You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!
Damn! I had been following the issue and was considering the SRP's when, Bam, raised manhole cover, construction zone, not that hard of a hit ,no tire/wheel damage, no apparent strut mount rubber damage, now it looks like I have slight mushrooming, passenger side (same side of the hit) tower. Needless to say, the SRP's are on the way. No other potholes, 1500 miles and yes, 17" rf's, stock suspension.
__________________
06 MCS/JCW CR/B "Red", Whalen, M7 SRP's, Alta Stubby, RSD, GMG Pulsar, JCW Fatty and Koni FSD's
04 MCS 40 #370 (gf) bone stock (sold 12/31/07) CROC #210 PW/B #1 (Emeritus) EVERYONE KNOWS A RED CAR IS FASTER!
Damn! I had been following the issue and was considering the SRP's when, Bam, raised manhole cover, construction zone, not that hard of a hit ,no tire/wheel damage, no apparent strut mount rubber damage, now it looks like I have slight mushrooming, passenger side (same side of the hit) tower. Needless to say, the SRP's are on the way. No other potholes, 1500 miles and yes, 17" rf's, [Emphasis added.] stock suspension.
Your damage likely occurred as a result of the 17 inch wheels and the runflat tires....
I have a question.. Will a strut tower brace that uses a large moutning plate ie: jcw help with mushrooming or do i need to do the plates and a bar. I understand that the m7 may do this with there really large plates that come with there bar.
__________________ 06' MCS CR/W, SPORT PKG, MOONROOF, 17" S-lites 17% Alta Classic, Gatorback, TSW Engine Damper, Dinan CAI w/K & N, Aero front Bumper, Aero Grills
I have a question.. Will a strut tower brace that uses a large moutning plate ie: jcw help with mushrooming or do i need to do the plates and a bar. I understand that the m7 may do this with there really large plates that come with there bar.
You need the large plate to relieve the strut tops from mushrooming. The JCW strut bar does not include any type of plates for the strut top to insure no mushrooming. M7 sells SRP's which cover the entire strut top, and you do not need the strut bar. If you want the strut bar, m7's is problably one of the best. I have a 06 with 20k lowered almost 3 inches all the way around, and I run the m7 strut bar. Have no mushrooming to this day. Check out customminishop.com - they sell everything m7.
.Has anyone had this fixed under warranty? Or is everyone getting warranty denied?
Seems to be a case-by-case basis on Good Will not warranty. This is of course providing there is no road damage (pothole type) the is the cause. I gotta give thumbs up to my guys for taking care of my mystery mushroom as there was no other damage beside the bent strut mount causing the mushroomed tower.
My take on the re-inforcement is this, And I've talked to shops and bulders alike with the same response, ANY bar will help with the mushrooming. The weak spot is the strut bearing assembly that is bending, and taking the sheetmetal with it. This will not be corrected by any bar, M7 included, but the brace (JCW, M7 etc) will keep the mushrooming to a minimum. the best fix is to replace the OEM strut mount with stronger camberplates, either adjustable like Helix, or fixed like Ireland Engineering.
__________________ http://www.thompsonsmithdesign.com/w...adge-small.JPG #34 Current: 2005 MCS -HB/B tastefully tweeked.
1984 BMW R80 Pacific Blue - FOR SALE Past: 1991 BMW 325iX Diamond Scharz - 4-door, 5spd, AWD - RIP (Electric Fire)
Too stiff of a suspension will do such things but the driver I believe could be part of the problem. Try to avoid the potholes! These cars were not designed to take potholes very easily like my HEMI powerwagon for instance. If you can't avoid the landmine...pray!
I have avoided potholes like the plague and I still have mushrooming on both sides, with the driver side the most noticeable. However with the bombed-like roads along southeast Michigan, it is no wonder mine are mushroomed.
I have avoided potholes like the plague and I still have mushrooming on both sides, with the driver side the most noticeable. However with the bombed-like roads along southeast Michigan, it is no wonder mine are mushroomed.
You may have bombed roads in Michigan; but in the S.F. bay area, we have fox holes in the roadway. Ever see an 18 wheel tractor-trailer swerve to avoid breaking his axles (from the encounter with the fox hole)? He almost took out 3 cars that were in the lane immediately to left of the tractor-trailer.
Our '06 MCS Cabrio had mushrooming on the passenger side after less than 6,000 miles and no notable impacts. Wheels are Web-spokes, with 17" run-flats.
The mushrooming didn't look too bad, but it was enough that when I installed the M7 SRP on that side, I couldn't even get all three of the bolts started. After following the directions and flattening the metal back out, everything went together fine. I also have a set ready to go into my new car when it arrives next week. I may even put them on before I drive the car home!
Friend comes over today. '06 MCS - 1500 miles, 17" dunlop run-flats. Stock suspension. Driver's strut tower had a decent crease/mushroom - especially for such low mileage. Passenger side was very slightly out of shape.
Installed an M7 STB with an performed the bonnet pad back-side-ectomy.
Comparing these strut towers those on to my daughter's TOYota Camry, the MINI's strut towers look like they belong on a toy .
I went to put on my new M7STB and frickin mushrooming on both sides. 04MCS 18" Dunlop Run-Flats stock suspension. I am going to the dealer to see what can be done. Will update.
