i was looking into getting some sway bars for my 03 mini, and was wondering which brand and types are good, im looking at getting some that are good but arent too expensive. any suggestions?

 

The consensus seems to be that the first suspension mod for ours cars should be a larger rear bar to get to a more neutral handling, removing understeer.

There are many views and opinions on this topic. So, I will just tell you what works for me/my car. I have the Alta 19mm rear bar, and run it on the middle setting for street and track. I am very happy with it.

Search the boards and you might get lucky in finding someone selling their used after market rear bar. This is one of those items that is perfectly fine used.

 

I found a 19 to suit my driving style...some folks like the 22 or the 25mm hollow bar on a gen1 mini, but unless you have had a few driver education events, this might make the car a bit to neutral for some folks, or if slippery conditions are encountered.
Most any bar of the same size will give similar performance.....extra $$ you pay for is for more durable paint, better bushings (less squeaks), and more options for adjustments.

 

I would suggest front camber plates first (fixed or adjustable) than a larger rear sway bar. A larger front sway bar is probably not needed.
Fixed camber plates are about $200 and adjustable are about $500.
So far the price of a rear bar you can get fixed plates. In my option the camber plates improve handing more than a rear sway bar. However, there is the additional cost of an alignment after installing camber plates but an alignment to non-stock settings is a good thing.

A 19mm bar works well with camber plates. If you do not intend to add camber plates than you can go up to a 22mm solid or 25mm hollow rear bar.

The H-Sport (Hotchkis) and TSW bars are nice. You can sometimes get the Alta bar on sale, which makes it very attractive. I have an Alta bar that I purchased during a 50% off sale and it works fine. I did add greasable bushing brackets to it so I can grease it easier however I have never had to grease it yet.

 

I've sold and installed every brand and size of bar you can find. And out of them all I can say the Hsport swaybars are by far the best.

They make both 19mm sway bar and Hsport Comp sway bar (22mm rate). The powder coat on them is the highest quality, they are all one piece design so no welds or parts to fail. And best off the bushings will hold the grease and have zerk fittings if you ever need to regrease them.

Give us a call and we'll set you up with a bar for your needs.

WAY
317.201.8670

 

I have a front sway bar question. Early on, the general opinion was a front sway bar was not needed. In fact, many felt it it hurt handling. Has opinions changed?

Kevin

 

No.

H-Sport for the win!