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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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2
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473
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6/17/2008
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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50% of reviewers
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$350.00
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4.0
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Description:
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three piece chassis stiffening kit
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PGT
Coordinator :: Capital Area MINI Modders
Registered: May 2006
Location: DC Metro
Posts: 7311
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Review Date: 6/9/2008
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Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid?: $350.00
| Rating: 1
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Pros:
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good price for three pieces
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Cons:
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tedious installation and lack of disclosure by mfr about exhaust clearance issues
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I actually bought two of these, one for my wife's cabrio with a Milltek and one for my coupe with an Alta exhaust. The install of the front section is a pain since M7 chose to use some holes in the body for which you need to do nutserts. You first need to open the hole up with teh drill bit they include - it's more than six inches long. This means without a lift and/or right angle drill, you'll have issues. I did mine on a Bend-Pak four post lift - the treads were in the way even then, which lead to a slight angle due to the length of the drill.
I went through multiple nutserts (buy a bag of 20...) to get a secure fit. The main issue however is that this kit was designed around the stock exhaust. We had clearance issues on both the Milltek and Alta which M7 claims 'are not popular'. Peruse NAM and you'll see these are in the top five of all exhausts out there, if not the top 2-3 chosen. Still, to this day, some two years later, M7 has failed to put a disclaimer on their site about 'may not fit non-stock exhausts'.
I pulled both off and sold them, at a loss. M7 claims to have a fix....they won't put it in writing however. It seems their 'fix' is to add washers to space the USS down further to clear, making the USS the lowest point on teh car and a sure way to scrape over speedbumps.
A better product in my opinion is the TSW x-brace - no clearance issues, super easy install (uses factory bolts) and nice guys to boot. 
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BlimeyCabrio
VP - Tar Heel MINIs
Registered: September 2006
Location: Holly Springs, NC
Posts: 6397
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Review Date: 6/17/2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Improved front end composure on rough pavement; looks great
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Cons:
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Not a trivial install; some aftermarket exhausts have clearance issues.
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I've been running the USS for about 16 months and almost 30,000 miles. I installed it on jack stands in my garage using a very compact air drill... otherwise the provided drill bit would have been too long to use with a regular drill. I run the one-ball modified stock exhaust, so have had no clearance issues.
I rarely track my car, but do aggressively drive mountain twisties on rough pavement. In my opinion, the impact of the USS on reducing cowl shake and improving front end composure and grip on rough pavement when cornering was significant and immediate. A more detailed write-up appears on my blog here.
This is the only under-chassis brace I've run on my car, and I'm quite happy with it for my needs.
I've personally received excellent service and support from the M7 folks.
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