I ordered the Hotchkis 25MM Competition sway bar and have a question regarding installation. I found a good video on youtube for installation on an R56 and am curious if installation on the R58 is the same? Asking as I've read that the convertible has an extra bolt in the middle covered by the exhaust heat shield. Also, read that the R58 is based on the cabriolet design so I'm curious if this middle bolt exists on our cars?

 

I have the Hotchkis 25mm bar on my R58 JCW, it is set on the middle hole.

 

Thank you for the reply and sorry if my question wasn't clear. I'm trying to understand if our R58's have a center subframe bolt or if it's just the two on each side that I need to remove?

Also, what are your impressions of the 25mm bar?

 

I don’t remember having to remove an extra bolt when I did mine.

 

Yes the Cabrios and R59 Roadster have the bolt in the center of the subframe. If you have a swivel socket or extension it will make it easier to get out.

The R58 Coupe doesn't have it.

 

Thank you for the clarification, I have the R58. Glad to hear I won’t have to remove the exhaust and heat shield to get to a center bolt.

 

Installed a 20MM Whiteline and the install was the exact same as for a hardtop. NM's instructions are pretty handy to look at for the install.

 

Thanks AgBullet25, while mine is not the NM they have an excellent instruction manual. One thing I found interesting is that they direct you to NOT remove the left sub-frame bolts, only to loosen but to remove the right side. The video I watched said to remove both sides, anyone know the downside of removing both sides?

 

For one, it's a pain in the *** to re-align the whole rear subframe to get the bolts started. By loosening the left side and removing the right, it makes it easier to get the holes aligned. And it definitely can be done by just removing the passenger side and loosening the drivers side as that's what I did on my R58 and my dad's R55 Clubman.

 

Got it installed this weekend and just loosened the driver's side. I see how it could be difficult to line up again if both sides are completely removed. Thanks again for the advice!

 

Great to hear