I looking into purchasing the h-sport race rear sway bar for a MINI Cooper S. Is this too much for street driving? This will rarely see the track. It is driven pretty aggressively around corners, but I don't want to lose the back end while running through a yellow left turn signal. Let me just say this. We bought it new in 05/05. It came with the perelli all season runflats and 9k miles later, we need new ones.

What do you all think? Anyone have personal experience?

Thanks,
William

BTW, I did search, but didn't really get a solid answer. If I did, I wouldn't have started this thread!

 

Get the H-Sport Comp set from ebay for $280 shipped. You will like the handling feel. I know I felt a BIG difference.

 

I would do that, but I can get a race bar for even cheaper.

 

I am by no means a suspension expert, but the race bar is a WHOLE LOT of rear swaybar (a solid, 1" bar). Even the soft setting is over 300% if I remember correctly. There is an h-sport race bar for sale ($220) in the NAM marketplace right now... the post has the % in it, if I remember correctly.

I'm running the h-sport comp bar (1 inch hollow bar) right now on full soft and it works with my front camber plates and lowering springs, but sometimes I wish that I could go one notch softer... especially if my wife would be driving the car for any length of time. Her instinct is to lift off of the accelerator if she comes into a turn too hot... the worst thing for a rear-happy car. I'm looking forward to cranking the bar up to hard for Auto-X in a safe environment and feeling the back end rotate hard, but I wish I had a softer option in my bag of tricks.

I got the h-sport comp because I got a great price on it and because I like the Zerk grease fittings. The hardware is nice and beefy, too. When I got it I wasn't expecting to go much farther with suspension upgrades, making it a good choice and was in a great range. Now that I've upped camber in the front, the rear swaybar might be a bit heavy-handed and I have to be more actively engaged in driving than some might want for a daily driver.

 

Thats my fear too. I'm just afraid that the back end will slip out in a dangerous place.

 

That's my fear right now and I'm using a softer rear bar on full soft than the race version. I can't imagine a scenario where I would move my rear swaybar to medium or hard on my current setup without being in a protected environment (track or Auto-x course). I drove around on medium when I had the rest of the stock suspension and was having fun and feeling fairly safe, but that's too much for street use now.

IMHO, it would be a blast to drive the h-sport race on a hot Auto-X car or maybe the track (but if you have a hard-core track car, you probably have other suspension mods making a very heavy rear sway unnecessary and very possibly slower).

Despite the great deal, I (me, myself, IMHO) would probably pass and keep looking for a better solution to my own needs.

PS: You can get several 19mm rear swaybars for around/under $200 that would give you a much more useful range of settings for a daily-driver street car.

 

Thanks for the advise. Thats the way I'll go.

 

Stay away from the race bar unless you live on the track with a car that has had numerous suspension upgrades. H-sport comp is lighter and better for your needs.

 

I have the H Sport Comp set in the middle hole. I read the postings here and when I first had it put on was scared I would go around in circles, it has not been a problem at all. I've done I track day as a novice and even there doing everything wrong that you could do wrong did not have a problem. I do have a problem with in making noise.

 

. . . full dittos to roach . . . and NO Squeaky!

 

If you do only street driving and never go on the track and you drive normally, not too fast on the turns then you're not likely to need a larger rear swaybar.

If you drive quickly and corner hard whether in an MC or MCS but you only drive on the street then a 19mm adjustable rear sway bar might be helpful to reduce understeer. It depends on how you drive. Generally this bar is not overly stiff.

If you autocross and drive on the track regularly then an adjustable 22mm bar might be worth the upgrade but start with the softest setting. Under normal driving conditions you will not notice anything and it should be fine.

If you track your car regularly and you have a lowered or upgraded suspension then the H-sport Comp bar is fine or consider a Webb adjustable rear bar.

Most owners will leave the stock front swaybar alone.