I'm interested in doing, but scared it just won't work with my setup.