Hi everyone, I'm in the market for a new mini and am looking to improve on its already fantastic and stellar handling! With that said, if I were going to use this car as a daily driver and a weekend fun car, and you could only pick one, would you go with the rear sway bar or lowering springs?

I know this has probably been discussed many many many mannnyyy times before, but, if you got rear sway bars, would you get 19 or 22mm ones? Keep in mind, I will never take this car to the track or autocross it!

Thanks in advance!

 

Me personally? 19mm rear sway bar.

It's going to improve handling, versus looks (although I like the lowered look).

It's not going to affect the ride, for the most part.

It won't require supporting mods such as longer rear lower control arms, or in extreme cases, camber plates. And you shouldn't need to re-align.

I use my car in winter, thus stock ride height is a plus. This is actually my biggest reason for staying with stock springs.

 

I pondered 19mm versus 22mm and picked the 22mm. No regrets. I would rather grow into the 22mm sway bar than out of it.

 

I vote for lowering first because I like the looks of lowered Minis.

Then save for a sway bar. A 22mm if no future plan to add front camber plates. A 19mm if you plan to eventually add front camber plates.

 

So if I add a 22mm sway bar, I won't have to get spacers or camber plates or any other supporting mods? Is the ride excruciatingly stiff for a DD?

 

Coilovers will help with looks and handling.

 

Get the sway bar first, and save up for a proper coilover kit or shock/spring setup, rather than just cheap lowering springs.

 

The nice thing about aftermarket sway bars is that they are adjustable. Sway bar will not affect the ride. You did not mention what car you have, or what tires/wheels. Because the bars are adjustable, they can grow with you and your car's mods. It is a good first mod. Most guys will reccomend a 19mm for a daily driver (probably on full stiff), 22 mm is for people that will be more aggressive. Some have good success with a 22mm for a DD.

You can also search for the free camber mod (front wheels) and the NM engine mount. If you have an S, I highly reccomend an oil catch can as well.

I lowered my car about an inch, and it doesn't look low (limited by stock shocks). IMO, if you want to lower the car, and have it look low (2" or more), you need coil overs and rear control arms. It all depends on what you want.

Mike

 

Well that depends on how much you want to improve the handling. Upgrading the rear sway bar is probably the best bang for the buck suspension improvement but there are many other upgrades that can also be performed to improve handling even more. Increasing the negative camber in the front by adding camber plates and an alignment to your specific settings also provides a great improvement in handling but it is more expensive and harder to install than a rear sway bar. I like the combination of front camber plates and adjustable rear sway bar. Springs, shocks, wheels, and tires are also items that can be upgraded.

Be warned, once you start doing mods it is hard to stop. There is always something else you can improve.

 

Sway bar first. It would be a noticable difference and if you dont wana go low you still have the improvement of handling.
Cheaper too, since everyone will say the brand of coilovers they use are the best.

 

Shallow end? Or deep end?

;-)

 

I have a 25mm bar from Hotchkis. Hmm do the install yourself,
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...6k-beware.html, then save up for a decent coilover/spring shock combination. Or better yet are you running runflats? Ditch them and get a better set of tires, then decide what you want to do.

 

I'd go with a rear sway bar any day over lowering springs. 19 solid or 22 hollow.