this is our first mini experience, so be gentle !

Before our car came in i was reading the spec sheet on the mini site. It mentioned the CMJCW has "larger rear stabilizer bars". After driving a couple of hundred miles, it was obvious that I wanted the rear end more neutral by installing a 22mm bar.

So, i crawl up under the back of the car to heck things out and.....there's no OEM anti-sway bar!? Is that correct? I have seen posts from folks saying they have a 16mm anti-sway bar on the CM All 4 S from the factory, so I am confused why a CMJCW would not have one?

There is a bar on each side of the car that runs from the strut onto the frame and each one is about 18" long. Are these the stabilizer bars I presume?

I'm confused because on my Z06, I simply removed the stock anti-sway bars front and rear and installed larger diameter bars with adjustable end links....not sure what I am looking at with my CM....

thanks very much for the help!

Jeff

 

First, I would like to congrat for your new jcw!


And, I think this link shows how a sway bar of the countryman looks like.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/t...alkaround.html

Good luck!

-Calvin

 

ok, color me stupid...that is a really TINY bar and travels very high....i wasn't looking up high enough for it...no wonder everybody replaces it....it's so small I didn't even see it :-)

wow......wish I could just delete this thread....pretty embarassing

thanks for pointing my eyeballs to the right place, Calvin! I see you have a CMJCW coming....it's a really fun car...the 1200 mile break-in is killing us....the fun starts with this engine above 4000rpm, exactly the max they want you to hit during the break-in period.

we only have a few hundred miles after a couple of days, but the car is very tight in sport mode, considering it's 3000+ pounds...The Pirelli P Zero RF tires are not as bad as I would have suspected. We are still going to replace them, but we may burn some tread off first....my wife is already completely attached to the car after the 2nd day....

Jeff

 

Don't be. Nothing is embarrass to ask.

If I am going to change the sway bar, I will pick either wmw 22mm, or NM 22mm sway bar.

Wmw for OEM look, NM for its solid design bracket.

-Calvin

 

So how big is the factory bar? 16mm? Sounds like I'm going to be following in your footsteps, Z06_Pilot.

 

Factory base suspension is 16mm, sport suspension is 17mm, which is standard on CM Jcw.