Probably not a good idea if stock. The stock ti is set up for massive understeer, taking the rear bar off would just make that worse.

Fair enough, Im just trying to eliminate said massive understeer as much as possible but it wont really matter for this season since the SCCA in their infinite wisdom put the Focus ST in our class

Can you do 1 sway bar?

Maybe pick up a Z3M roadster (18.5mm) or M Coupe (19mm) rear sway bar and see how it changes the car. If you post a want-to-buy thread on bimmerforums z3 classifieds you can probably get one pretty cheap.

you can do 1 bar, ed suggested that I find the biggest one possible and whiteline's got a 21mm for a couple hundred or so but I might just look for one of your suggestions first

If you just took the bar off and stopped,, no doubt aboutit,, Understeer, but drop a pair of 900+ lb springs on the rear and you'll loosen it right back up..

Suspension tuning is dollar intensive.. When I tuned a S13/200sx went through 8 complete sets of springs and two sets of shocks before we had it totally dialed.. Car was sweet neutral, it slid the rear just very slightly before the front.. Now we are kind of starting over cause the SR20 is going to make a lot more power than the CA18.. LOL

Dave

5 years later......
 

Confirmation. My '98 Sport with Bilstein Sports, H&R Sport up front and Race in the rear with Canadian thick OEM Spring Pads, H&R front Swaybar for M Coupe, X-Brace, front and rear Shock Tower braces, and an H&R rear M Coupe swaybar that is no more, handles as if it were still there. I don't think I'm even going to put a stock bar back on. The car handles and grips even better than it did. I guess I will have to get used to not being able to swing the rear around on command. :smile:

I used to run autocross in a mostly stock vintage Cooper 'S' Mini, with a local club with local rules. Had/has small camber blocks on the rear, still the tiny stock 10" wheels, w/ Yokohamas.

Yours is an interesting question. Deleting a factory part could be explicitly fine with the rules, or it could be fine in the unwritten 'loophole' sense. Or not...

I tried running with the rear sway bar disconnected at a time trial last weekend. And I liked it! In tight corners the car had more grip and I could put power down earlier. And the car still felt planted in fast corners.
I run 700/900lbs f/r springs with Bilstein Motorsport shocks, 28mm H&R front sway bar, and Toyo R888R tires. Big thumbs up :smile:

I had a hard time letting go of the thought that I needed a swaybar of some kind on the rear, but after driving it now for a couple of months, I see no reason to put it back on and lose the grip that I've gained.