Yea, well I'm getting the JCW Suspension Kit and thinking about getting the Dinan 19mm Swaybar, because and only because it is warrantied. My father and Uncle don't think it will be $300 dollars difference between it and the stock swaybar I have now (I have an '05). My question is will it be? I just want to make my turning sharper and without as much body roll. JCW said it does not include one because the '05 has one stock.

Just Curious!

Mikey

 

Geeze, I thought this thread would generate alot of posts!

Mikey

 

So as not to disappoint you, I have the H-Sport 27mm (tubular) sway bar, which is supposed to be equivalent to a 22mm solid bar. It's adjustable with grease fittings on the bushings so it's more than just a sway bar. But it makes my 05 MCS handle a lot more neutrally, flatter through corners and with a little more "turn in" on corners. These are all very subtle effects mind you. The stock car does have a sway bar, but so do many cars these days.

cheers,

 

Mikey,
The simple answer is it will make a difference if you drive corners hard but not if you drive at normal speeds and take turns like you would in a family sedan.

Find another MINI that has a larger rear swaybar (middle setting is fine for an adjustable bar). Go for a drive and take a corner fast. What you are looking for is a neutral feel to the handling without undue understeer which is common in the stock MINI.

For an MC and for some MCS, a 19mm rear bar is good. The stock MC comes with a 16mm bar and the MCS comes with a 17mm bar. For straight line driving the bar won't be of much help. For performance driving with an MCS the 22mm bar works pretty well on soft or middle settings. Again, a test drive will help. Your driving style has alot to do with your perceptions of how well the bar works.

Finally everything has to work together to give you the handling you want. Tires/wheels/ shocks and springs all work together and body roll depends some on your steering when cornering.

It isn't a bad idea to install the JCW suspension first, then drive your MINI around for awhile and see how it feels to you. Later if you want, you can add a rear swaybar if needed. I'd recommend attending a driving school so you can have an instructor drive your car with you in it so you can see how large a performance envelope your MINI already has.

 

I really dont take the twisties @ the pace I would with my moms explorer. Definetly alot faster. I was messing around at tire rack today and went around a corner at speed and the tires started to slip and I turned harder to stay on my intended line. I also take turns pretty aggresively. Based on this would you say I need one (plus a JCW Suspension). I would only get a 19mm cus for now that's the only thing I can get under warranty? Also if I get a dinan 19 what do you think I should set it at?

Thanks
Mikey

Guess I should have included this in my original post.
I have heard people swear by it, and I have heard others say not to get one. What's the deal?

 

Mikey,

Read this-
http://motoringfile.com/2005/04/07/o...pension_how-to
(22mm alta bar with JCW suspension upgrade= good results).

If you do corner hard like you describe then a rear sway bar will probably help reduce understeer. Try the soft or middle setting first. See how things work. Resist the temptation to start with the firmest setting right off the bat.

For normal street driving the upgraded rear sway bar plays a minor role.
You have to get on the track to really appreciate how well it works.

 

The 22 on the middle works very well. Joseph at R Speed let me drive his car before I had mine installed and I thought the diffference was huge.

 

i think it's silly to worry about a warrantee on a swaybar. H-sport is what i would buy. cheaper and probably better anyways.

 

But first of all, start here. A couple of pages in it starts on good, starter driving technique. Learning about breaking and cornering technique will get you much more than any add on part (other than an add on race driver!). And it's free. But rear bar, and camber plates will do wonders for handling, and tire wear...

Matt

 

if you'd asked what sway bar is the cutest!

Matt

 

If this is the behavior you want, then I would do as Minihune suggested and try the JCW by itself first because that is exactly what it is designed to do.

Are you sure the JCW will be low enough for you? In the other (M7) thread you wanted looks and ride above all else, and a rear bar will do little for either. IMHO, roll itself is not necessarily bad, but the M7 setup would likely result in less roll than a 19mm bar, because it is so low there is less travel to roll.
The warranty on any suspension part isn't worth much because what the dealer defines as "worn out" may not line up with your definition, and a big enough impact to break it will be handled by insurance, not warranty.

 

...don't forget about roll couple...too can exaserbate weight transfer.

 

You mean JCW's suspension kit doesn't include a gold plated bar jus kidn:smile:

 

It's all the rage....