I went to put on my new M7STB and frickin mushrooming on both sides. 04MCS 18" Dunlop Run-Flats stock suspension. I am going to the dealer to see what can be done. Will update.
I have the Strut Reinforcement Plates instead of the Strut Brace, but the directions that are included with the Plates describe how to flatten out the mushrooming with a block of wood and a hammer. Worked perfectly on my wife's car, and her mushrooming was bad enough that the passenger-side plate wouldn't even go on over the bolts at first. I did wrap the wood block with a thin towel to prevent marring the paint on the strut tower.
. . . Not certain that I can tell whether this is occurring on my car: '05 w/17" runflats . . . low miles
is there any difference here than depicted on MiniMacPR's photos?
I'm pretty good about dodging pot holes and taking it easy on rough road. Can hard cornering do the damage as well?
You certainly appear to be tempting fate (with the 17-inch wheels and runflat tires).
In terms of do your strut towers show mushrooming - they don't appear to be; however, the only way to conclusively tell would be to put some re-inforcing plates on and see if there is any mushrooming.
Safe driving practices seem to have avoided the dreaded disease (mushrooming). But if it were mine, I would either loose the runflats and 17 inch wheels or invest in a set of re-inforcing plates. Or, better yet - re-inforce from below with a set of camber plates. Also, there is the risk of cracked strut mounts inside the strut towers. Reinforcing plates won't stop that (strut mount failure) from happening.
Last edited by caminifan; 10-16-2006 at 10:19 PM.
Reason: Spelling errors
I'm not trying to tempt anything . . . I'm more than a bit concerned about this issue . . . and, mushrooming aside, have wanted to add a STB in addition to other upgrades. No real interest in the 16" wheels . . . at least I haven't been looking in that direction.
I'm also curious as to whether loads experienced in dramatic cornering can produce the same damage as a pothole?
A prior post questionned how the SRP's work. I'm not an engineer, but I can't quite grasp how the plate functions on the top of the tower.
Would it not have to be installed under the portion of the body work that the struts are actually mounted to make any difference . . . otherwise I imagine it could eventually get "punched" up, possibly stripping the bolts upon which it is mounted.
What do I know? Not much.
__________________
DS '05 MCs * JCW CAI * JCW Exhaust * Premium Pack * 6 spd Manual/LSD * Xenon * Lapis Blue Leather * Chrono Pack * Chrome Line Interior/Exterior * Alloy Patina Interior * HK Sound w/iPod * Map Light * Driving Lights * Chrome Mirrors
I'm not trying to tempt anything . . . I'm more than a bit concerned about this issue . . . and, mushrooming aside, have wanted to add a STB in addition to other upgrades. No real interest in the 16" wheels . . . at least I haven't been looking in that direction.
16 inch wheels are a consideration insofar as the tires will be taller (going from /45 series cross section to /50 series), which provides more rubber (the tire sidewall) to absorb road impact before it gets transmitted to the strut tower.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CutnThrust
I'm also curious as to whether loads experienced in dramatic cornering can produce the same damage as a pothole?
Doubtful as the load from cornering is different (horizontal application of forces) than potholes (vertical application of forces). Although, if you hit a pothole while cornering, all bets are off....
Quote:
Originally Posted by CutnThrust
A prior post questionned how the SRP's work. I'm not an engineer, but I can't quite grasp how the plate functions on the top of the tower.
There has been a whole line of back-and-forth in another thread between Dave and at least two of the people (Peter and Randy if memory serves) at M7 about which is the best way to protect from mushrooming the strut towers. Plates on top of the strut tower probably can be conceptualized as adding a re-inforcement that fights the urge of the strut tower sheet metal to give (bulge/mushroom) in response to road impacts.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CutnThrust
Would it not have to be installed under the portion of the body work that the struts are actually mounted to make any difference . . . otherwise I imagine it could eventually get "punched" up, possibly stripping the bolts upon which it is mounted.
You have grasped the essential point of debate between Dave and the crew at M7. My personal belief is that the plates probably provide an intermediate level of protection against mushrooming. A more permanent solution would be to install camber plates under the strut tower sheet metal. If you were to install adjustable camber plates under the strut towers, you would gain a further benefit in that you could adjust camber and further improve the MINI's handling. Also, Ireland Engineering sells a fixed camber plate that has a mild amount of negative camber but has a more robust strut mount (the rubber thing that is also prone to fail in addition to the mushrooming). The reinforcement plates will do nothing to stop the rubber strut mount from failing in response to road impacts; so, the best solution in my mind is the Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates with the more robust strut mount.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CutnThrust
What do I know? Not much.
Don't sell yourself short. You were able to think through the issues and ask relevent questions.
Just installed some M7 shock tower plates. When I set them on the towers I only had 1/16 - 1/8 inch worth of deflection. When I tightened all the bolts down, everything went right.
,no tire/wheel damage, no apparent strut mount rubber damage, now it looks like I have slight mushrooming, passenger side (same side of the hit) tower.
Needless to say, the SRP's are on the way. No other potholes, 1500 miles and yes, 17" rf's, stock suspension.
2005 DS/B MCS w/LSD, MMC #455, DSOC #113
.
)
Ever see an 18 wheel tractor-trailer swerve to avoid breaking his axles (from the encounter with the fox hole)? He almost took out 3 cars that were in the lane immediately to left of the tractor-trailer.
.
