I've searched and haven't found any reviews or real opinions. I'm sure that why they're not going to sell them anymore. I ordered one because it's cheaper then any of the other brand name bars of similar quality I'm sure(maybe the same bar?). I also heard from a local autoXer (this dude is fast) that the best mini he rode in ran a dinan bar.

I'm trying to see if anyone runs it... What they think about it... Any difference from the other 19s on the market? Since NO ONE publishes rates on their saw bars for minis, it's a shot in the dark and guesswork.

 

IMO 19 is 19. One (can't recall which) has a zerk fitting for greasing, which is nice. Otherwise, they are pretty much the same.

 

Well, my concern that it may be a painted cheaper bar is uprooted. Talked to dinan today and they told my it's made for them by a fabricator who doesn't make anyone else's bar. They've got 2 left at the 190$ price.

 

I got my Alta cheaper than that and It's working out great. Shoot them an email, they may be able to beat the website price for you.

 

my only problem with the alta bar is the welded ends, I know they dont break, it's really a mental thing.

 

Spend a few extra bucks and get the Hsport sway bar, they are by far the best available.

 

I got the bar, it's installed, they expect you to use the stock brackets, and they supply some rubber bushings. New brackets and bushings are already ordered.

I'm wondering if it could be my super sticky tires(kumho exta xs) or something else, but this is not the night and day difference I've heard others talk about, is something wrong? I'll go drive some more soon, and I've got an autox this weekend, but I thought it wouldn't be subtle. There is a slight improvement towards neutral, the turn in always felt good so no real difference there. I'm happy with a more neutral feel, but for some reason I was expecting more.

 

Is it adjustable? If so is it on full stiff? Frankly after all the "OMG SWAYBAR" threads on here I was expecting a more dramatic difference as well. I only feel a real improvement in hard, fast cornering (tight backroad twisties or on-ramps.) but at $130 or whatever I paid for it, it was a worthwhile investment for sure.

 

It's on full stiff, I went a took some harder corners and it's much more eager to turn, less input needed, and less fighting to keep the front wheels from plowing... But I think there's a bit of a placebo effect for some folks, this is not "omg swaybar" .... More like, oh, hey there swaybar. My overall cost with the new brackets Is less than 150 so I'm pretty happy with bang and buck ratios on this.

Way is right, I would have been better off with the h sport bar probably.

The overall attitude of the car is neutral, now when I get the camber fixed up front, it's going to get a little squirrely in the back

 

Maybe you car already had a bigger bar installed....
many aftermarket bars look oem ish....the sleeper look is liked by many as opposed to the bright orange/blue look at me paint jobs....
most bars have 2 or 3 holes per side (I have been told, but not tried, that they do not have to be the same hole side to side) so there is some adjustment....the 19 is a pretty mild increase...good for a streets car....the 20+hollow bar. (Comp) is very dramatic...too much for some, esp in bad weather, but can make a car neutral...so great for tracks...
try a tight on/off ramp....you will be grinning....the difference can be amazing compared to oem...

 

The birth certificate says it had the sport suspension, which has a 17mm rear bar.

My overall suspension plan doesn't involve a big rear sway, just more front camber and stuffer springs and struts. So the 19 fits my short term goals for now.

It will take me a few more turns to get used the the balance change. I'm pretty sure I like it though

 

I run my alta 22 mm at full stiff. I do that for autocross and because I'm lazy to change it for the street. I do have a lot of oversteer, but thats what I want. The Dinan unit is probably fine for the street, but it all depend on your goals. 19 mm is fine for street but any kind of race application I would recommend finding a 22 mm or larger bar.

 

The concept of street vs race is lost one me.

The fact of the matter is a big rear sway bar fixes understeer by reducing rear, and effectively overall grip... This seems to be common with minis, but as far as going really fast(aka racing) it's backwards thinking.

Fix the real problem with the suspension setup (camber and toe, wider front track) and the understeer is no longer a problem.

Please tell me if I'm wrong, but the geometry on the mini is not so entirely backwards that it needs to be fixed in big heaping chunks. It's tuned to be safe, and is not that complicated to set up. If I run 2.5 deg neg camber up front, with the 19mm sway that will definitely spin like a top...

 

Yep....19 is fine for the reasons you stated. Although a larger rear bar doesn't really lessen grip as much as it just redistributes the grip from rear to the front.

How many adjustment holes does the Dinan have?

 

2.
They gave me money back because of that.

 

If plan on adding camber plates for the front, then a smaller bar will be needed....so getting a 19 fits well with your future plans imo.....run it stiff for now....then perhaps looser when you need less when the camber plates are in....
The swaybar is not the best way to improve handling....but a simple way to adjust it....camber plates may be better....but adding custom alighnments to the future list of stuff is perhapds more than many want to deal with..a bigger swaybar for a daily driver, occasional track car is good for many.....and camber plates good for advanced drivers with more track time.....
When I chose my bar size.....I chose against the huge bars since it gave me more future flexibiliy (as mentioned above) and a bit better street behavior in slipery weather...
Imo my opinion.....hense the street vs race set-ups.

 

Not sure what you mean by that?

 

Dinan gave me money back because I was pissed about the adjustability.(only 2 holes)

 

so you thought it had, what 3 holes?

kind of a weird thing to get pissed about

 

Did the image or description suggest 3 holes?

 

The image had 3 holes. Description said adjustable. Theyre still on their website as far as I know.http://www.dinancars.com/shop/D120-0...Bar-Coupe.aspx


I wasn't pissed(outwardly) I just wanted to return it when I found out I could have spent a little more money and had more adjustability from a more well known product...

 

Someone gets it....

19mm rear with a GOOD alignment with some decent camber up front is much better than a big *** rear bar with the crap OEM front alignment. A bigger rear bar does add front grip, but too big and you start reducing rear grip too much and overall grip is diminished, even though the car "feels" good. I'll take stability, control, and more overall grip then tons of sometimes fun, sometimes scary oversteer.

- Andrew