Hi everyone, I have been doing some research into improving how my 2007 MCS handles around corners and have learned that the rear end wants to push forward even though you're in a tight turn, I feel it when looping around those on-ramps to freeways. I have also read many threads about how a sway bar can improve handling by eliminating understeer. I have also had some conflicting information about how stiffer sway bars can spin you around in a corner end to end, not sure if you that's just at the extreme end of what's possible on spirited back roads. I have read some interesting things about the Madness MINI Cooper S 22mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar. I'm running sports suspension, 205/45/17" wheels with Pirelli summer high performance runflats. I'm interested in buying one if it will improve handling overall, feedback appreciated! Thanks, Systemlord.
:cornut: I went a different direction and the problem that you are having went away. Margi is an 08 R56 BRG MCS/JCWm and also has the Sport Suspension. Now with the sport suspension we already have heavier antisway bars.(standard suspension have 22mm/17mm[front and rear], sport suspension 23.5mm/18mm, and JCW 24mm/18.5mm). I read a lot about the problem and decided that for me, the best solution was to dump unsprung weight which tightens and balances the suspension by a considerable amount. So the heavy run flat tires were replaced with non run flat tires(~5lbs lighter per tire)size 215x45 R17s and the light weight(24lbs each) MINI sport wheels were replaced with 14lbs each OZ Allegerettes and there by dumping a considerable amount of unsprung weight(like 60-70lbs). Just this resulted in more rapid acceleration, decreased braking distance, much better road, curve, and turn handling. The difference was obviously noticeable and nothing else has changed(ie no AEM parts) on the suspension. I would never say that my way is better, it was just better for me. The 22mm rear antisway bar is cheaper than what I did but what I did helped the entire suspension as opposed to only push/understeer. Jason
Eibach 19mm sway bar I have an 09 S with Sport suspension and I couldn't deal with getting airborn over the smallest imperfections in the road with the stiffness of it (and run flats) so I got NM springs, 215/45/17 tires and the sway bar. The sway bar made the car very balanced and I can induce oversteer if I want but it will not snap and surprise me. Not sure if you really need 22mm but I guess you can set it to the softest setting and it will be similar to my 19 at the stiffest setting. It's a great investment. And ditch the run flats when they wear out.
According to Realoem.com the standard rear sway bar is 17mm and the sport/JCW bar is 18mm RealOEM.com  BMW R56 Coop.S JCW Stabilizer, rear
You will find that most will agree that the 22mm bar is great if you do not plan on getting front camber plates. If you plan on getting front camber plates (lots of reason to get them) then a 19mm is plenty.
I had a Madness 22mm rear bar on my 06 R53 and it made all the difference in the world. Don't hesitate!
For me the 19mm with IE fixed plates & a good alignment is the sweet spot. I did not want a 22mm bar because I planned to do track days & felt it would be a bit tail happy in fast corners. Since you have lowered your car has it been aligned? Lowering adds negative camber which also adds toe-in to the front. That will give you even more understeer.
:cornut: WRONG! They don't have the JCW sway bars listed at all only standard and sport. The rear on the JCW is 18.5mm. Jason
I have ran a 22mm rear bar on all my MINI's until I got my Coupe. After talking with Chad at DT I opted for the 25mm H-Sport hollow competition rear bar. It's lighter than the 22mm solid bar and feels great. Some have said that it is a compromise between the 19 and 22mm solids. I highly recommend it. Justa my 2 cents. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
All 19mm or 22mm sway bars will make a huge difference in handling on the MINI so you can't go wrong with upgrading to either as you see from the other responses of each person likes whatever they got. Typically if you've just got a street car and not ever going to do any track days or AutoX you can just go with a TSW 19mm sway bar If you want more aggressive or going to do track days or AutoX you will want the bigger 22mm bar. The Hsport Comp bar is by far the best. It is the lightest too. Both the bars I recommend are the best choices as they both have 3 adjustments, quality powdercoat, both have the best bushings that actually have grease channels in them to hold the grease in the bushing unlike other bushings on different bars, and the brackets have zerk fittings to regrease if need be later but usually don't.
Does it really matter if sway bar A has a one piece forged bar while sway bar B is welded together at the ends? That is the reason why I wanted the Madness sway bar, but can't find any in-stock anywhere. They are at least a month away from getting more of the Madness MINI Cooper S 22mm Adjustable Rear Sway Bar back in stock! :frown5: Will I need an alignment after installing a sway bar?
Let me get this right, we have 19mm, 22m solid sway bars and a hollow 25.5mm rear sway bar. What advantages does a rear sway bar have that's hollow and 8 pounds lighter?
I think that's great Scott. Personally I don't like the Alta bar because it has welded ends and the finish is painted not powder coat. They sell a lot of them though. The H Sport bar is one piece and powder coated with grease zerks as noted by Way.
That's great. With as early in the MINI lifetime as I got mine I would not have been sorry to have had a problem that needed to be addressed by either a replacement bar or modifying the bushings. This being the bane of early adopters. But since it has had no issues I am happy with it......and no squeaks! :biggrin5:
YES the Hsport Comp bar is 25.5mm but since it is hollow it is the save stiffness as a 22mm bar. Yes saving weight on your car is a good thing. But the biggest advantage over the madness bar is the quality and the bushings it uses. The madness is just a flat bushing so the grease will come out of it and squeak, also the coating on the madness bar I've seen come off numerous times. The Hsport bar is a one piece without welded ends. Welded ends isn't a bad thing if it's done right as we do it on the TSW bar and it works great, but I've seen other companies have issues with welded ends so I see your concern there. Go the the Hsport Comp bar and never look back. It's the #1 selling bar for the MINI for a reason.
:cornut: ScottinBend, a little explanation is in order here. During the period 2007-2008(I'm unsure of 2009), the JCW was not a factory built car but was ordered in increments and built at the dealership from standard R56's(my Margi for example 08 R56 MCS/JCW[ecu map/air intake/cat back exhaust] but she has the sport suspension and not the lowered JCW suspension). The increments 1(engine ECU map, air intake, and cat back exhaust), 2 suspension( heavier springs/shocks/anti sway bars/frame lowering), 3 JCW Big Brakes, 4 JCW Body Parts/aero kit. Hence people in those years would speak of their JCW MINIs as JCW x 1 or x 3 etc. Thank you for providing the REALOEM link and I searched it and a few other sources(not an extensive search however) and was unable to find these specific(suspension) parts. They simply weren't listed, why, I don't know but they aren't. Now one see's that there were 3 different sizes of suspensions and consequently anti sway bars during those years, standard, sport suspension, and JCW lowered suspension. Again, why REALOEM doesn't list them is a mystery. Establishing the history of our MINIs is very important, thanks for the opportunity. Jason
In the not so distant future I plan on going with lowering springs but while maintaining full suspension travel and some lighter wheels. Will the H-Sport Comp bar work nicely with my plans? I'm guessing member's that are using the middle hole on your h-sport comp bar have to push their Mini aggressively to experience spin arounds and loss of control, would I be correct? Which would you say has a stiffer sway bar, the h-sport comp or the Madness 22mm bar? 2007 MCS, Sport Suspension