I recently bought Koni FSDs and went ahead and grabbed a rear sway bar at the same time, since I'd always heard that the disassembly required for one made the other an easy install.

But the shops I've been to in the last couple of days have said that there's no real benefit (time/price-wise) to doing them together.

 

You need to remove at least one shock to install the sway bar, and that is only 3 bolts. I agree that there is not much benefit to do them together, from a labor side.

The benefit is that the fewer times you can disturb the lower shock bolt, the better. The bolt is an interference fit into a cast aluminum trailing arm, and it is common to have the bolt strip the threads when reinstalling the bolt.

Because of that, I would definately install the sway bar and shocks together.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Since you have a roadster, you need to remove a 5th bolt in the center that the R56 doesn't have. That means you also need to remove the rear section of the exhaust. So rear GP2 diffuser, sway bar, shocks or coilovers, side underpanels, sway bar end links, lower control arms, exhaust or short shifter. All would be a good time to consider. I like to do all the mods I have for a given area at the same time.

 

Shops turning down work???
Whilst it's up on the lift and you've got all the new goodies at hand I don't understand the reluctance to just do the whole job all at once. Kinda like going to the supermarket twice to fill a single shopping list. I took mine to a local independent alignment shop and the guy had us in and out in a couple of hours. Installed were KONI FSDs and adjustable sway bar.

 

PS: Here are a couple of indie shops in the Memphis area that might be of help. I found two more but their links don't work any more, so.
http://www.alpineautoworks.com/home/index.php
http://www.wolfsburgauto.com/

 

Not turning down; just pricing it exactly as if they would be if done separately. Most recent quote was for over $750 to do both, $275 of which was for the sway bar.

Still gathering quotes, but it takes time, because a lot of shops refuse to quote over the phone.

 

$750!
My indi shop quoted $600 and change to swap out the suspension, install RSB, and replace thermostat. (I provide parts) I would suggest you keep looking.

 

Thats ridiculous. Installing shocks is maybe a 2 hour job for an installer that knows what their doing. Add another hour or so for the sway bar. Maybe 4 hours tops combined. I don't know what the going hourly rate is in the states but that shouldn't add up to $750.

When I first had my springs done a couple months before I put my konis on I had a shop do it. They only charged $200 for installation and an alignment afterwards.

 

Most shops quote AND bill work based on the BOOK.....
So combining jobs will only save $$ when you find a shop willing to deal.... Sure they might save some time...maybe 15 minutes....but most pro's can do most work in 70% of the time the book says....so might not make a big difference to you or the shop...
The mechanic makes a bonus in most shops for actual to billed time....and this is where shops can make big $$....
Remember...book time is a "typical" mechanic doing a job not using any timesaving tricks they have learned.... When one does s job 5 or 6 times....it goes faster....

 

I'm getting quoted 6 hours just for the struts and shocks, pretty much everywhere.

 

Ouch....
My guess...
Since you are supplying the parts, they are padding the bill to makeup what they would have made if they ordered the parts....
Bringing your own parts is best done ONLY if you have a shop BEFORE that will play nice...

 

Got another quote today, from a shop down in MS that AutoMD said had lower rates.

And yet.

Total for struts, shocks and bar? $808.

 

I don't know how mechanically inclined you are, but with a floor jack, a spring compressor, and some basic hand tools installing a set of shocks is totally doable. If you think its something you can do, you can save yourself a ton of money. I haven't done a sway bar myself though so I have no comment on that.

 

A town the size of Memphis should have a MINI club shouldn't it? I'll bet there are a few motor heads in the club that could help you out on a Saturday afternoon and have the job done for a few bottles of iced down Yuengling.
(don't get that stuff this side of the big muddy and had my very first right there in Memphis at Huey's listening to JP Soars)

 

Lol if you were in NY we would do it for fun but no when is cold lol.

 

Another quote on the way home: over $900. They're getting HIGHER!

 

It does, though I'm not sure how active they are, as both their website and their forum here on NAM have been essentially dormant for quite a while.

 

My Indy shop here in Raleigh did springs, RSB for $400.

I experienced the same thing with shops wanting to price things separate.

 

I'm presenting at a conference in Charlotte next week; is that near Raleigh? I can never remember. NC is always so much bigger than I expect it to be.

 

About 3 hours.

 

You can definitely DIY this. I installed my RSB in about 2.5 hrs, which involved removing and re-installing both rear shocks. There is definitely labor savings by doing both at once, to install the RSB you have to raise the car, remove the rear wheels, remove the swaybar endlinks, remove the shocks (2 bolts on top, one on the bottom.) You have to do all that if you're swapping the shocks. Incremental work to swap the RSB is remove the sway bar bushing clamps, loosen the rear subrame, and pull out the old RSB. Then reverse the process to put it all back together.

Incremental labor to put in a new set of shocks is just removing the top hats and springs and swapping them over to a new set of shocks. If you were to DIY that would only add about an hour assuming you were using a basic screw type spring compressor. A competent shop with air tools and a real spring compressor should be able to do the whole job RSB plus shock swap done in under 3 hours.

Look up the install instructions for the RSB on the Alta or NM website to understand the process. There's even a video out there of an RSB install. I had all the tools already so no tool investment required. You can rent a spring compressor from a local auto parts shop, at Autozone you buy the tool, then they give you 100% of your money back when you bring the tool back so net cost $0.

Anyone who wants to charge $750 and up is looking to rip you off.

 

yea. they're quoting you like it's two totally separate jobs, but in reality the rear shocks being out makes it easier to do - you essentially have to take out at least one side when u do the rsb anyway

 

Biggest reason by FAR! There are good days and then there are days you need to helicoil

The real question is why wouldn't you replace the rear swaybar? Everything is apart and it makes such a huge difference in the way the MINI drives. I could not imagine life in a MINI without a huge rear swaybar set for maximum tank slapping

 

Do you know any of the MINI mechanics that work at the dealer? Maybe they would do a side job for you cheaper than the other places. Maybe the dealer local to me is odd, but they allow their mechanics to work Saturdays on their own projects.

Honestly, the work is not hard if you are comfortable with tools. The biggest thing is figuring out how to jack up and support the rear of the car safely, and then how to use the spring compressor if you haven't done that before.

Have fun,
Mike

 

The rears don't concern me nearly as much as the struts up front.