I bought a JCW strut brace from a vendor on NAM. The photo below shows how the JCW strut brace mounting brackets are aligned with the bolts on the suspension dome. There is supposed to be an indent/cutout where there is a bolt underneath. Currently the mounting brackets do not sit flush on the dome. Has anyone else had this problem? And can this problem be solved by just removing the small bolt underneath?

 

yes remove the small bolt. i installed mine and ran into the same issue. i found that this bolt did nothing so i wasn't harming anything. it seems that there is an indentation placed in the wrong spot to clear this bolt. either way removed it and have been very happy since. happy motoring!

 

Does the brace go the other way (swap sides), seeing that there is a cutout for the offending fastener?

 

+1

 

I did think of doing that, but since MINI went through the trouble of creating an indent for it in the mounting bracket, I thought it would an important little guy.

 

Had that exact same problem with mine. Took some measurements and made the needed holes and installed it. I got mine from the dealer and was shocked to see it did not fit but did not feel like driving an hour to return it and have the correct one ordered. Flipping it around does not help ....

Easiest way to make it fit, rub a crayon on the pin, press the brace onto the bolts sticking up. That will transfer the rubbing to the bottom of the plate and drill there. After that it will fit just fine.

Cheers,
Roberto

 

Tried that first, but the place the indents are cut stay the same no matter which side they are on. The right mounting bracket has an indent on the top while the left has the indent on the bottom.

 

Post #6 looks like the best thing to do. I doubt MINI put the bolt there for no reason.... unless the bolt can be moved to the front spot by turning whatever it is holding below... I do not have my MINI yet, so I am just guessing here.

 

The bolt is not going to the front hole .... If keeping the stock suspension then drilling the bracket is really your only choice. It really is very easy since you are dealing with ali and not steel.

One thing that I am not sure of is and hopefully someone here that has a JCW suspension can answer for sure ..... Does the JCW factory suspension use the other hole ??

Cheers,
Roberto

 

I had the same problem and cut out a place for the bolt head.

 

Take it to a machine shop in your neighborhood if you can't drill a hole in it yourself.

 

I think you're right. The MINI below has the factory JCW suspension and the bolt is on the other hole.

I bought my MINI to the dealers and they said I have the early production strut brace. The newer ones have two indentions on the mount.

 

I've never had any issues with mine.

 

Isn't it possible that bolt is for some option your car doesn't have and is thus unnecessary? Sometimes in manufacturing it's cheaper and easier to leave a bolt in that specify some cars not to have them.

 

i have da same problem... i will try to remove that once i install H&R springs or just cut the bolt head off

 

The pin acts as index mark and that is all. It is there to prevent installation of wrong suspension into certain model. It has nothing to do with alignment or support. The 3 bolts is what does all work. When you go to after market suspension parts the top plate is replaced, the indexing pin goes away. I thought about removing mine but then machined a matching cutout.

When you get the JCW brace now, some dealers will ask if you have the JCW factory suppension or not. If you do not, you get the version with the cut close to the battery. If you have a JCW suspension, you get the cutout close to the headlight.

Now from the mention of aznqtboy984, MINI is just making a universal version of that bracket, smart !

If you do a JCW suspension upgrade after the fact, the pin does not move since you re-use the strut's top plate. If was done at the factory, they use a different strut top plate.

Hope that helps or clear as mud .....

Cheers,
Roberto

 

So, once you get this bad boy installed, does it actually make a difference when you drive it? Or is the effect all mental and/or bling?

 

I haven't put one on my Mini yet, but I did put one on a PT Cruiser, and it was definitely more than just bling. Felt like it just tightened the front end up, most noticeably on hard cornering. Good wheels and tires and the strut tower brace made the PT feel like a whole different car.

 

So... here's a picture of the updated version of the strut brace. It's actually a bit more expensive than the older version because of the two cut outs areas. MSRP is now $295 instead of $275. Either way, both are expensive. However, I do notice a difference: my turns are now a lot more stable. Motor on!