Has anyone ever heard of FIGS Engineering? I found some very inexpensive adj. Rear control arms that look like they are high quality.

 

Never heard of them. I would go with a tried and true company like h-sport or TSW. both of their control arms have great reviews and are not terribly expensive with the TSW being about 15 bucks cheaper. both can be found ar waymotorsports.com for the the best price i could find.

 

Thanks Laxpimp, I'm going there now.

 

i opted for the TSWs, which i will be installing next week, for a couple of reasons. 1. the are made by a mini specific company and were developed in order to rid some of the problems others were having. 2. the are the least expensive. 3. they are super heavy duty 4. they have solid rubber bushings which are both silent and need not be greased like the h-sports. The H-Sports appear to be fantasic as well though, and are probably more well know simply because they have been around longer and were the top arms in the past and may still be, but both companies have great reviews.

 

I noticed you have an Alta 22mm sway bar. How do you like it? I was considering the Mini Madness one due to it's solid construction with no welds. Also because George is really helpful and knowledgable.

 

I love it. i have it set on the stiffest setting and it makes such a difference. I didnt look into the different bars too much though, i got this one when alta was having a 20% off sale. I also choose it based on this from randy webb's FAQ on his site.

Which swaybar do you recommend?

I think all three of the pieces I offer have their place in the market.

The Alta is red, and comes in at a lower price point than the others on the market. It has the highest "bling" factor, and the bushings are grooved to retain grease. They also have correct bends to avoid contact with any spring on the market. The Alta is also available in a 19mm, smaller than the others, which works great with the stock Cooper suspension.
The RSpeed is the strongest bar on the market, as it is solid forged steel. It uses collars on each side to prevent lateral movement, so you can adjust if need be to different suspension clearance issues. It has a special crinkle finish that keeps the grease from leaving the bushing, and all of the brackets are black - making it very stealthy. There are also three adjustment positions.

The H-Sport is the lightest bar, as it is tubular steel with forged ends. The bend schedule keeps the bar from moving laterally, just like the factory bar. Unlike the original H-Sport bars, the newest units are black - keeping them unnoticed. The H-Sport has three positions for adjustment. Perhaps the coolest part of this bar, and one that helps give it a nudge for favorite, is the grease fitting that is part of each bushing carrier. This makes it very easy to regrease the bar, and the bushings are grooved to keep this from being an often necessary ordeal.

I only recommend doing the rear swaybar. The purpose behind the rear swaybar is to dial out the inherent understeer, which most new cars are programmed with. Why? Because if you enter a turn too hot, the car goes straight when you turn the wheel - the tendency then is to lift the throttle, which transfers more weight to the front and gives more coefficient of friction to the front contact patch, letting the car turn in. It isn't the fastest way through a turn, and it certainly isn't the most fun way through a turn. That's where the rear bar comes in. Thinking on a twisting body model, if you apply force to the outside, or loaded wheel, and you have a stiffer rear bar, it will do two things: first, it will lift the inside rear wheel, reducing the rear coefficient of friction, and second, it will transfer load diagonally to the inside front wheel. This makes the car neutral. It has a secondary benefit of acting like a cheap limited slip differential if the unloaded front wheel is the power driven wheel.

If you change both the front and rear swaybars, the car will still understeer, but it will handle flatter - less body roll. That's the reason I don't recommend doing both the front and rear swaybar - the most dramatic thing you can do to the car is make it neutral, not flat.

 

I haven't tried any of them yet so The only opinion I have is based on what I've read. The reason I have been leaning twards the Mini Madness sway bar is the quality and customer service aspect. I purchased my 15% pulley and pulley removal tool from him and he was great about answering questions and offering tips, even when he wasn't at his shop. He was willing to answer questions whe he was out on the weekend. That's great service. His bar is only about $20 more than the others mentioned and seems to have the best construction (one solid price with no welds). I'm sure I could be convinced otherwise though if the price was right.

 

High quality is difficult to do cheap.
Its rare that the two cross.

 

You have a link to where you saw the FIGS stuff? I'd love to check them out but only found mention of them on a blog.

 

Hi guys, just dug this up on a Google search. Just wanted to chime in that we make high-quality first suspension components and pricing depends on the level and grade of the components. We were offering a swaged tube option when we saw aluminum versions out there and never really promoted it much. Aluminum tends to break down with road debris, salt etc. We can still build them if interest is there but would only want to do it if there was something special you needed. Let us know.

Mike