I keep seeing various front struts available, and then mulitple offers to buy them?? What are the buyers seeing that the sellers are not?? Is it certian brands??i

 

lol im no better....just put my JCW bar up for sale

 

The MINI understeers from the factory. Tightening up the front end with yet ANOTHER chassis brace is seen as overkill by those who know how to properly set up suspensions.

Basically, if you want the car to handle better (More neutral, leaning towards a tendency to oversteer) you want to stiffen up the rear before the front.

 

^ +1 (though I have one . . . but only 'cause it came with the M7 plates, which are great for anti-mushrooming peace of mind)

Another reason these move a lot in the marketplace is that it's an easy mod to remove and sell separately for those who are trading in or selling their MINI -- unlike a pulley (or exhaust, intake, etc if the OEM part isn't readily available)

 

if the M7, the strut brace to buy IF you really want to add one? How's the JCW?

 

^ Frankly, I thing all braces are worthless (save your $ for rear sway, then underbody braces, or something else). . . you're paying for bling -- so you can base the decision on looks and cost.

This is just my opinion (and probably that of others)

Having said that shock tower plates are a great addition to prevent mushrooming. there's plenty of discussion on this on numerous threads. Here is one that is currently running at a theater near you:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=137486

I haven't used the Cravens recommended by Scott, but I am very happy with my M7s (which are still the most popular choice, I think)

 

On the same note, installing camber plates can and will strengthen the strut tower area quite a bit. Unless you're offroading in your MINI (Or happen to live in NY or LA) in most cases putting reinforcement hats on top of camber plates is overkill.