Hi all,

Trying to figure out what the different "mm" thicknesses offer for rear sway bars. 1. Do you have one?
2. What size did you choose?
3. Are you happy with the performance?
4. Would you have gone with a different size, and if so, why?

Bottom line is this is for my gf's car and it is her daily driver. She can often find herself on county roads that can be riddled with pot holes, so we're looking for something responsive, but not too rough of a ride should she hit one.

any thoughts and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
F

 

A heavier rear sway bar will add a tremendous amount of stability. The below comparison chart is from the Alta Performance website. As far as pot holes are concerned, the first thing you need to add are front strut tower plates to prevent mushrooming. Check with the listed vendors herein.
I added a 19MM adjustable RSB a bit over 5 years ago and am still amazed at the cornering stability.
The comparison chart as follows, hope it helps:
OEM Stock Bar (17mm ) Baseline For Rate / Effective Rate =117 LBS/IN
ALTA 19mm Bar Setting #1 115% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =135
ALTA 19mm Bar Setting #2 140% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =165
ALTA 19mm Bar Setting #3 177% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =208
ALTA 22mm Bar Setting #1 213% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =250
ALTA 22mm Bar Setting #2 260% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =305
ALTA 22mm Bar Setting #3 329% Higher Rate / Effective Rate =386

 

It comes down to how the car is going to be driven. At speed, the MINI goes into a corner with understeer. The swaybar will help neutralize the understeer based upon how much resistance (stiffer setting = more resistance = less understeer) the bar provides.

I did a mountain run a couple months back and our group had just about every kind of MINI you can think of, both modded and bone stock. A bone stock Justa, Cooper, Clubman, Coupe/Roadster or Countryman handles amazingly well.

I put a 22 mm bar on before the run, set at the middle point as my bar has three positions. On the run we did some more than moderate driving on some very twistie roads. I had never driven any car in corners as I did on that tour so do not know how the car would have handled without the stiffer swaybar. My car handled very well even with runflats (that I have now changed) but as I said the bone stock MINIs all handled extremely well including a Countryman. A friend and I that have Gen1s went to the run thinking that the "big MINIs" were no longer a MINI. We came back with a completely different opinion.

If you do decide to upgrade to a stiffer bar, the normal suggestion is to start off at the least stiff setting.

 

To answer your questions:
1) yes
2) 22mm
3) love it!
4) nope. see 3.

I put on the 22mm on the softest setting, haven't seen a need to change it though I suppose I should experiment at some point. The difference was immediately obvious in much more neutral handling (less understeer), the other thing that really transformed the handling was getting more camber all around.

CMS all4 is quite a different car vs. an R56 so your results may not be as dramatic. A stiffer rear sway bar won't make the ride harsher over bumps but will make the car much more responsive in swerving to avoid them.

 

Well it would depend on which MINI you're wanting to put the bar on. I've installed over 1000 sway bars over the years and I'd say 90% of them have been equal to a 22mm bar.
We make our own R60 sway bars and I did a lot of testing and made a few different size bars and still the 22mm gave the best feel and fit. It by far makes the handling more neutral as most R60s have a 16mm bar stock. But the biggest thing is the reduced body roll and how much more stuck to the road it will feel.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-co...-sway-bar.html
Now if it was for an R53 or R56 S we would by far recommend the Hsport Comp bar set on middle setting. The 19mm tends to leave S owners wanting more rotation, but the comp bar is ideal and the lightest avail. Plus it comes with the highest quality bushings to keep it quiet and not needing maint all the time by holding the grease in the bushings.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/wmw-rear-sway-bar.html

If is was a Non S and just a street car the 19mm is usually a pretty good fit as the spring rates are lower, and the car is lighter.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/tsw-re...-bar-19mm.html

I personally use the Comp bar on each of my cars.

 

One common thing with all aftermarket sway bars is that there are multiple holes on the end of the sway bar. This allows you to adjust the handling to suit your taste. The holes on the end of the bar will 'soften' the bar, and the holes away from the end of the bar will 'stiffen' it. As stated above, start at the soft setting, stiffer will make the car rotate easier. Even at the soft setting, the car will feel more nimble.


I'm very happy with my 25 mm H-sport bar, as suggested by Way above. I'm currently on the softest, because I'm not done with other suspension mods yet.


have fun,
Mike

 

Thinking about a 22mm bar too.. I'm eyeing the alta 22mm , but is there a better option? Are people happy with the Alta products?
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-alta-per...ampsus310~app/

Is the NM worth $70 (+ship) more?!
https://www.waymotorworks.com/nm-adj...-sway-bar.html

 

When you ask any opinions here be prepared to get as many as there are members.