 

mikey- go with at least a 22mm. :smile:

 

It's already been said, but I'll say it again. If you're sure about the JCW suspension, so it and driver the car for a few weeks to see if you're happy. If you still feel like you're still getting too much understeer, upgrading the rear swaybar is the fix. A 19mm rear bar will help. A 22mm bar will eliminate it under nearly all circumstances you'll see in street driving. And, I wouldn't consider warranty concerns very heavily in this decision.

 

I've had my H-Sport ever since the 400 mile mark, and it's really been a great experience. I actually started at the middle setting, but found the car with the stock tires to be a bit too "loose" when I took a corner without braking. So I've since changed to the softest setting to maximize my tires grip, and will go back to middle setting when I finally switch to non-runflats.

Even now at the soft setting, the car still feels really "tightly wound", ready to attack the next corner or canyon road.

 

Mikey,

I have the JCW suspension with a Dinan 19mm bar. Both these items were put on my 05 MCS before I took delivery, so that I could include them in my financing. The Dinan 19mm was the only bar the dealer offered, otherwise I would have gone with a 22mm bar. I figured the 19mm wasn't enough.

I also have an 04 MCS with stock suspension and an H-sport comp (22mm equivalent) bar for comparison. Since all the parts were put on the 05 at the same time, I can't tell you how much effect the sway bar alone added. But I will say this: The combination of the JCW and Dinan bar handles far better than the other MCS w/ H-sport comp bar. In fact I love it! It's feels really well balanced and neutral, and is perfect for the twisty roads I drive everyday.

If your goal is the track, well then you would definitely want the 22mm bar, but for spirited street driving I would not shy away from the 19mm, based on my own experience with one. I am pleased with mine even though I didn't expect to be. One down side to the Dinan is that it has only 2 holes, rather than 3 like the h-sport and some others. However I have yet to switch mine out of the soft hole.

I will also echo what others have said about warrantees and sway bars. there is not much to warrantee, except maybe the installation, which is pretty simple and low risk of goofing something up.

Good luck on your decision.

 

I swapped out my MCS stock rear and opted for a 19MM - noticeable difference when driving aggressively.

 

Now, I'm confused!
I wanted the 22, now I'm thinking about a 19, I just want one that I can take on the track every 6 months and not notice any understeer or roll, I also want this when I drive aggresively in the twisties (which happen to be only a few min from my house!), I dont care about my warranty in this segment because if I put it on after the dealer puts on the JCW Suspension I doubt if they'll notice and doubt even if they did that they would care.

The JCW Susp. is non-negotiable though, I did want and still want a lower ride, but to keep my warranty it's really my only option next to the Dinan, which is $500 more.

Mikey

 

What about a 22mm bar, stiffest setting, with a front bar? I installed front and rear sways on my 88 CRX (RIP) and the handling was amazing! Is a front bar totally useless?

 

Here's a data point for you...

03 Cooper, JCW springs and dampers, sports suspension fron swaybar (not SS+), RDR rear swaybar on the softest of 3 settings.

On the road, I'd have to be going too fast to find out if there's still understeer. I can take my exit ramp / cloverleaf with very little sliding.

On an autocross course, the rear bar is stiff enough (at its softest setting) to get the inside rear wheel to lift off the ground under cornering, and get a tiny bit of oversteer in a mid-speed slalom.

I'm taking it to the track this weekend, so I'll be able to see what it does at speed soon.

One source lists the RDR bar at 21mm, another at 22.5mm. I haven't measured mine. In any case, it's 3-way adjustable, so I can always dial in more stiffness if I want. But, for the autocross course with the rest of the suspension I have, I don't need more rear sway stiffness.

With a stiffer front swaybar (like from the SS+), one might need to move the RDR rear bar to the middle hole to get the same balance I have.

 

The 19mm bar is more than enough UNLESS you are making a race car.

Note: not all the bars "fit" the same - some are such a tight fit that they have been known to rub the springs, others squeal, ect..... I spoke with a local installer who guided me to the RDR 19mm bar - partly due to fit. I have had zero problems.

 

Craig,

That's a great question. The answer is: It depends

Take a few minutes to read this thread:

It should answer your questions, as this topic was addressed.

 

Geeze, there's a 19mm RDR rear bar too? Now I've seen 19mm (here), 21mm (outmotoring), and 22.5mm (helix).

I've got whatever size outmotoring sold me. 3-way adjustable with the locking collars you bolt onto it.