I just bought the Madness sway bar from Rand (Thanks Randy!!!) and attempted to use the position on the sway bar closest to the front of the car for maximum stiffness. However, I found that in that position, the drop link actually touches (and slightly bends) the coilover shock. All illustrations show two holes on either side of the sway bar but the bar I have has three holes on either side. Is it ok to still use the position closest to the front of the vehicle or will I risk bending the drop link?

Thanks
Jim

 

Using the farthest forward position (stiffest) presents no problems with the stock struts (even with aftermarket springs). But some aftermarket coilover sets require you to cut off the "first hole" so as to not rub on the coilover itself.

What coilovers do you have?

Oh, and the original bar had 2 holes. The new ones have three. The bar is no different. The stiffest hole (nearest front of car when installed) is in the same spot. The other hole was "split in two" essentially. The bar end is no longer than the original. Hope that makes sense.

R

 

Davbret
Thanks for the reply. I have the stock struts/springs. Did your drop links actually touch the stock spring upon installation? After installation I noticed that the drop link touched the spring. After lowering the lift I noticed that the drop link slightly bent as a result of being too close to the spring. I'm a little worried that the situation may worsen (drop link may permanently bend) after aggresive driving. At this point the drop link is positioned in the middle hole but I really would like the firmest setting.

Thanks
Jim

 

That's very unusual. I've not heard of any positioning problems with this bar and the stock struts/springs. Have you called Madness about this? Do you have any pictures?

Here is a shot of mine. You can see that it's very close, but not touching.




R

 

Res - I think I got one of the first 3 hole bars from Randy. The "new" design may allow those with coilovers to use that innermost hole as the coilover springs generally have a smaller diameter than the stock ones. DO NOT try to use the innermost hole with the stock springs as there are significant clearence problems with the droplink. You will bend and/or break them on the first pothole. Randy acknowledged this in another thread somewhere. I'm on the middle hole and quite frankly I don't think it needs any more except for track use. Could get a little goofy in the rain.

 

Hmmmm.... I'm meeting with George of Madness tomorrow. I'll check with him. To my knowledge there is no difference in the position of the inner hole, only the back one was divided in to two holes. I'll confirm that.

R

 

BlueMCS

Thanks for the information! After your post, I changed the drop link to the middle position. You probably saved me the cost of the droplinks!

Davbret

Thanks in advance for checking with Madness.

Thanks again

Jim

 

i have the orignal madness bar(2 holer) with H&R coilover; the springs are the same coil diameter as stock. I had to bend the arms of the bar outward 3/4" on each side to completely clear the springs (I have a couple of high tonnage bending machines, so i could do it cold and at the original bend position.) fits fine now using the inner hole. George told me he was modifying the subsequent bars (3-holers) so they would clear. Apparantly not.

 

There are three designs of the Madness swaybar. The first was two holes - the farthest forward could be used with aftermarket or stock springs.

The second was designed to work with some coilovers (LEDAs specifically) and allowed the use of an even stiffer forward setting only with those units. Other springs require the original "stiff" setting, which is the middle hole. The "soft" setting still works with all springs.

The latest bar, due out this week, has a couple of changes. First, the washers that prevented side-side movement have been replaced with bends (lighter weight). The other change is the radius of the bends will allow the use of all three settings with any spring or coilover combination.

Let me know if you have any othre questions.

Randy

 

I'm on the wait list at Madness to get one of the first of the "3rd gen" rear sway bars. I will provide fitment feedback whenever it arrives. :smile:

 

Yup, what Randy said. I checked myself. :smile: There were instructions sent out with the v 2.0 sway bar saying to NOT use the "stiffest" setting with stock springs.

R

 

Gen 2, huh? Sound a bit like Gen 3 with bugs. Was this a Microsoft product?

Just kidding, I am very happy with this bar and like you'all, believe it should be the first mod to any mini.

I feel like an old wimp saying this but.....Those choosing the stiffer settings initially should understand what this will do to their handling. There is plenty of grip in this car but the turn will be much crisper, the steering lightens up and the understeer disappears. The first reaction to the uninitiated is to lift off of the throttle in a turn. Under certain circumstances you could induce trailing throttle oversteer to the point where you could spin. Its not bad at all, in fact its great. But, I would advise those who have not dealt with this feeling before to try the stiffer setting in an autocross or in an empty parking lot where you can become familiar with the feeling and limits of adhesion before you go out blasting around the streets. Go into a fast turn and take your foot off of the gas...see what happens...see how far you have to go to make it spin....then you'll know exactly what you are working with.

Enough said.