anti roll bar

[In the shed]

Tupers, my mini is in bits at the moment and the ARB is buried somewhere. I don't have any photos of it fitted, sadly.

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/m ... C00122.jpg

You can see the mounting "blocks" on the edge of the back subframe. It was 12mm and the bar was "bent" at the corners, rather than attatched to "blades". This was a MS one, IIRC. The bar ended in a spigoted end which then picked up a thing which looked like a tuning fork and was attached to a bolted "ears" which went on the backs of the drum....I forget where, exactly. One thing it did do was majorly interfere with the position of the exhaust. I've forgotten how I got around it, but it involved welding and swearing.

[YMJ]

Any of the heavier duty spec Minispares ARBs are great for the road, race and trackday. I used to use one but I was running into problems with tyres rubbing on its control arm, maximum track limits, bendy tyres and space to fit it all in, so I hade to commission (I can't weld) one to my own personal spec.

[Ratkiller]

I have a rear KAD asb.
http://www.kentautodevelopments.com/sho ... ms-5-8-bar

It's one of the best bits I've purchased for my mini, on top of the hi/los with red coils springs. Before the sway bar the front would lose traction, although smashing the throttle would pull the car around the corner, but the slippage would dramatically slow the car down. Now with the rsb it stays low and solid, no front traction loose, but there is an increase of the rear steer. Which is a little scary when it first happens but it's amazing how it really helps with the corning speeds. And to be honest I'm still learning how to handle the rear drift when pushing hard on the track.

Here’s a couple of close ups of my rear KAD asb. For some reason after installing the mounting plates to the frame rails, from side to side, they were a little too wide for the extra thickness at the ends of the bar, about 5mm, so I trimmed the bushing blocks inorder for them to clamp around the bar correctly. I also had to lower the tail of my exhaust as it would hit the bar. All in all it still works great!!!!

[66S]

Hi guys,
Here is a bar I made myself, loosely copied of a works one. The original was made from 1/2" square section steel but I couldn't any so went to 5/8" round and machines squares at the ens to attach the arms. It works well with the hydro and made the car sit a lot flatter in corners.

Al

[66S]

Some more taken during construction.

Al

[Tupers]

That looks very nicely made 66S, did you use mild steel or something high carbon like 4130? Also could you tell me how long the blades are from the centre of the bar to the rose joint?

[Pete]

I used to use one but I was running into problems with tyres rubbing on its control arm, maximum track limits, bendy tyres and space to fit it all in, so I hade to commission (I can't weld) one to my own personal spec.

Worth remembering folks that if ordering a KAD one that they make two rear bars for the Mini, one's designed for App K, ie for the std Cooper S track and there's a wider one. I bought the slightly wider one first time round by mistake and had the tyre rubbing problem. They did however swap it FOC which was impressive.

[IAIN]

Thanks for the pictures Ratkiller and 66s.

66s very impressed. You must have had plenty spare time to make and develop that roll bar.

[66S]

Hi Tupers and Iain,
The arms measure 7.3/4" centre to centre. I had the bar made by a spring maker out of 5/8" round, apparently the equivalent of the original 1/2" square bar which was not available here . This also meant changing the design of the subframe anchor points and I went with a more conventional style and utilized rubber. Being a road car, I wanted ground clearance so this meant it really had to be at the rear and I wanted to retain the original exhaust position. I couldn't seem to find anything ready made on the market so made my own. There was not that much work in it and an interesting little project to do. Pics attached of the remains of the original one, believed to be a "works bar".

Regards
Al

[Earwax]

Love both of those solutions gents

[69k1100]

I've always known these as sway bars. It's a limiter, but you have some flexibility due to the bar acting as a torsion spring. As one wheel goes up it will pull the other one up to a degree. It effectively removes some of the independence that a trailing arm has.

[monkeyjim]

I used to use one but I was running into problems with tyres rubbing on its control arm, maximum track limits, bendy tyres and space to fit it all in, so I hade to commission (I can't weld) one to my own personal spec.

Worth remembering folks that if ordering a KAD one that they make two rear bars for the Mini, one's designed for App K, ie for the std Cooper S track and there's a wider one. I bought the slightly wider one first time round by mistake and had the tyre rubbing problem. They did however swap it FOC which was impressive.

I also have kad bars , bought unused from a friend who is a staff member of one of the Monthly Mini publications .
I contacted kad and they still happily swapped the long bar for the short one .

Car not finished yet so cannot comment on performance .