I am getting ready to order a rear sway bar. I have a 2009 Cooper, non S, with the factory 15mm I believe. I love the way it handles, but keep being told it will handl a million times better with a new sway bar. There is a local guy here who will sell me the factory 19mm off his new Roadster for $50.

OR, i can order from Way a 19, 22, or 25.5.

Which sway bar size would you guys recommend to get? This is my daily, that will just see canyon cruising, and very little track time, maybe 3-4 times a year.

Thanks for the recommendations.

 

What wheels/tires do you have? Its hard to argue with $50 for a local guy. I would get a measurement on yours and his to double check. I have not heard of a factory 19mm rsb, but I don't know if they would be different on a roadster.

If you are happy with the way it handles, then $50 will not be expensive to see if you like the stiffer bar better for the driving that you do. If the difference in factory bars is only 1 or 2 mm, then I think you should go aftermarket.

Way is highly respected and would not steer you wrong.

Have fun,
Mike

 

I have an 05 Justa, and upgraded from the std 16mm to an "S" bar 17mm and could feel the difference. I felt it was a good first step and fit my driving, it dialed out some understeer. I feel that going from 15 to 19 would be a very good step and cost effective. I have since gone to 19 and finally gone to the 25.4. Now, this is a highly modified MC now and I have taken a lot of driving instruction. My advice - Go for it!

 

2 pieces of info here. The 25.5 Comp bar is the same as a 22mm bar, it isn't stiffer unless your looking at the 25.5 Race bar.

Also the NO MINI comes factory with a 19mm bar, so the bar your friend is taking off unless it's an aftermarket bar will be smaller than 19mm.

 

The 22mm bar is perfect - use the medium setting for the street

 

Yeah, it's 18.5mm. That was me with wrong information.

He also said he can sell me the full sport suspension off of his since he bought Konis for $250 with the sway.

Way, I'm ready to order, just can't decide which way to go. I don't know enough about the differences from the stock suspension and the sport

 

Going to the stock sport suspension I don't think will be enough improvement to be worth the work.
Start with a Hsport comp sway bar, since it's the best gain you can start there.

 

+1. The H Sport Comp Bar has been great for me.

 

I recently installed the Alta 22mm, started with the softest setting (a bit over 2x the stock) and the difference is amazing. Definitely not too stiff for street driving. Haven't had a chance to autocross with it or try the other settings yet. I was trying to decide between 19 and 22, went for the 22 and don't regret it.

When I ordered the car I thought about the $250 option for the larger factory RSB but didn't go for it. All of the aftermarket RSBs are cheaper than that assuming you do the install yourself which is easy. Look for sales/deals - I got mine 20% off.

 

I have the 19mm H-sport on the middle setting and it is a substantial improvement. If you are going to do a lot of autox, than the 22 will suit you better, but the 19mm will work fine for your car as a daily driver.

 

I sold my friend the sport suspension bar off my 12 JCW Coupe. Think it was 18-18.5mm. He swapped it out on his Cooper non S and said it made a great improvement. At $50 that's a deal hardly worth passing up.

 

I got ALTA 22mm. After 3 years I see the rust along with my end links and control arm. Not very happy with the quality in the long run. It was pretty when I install it. LOL

But the medium setting seems pretty good.

 

I ended up getting a NIB alta 22mm for 170 to the door, and it's going on in two weeks. We shall see!

 

Hello... what's the status of your ALTA sway bar these days? I just ordered the 19mm adjustable one...what's your region? driving conditions? My 09 S clubman just has 27K miles so things won't apply the same way to mine, I imagine... also I take it you bought it back in ... 2010 or something? I saw some note about how the rev is "rev 2" on the bar...

edit: it is indeed "rev 2" these days when you order from them