On the rear sway bar you have either solid or tube type and then the bar is either drop forged with the flat end section being formed through pressure or the end is welded on. There are debates on what is better. Usually the welded are cheaper and IMO for the application they are ok.

 

I tend to agree with you... lots of welded parts on a car, incl suspension..

 

Mini upgrade products have been around for years. I don't think a bad product would still be on the market, or a bad company would still be in business. These are specialty products, not mass market.

H-sport supposedly has better bushings, NM has fancy brackets. Alta is red, nm is blue, h-sport is black. You see the rsb inside the wheel, if you care.

Here in Buffalo, on my year-round daily driver, everything rusts. My TSW springs, H-sport RSB, Alta control arms. That being said, I was happy with all of these products for over 4 years.

I would not be afraid to buy the rsb on sale.

Have fun,
Mike

 

I have had the Alta 22mm for ~4 years and it has been trouble free. It is a well constructed, high quality product. I expect the same would be true of the NM, Hsport, etc. but I have no direct experience with those.

I know many people are happy with the Hsport 25mm hollow bar, but after installing the 22mm Alta and looking at the clearance, I don't know how a 25mm bar would ever fit.

Really, there's no rocket science in a RSB. Look at the available options, decide on what is important to you, and get what makes you happy. In my opinion, the Hsport looked cheap because the bends were crimped, the NM looked nice but was significantly more expensive, the Alta was red matching my Chili Red MCS and was on sale. So I bought the Alta and have been perfectly happy with it. No matter which you choose, it will make a significant difference in handling.

 

Thanks guys. Im thinking alta for the red caliper matching color, and welded in collars that keep it aligned. When do you guys see sales? Often or more of a black friday type thing?

 

Alta has sales near holidays, like 10% off. But their dealers may have sales at other times. Just gotta check the guys that advertise here. ECS, Way Motor Works, Outmotoring, Pelican. Some have free shipping, some dont.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Can always check out our promos page to keep up to date with our most recent sales at:http://www.pelicanparts.com/promos. Can also sign up for our newsletter as we do product highlight and sales in it as well: http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/refer-a-friend.htm. I am also here if you have any tech or parts questions.

 

19 mm Hotchkis H-sport solid bar on the medium setting (for R50).
I'm happy with this.
Could go up to the stiff setting without getting into trouble, but the soft
setting would be too soft for me.

 

We don't recommend or even install the Alta bars as we have had too many issues with them so I would save your money and get the Hsport so you don't have to do the job again.

The welded tabs don't do anything but tell you where to put the bushings when you install it as the bar doesn't move left and right. If it does you got other problems.

Also if you want red, just pant the ends of the bar before installing as that is the only part you can see once it's in.

 

Then why did NM start using bushing stops??

 

Thank you so much for this information. Truly appreciate it.

 

Understandable for my R60, but this one will be going on my girlfriends R57 convertible...and boy does she ever need to dodge potholes. Just had a second blowout in 2 months...so ticked! Granted, a RSB won't be the answer to this, road repair is the fix for this.

 

Good question as we've never needed any stops for ANY Hsport or our TSW sway bars.

 

I run the Alta 22 mm sway bar. It works awesome! I am on the center hole. I also upgraded End links as well. Not sure if the stock links bend under pressure, but they were pretty thin compared to the new ones. Definitely worth the cash!

 

Just figured it out!! (why NM started installing bushing stops on their bars)
The hard way!
Snap oversteer.
NM rear links!!

The reason they installed stops, is that the MINI links do not allow the bar to move laterally. That might be the main reason OEM links break.
The NM links have heim joints top and bottom, allowing the bar to move more freely, also laterally.
Thats what happened to me after installing NM links, the bar (25mm solid H&R) was under load during a long high speed turn. Hit a low spot on the road, and the bar jumped laterally causing the car to plant down harder and oversteer. Got lucky recovery quickly enough!
This wasn't happening with the OEM links.

Evidence is the grease spread 1" on either side of the bar.



EDIT: The sway bar end link on the left side contacted the spring!!!
Yup, you NEED bushing stops with NM end links.

 

1. Yes
2. 25.4MM Hotchkis (largest available, equal to WMW H-sport)
3. Yes, noticeable off throttle oversteer that's not hard to modulate
4. No. I wanted a large change or none at all. It is at the stiffest setting

 

I had DT slap on the hollow Hotchkis bar at MOTD this year and it completely changed the feel of the car in the twisties. The car is more responsive, and under-steer basically disappeared. Mine is on the middle setting. (R56 S)
http://www.detroittuned.com/h-sport-...rear-sway-bar/

 

That was my favorite part of the new bar, It's almost like it steers from the rear end. Very happy with the Hotchkis bar, best few hundred bucks I've spent in a while.