Will someone be kind enough to explain to me what is the benefit of changing the rear sway bar ? Where will I feel the difference? Will the car ride differently? etc.

Thanks for any input

An inquiring mind needs to know

 

It basically stiffens the rear end up. In a stock MINI, you go into a corner and the font wheels will loose traction before the rears (called understeer). This is because the rears have too much traction and the fronts don't have enough when turning. A larger rear swaybar will stiffen up the rear causing it to transfer more of the load to the front wheels, thus reducing understeer. If the bar's too stiff or your braking hard in the corner, too much of the load will transfer to the front and your back end will break loose (called oversteer...think Porsche). Understeer is more desirable on a street car than oversteer. What we try to do with a rear swaybar is to dial out a certain amount of understeer without making it dangerous. In an auto-x, a very stiff rear swaybar is desirable since you can keep your foot on the throttle and just let the rear and do what it wants.

 

Oh yes, you'll notice a huge difference in the cornering of the vehicle w/ a larger rear sway bar. Everyone on this list seems to agree it's one of the best initial upgrades you can do. I did the rear bar and was amazed at how much more connected the Mini feels w/ the road. Fun, Fun, Fun....

Later

 

Another benefit is lightening up your car and wallet, say 170-230 $

Most recommended the H-Sport to me

See them all at webbmotorsports.com, under suspension

 

That was the route I took. Totally changed the ride of the car for the better

I like being able to adjust it in 3 positions and I guess it is also pretty easy to lube.

A little money but a BIG improvement in handling

Go for it

 

I know this has been debated to death, but frankly I don't get much from many of the posts I read ("gives the rear end some gettyup", what the heck does that mean???). I have a 05 MCS with JCW engine upgrade. I would like to have some more control and a better feel when cornering. I know most say that the rear swat bar is an inexpensive and useful modification. What I don't know is if I stay with stock rear springs and don't touch the front sway bar, which is the best rear sway bar to get, 19mm, 22mm, 25mm hollow, to make the car more neutral in the turns? What will each bar do to the control of the car? One bar says that it increase the stiffness over stock of 226%, is that a lot? Do I need more or less? I would rather not have any oversteer as the back end swinging around the highway seems to exciting.

Is there any need to change the end links when increasing the size of the rear sway bar? They are not that expensive and I would rather not pull the rear end apart in the future to just replace one if I don't have to. Any suggestions on which are good? Should they be adjustable? If so how should they be adjusted for the control I would like?


Anyone have any recommendation I can use??

Thanks

 

From the posts I've read, most people like the 22 or H-Sport bars. If you upgrade the front bar, your rear bar will need to be more stiff to match it. On a tight track like auto-x, a very stiff rear bar is nice as it will induce some oversteer. On a real track, there have been reports of problems in high speed corners where you don't have enough time to react (or space to run off) when your rear starts going around.

 

Most of them have 3 holes for adjustment. Some have infinitely adjustable links (MINI Mania and Irelend Engineering for example). I do not suggest infinitely adjustable bars - they are much more of a hassle, and I find myself working on it to try and "tweak" it a lot more than I would with the 3 hole bar.

 

Don't make this too complicated. With stock springs, et al, buy the H-Sport rear sway bar (the nice hollow one) and start at the softest setting. You will be impressed as it will bring the car near neutral but still have a bit of understeer - a good idea for a street car. Want it to turn harder? Go to the second or third setting. At stiffer settings, don't test for oversteer on the street. Do it in a safe location, a parking lot perhaps.

You do NOT need end links. I ran a somewhat aggressive setup on my MCS and ran it damn hard at the track and never had an issue. My car would lift a front or rear wheel 4 inches off the ground on some driveway slopes and it never broke a link. More adjustment = more hassle. I think we all want to add fun factor goodies for street use and a rear sway bar is the best investment by far. Second is non-runflat tires. Keep it simple unless you're looking for faster lap times.

Lastly, a stock Mini S with sport suspension feels quite neutral all on its own, until you near the limits. Just adding the sway bar makes a very noticable difference, even at just spirited street driving. The car will just feel better, with less body lean. Increases the fun factor a lot.

 

THANKS.

I will go with the H Sport 25mm and will probably keep the stock links. I have read that Randy Webb seems to think this bar, at its softest setting, will leave just a bit of understeer, good for me and those I share the road with. Any suggestions for the thought that some weight must be on the rear suspension when tightening things down? This will make the install a bit more difficult, but doable. If not I would rather just keep it on the jack stands and torque everything when it is easy to get to. Also, when looking at the H Sport bar it appears not to have those little collars near where the bushings go. Is there an easy way to make sure the bar is centered or in the right position? Lastly, do the instructions that come with the bar give reasonable step by step details and torque settings for all the bolts?

Sorry for the add on questions.

Oban

 

How would the car behave with a Front anti roll bar in conjunction with a rear 22mm on the medium to high settings?

 

are sway bars easy to install (ie in the garage) or is it necessary to take it to a garage?

 

Thanks from me also for explaining.
Will a dealer do this or do I have to find another shop? I'm in central FL and since the car is so new (3300 miles) I haven't really needed any work done yet.

Thanks ahead of time for any/all answers.

 

Webb Motorsports has a very good how-to for the rear swaybar install. It's not very hard and you just need to be able to get the rear of the car off the ground on jackstands or the like. The front swaybar, on the other hand, I've heard is very difficult. It requires some removal of engine mounts etc. If you do a front and rear swaybar, you can run a more stiff setting on the rear without inducing oversteer. It makes the car incredibly stiff.

 

Oban, mscworks,

What kapps said is right. The rear is not very hard to do but the front is a major *****. I outsourced all the suspension labor and I gave the installer Randy's instructions. He was happy he had them as there are a couple of things to look for and be aware of when installing the bar.

If you have not upgraded a suspension before, consider doing one thing at a time so you gain a learning experience of what does what.

With an H-sport in the rear in the middle setting (and H&R springs, Konis), I installed the h-sport up front and without changing anything else it re-introduces understeer. So the rear has to be stiffened up more to bring it back in balance. The result is: extreme stiffness, with tires coming off the ground over the slightest dips in the road. Not in a straight line, but entering driveways at an angle, or crossing gutters in intersections at an angle, that sort of thing. It's cool. The car corners completely flat,too.

I have that sway bar (and springs) for sale in the marketplace forum here if you're interested.

 

Monkey Boy,

Thanks for the offer, though I just made an order over the net for the H Sport 25mm bar. I have heard exchanging the front bar is much harder than the rear. I don't think I will ever go that far. The rear bar upgrade and new wheels with non-run flat tires will be it for a while.

Thanks again all!

 

Detroit Tuned put an S sway bar on my Cooper and it does make it better for hard cornering and turns.

 

Cool. When you get it installed, make sure you let us know how you like it.

FWIW, the sway bar I have for sale is the H-sport front. The rear is still on the car. I removed some parts because the wife is now driving the car and she didn't like the stiffness. I mean stiffness in the suspension.

 

With the bigger rear bar the car can definitely become a bit more twitchy. But for street its fine, the only time it might become a problem is if you swerve VERY hard in an emergency situation. Then you might have the rear end come around on you like this:



http://autox.carlc.com/video/clips/2004/10/JoeRun-1.mpg

That was combined with H&R springs and a 22mm bar on its hardest setting.

 

Just remember; final torque on all sway bar components with the FULL weight of the car loaded on the suspension, not while in full droop.