I want to order some right now. what/where to get?

 

No-one makes the best anti-mushrooming plates, as the best ones would be inside the shock tower between the strut and the sheet metal, where they would do some good...

 

an answer of "no" doesn't really answer the question.

 

I have one set made by Craven and another made by M7. I really don't believe there's any discernable difference between them... nor any of the other plates made by reputable manufacturers.

 

Buy the Ireland Engineering Fixed Camber Plates and any SRP of your choice. The strut top will not deform sandwiched between these two items. With this setup you could drive on the pot holed streets of Chicago with impunity.

 

I have the Craven STD's on order...M7's are reportably also similar.

 

+1 on sandwiching them, but get adjustable camber plates because camber doesn't always match right to left. It is nice to be able to get them even with adjustability.

 

+1 for the IE fixed plates. they utilize a beefier bushing from a heavier car. And you get extra negative camber goodness.

Avoid potholes in any case, as the mini only has 2 inches of travel. deep potholes are no fun no matter what.

 

LOWES! They make this thing called a mallet....

 

Ditto on the Carven or m7. And avoid pot holes.

 

I have the M7's and love them. The IE plates would also help.

 

I have the M7 plates and have had no complaints. TSW also makes some camber plates now that look super beefy. Give them a look as well!

 

Using a mallet to fix the mushrooming is ok, but only if you then add camber plates or the M7 plates, or both. The metal was deformed once to become mushroomed, pound it flat, and it's been deformed twice. It will be more likely to deform again without reinforcement, using only new stock parts is not enough to keep mushrooming away.

 

Thnaks for killing my joke...

 

Mushroomed towers just means a lower ride height up front

 

exactly the car just wants to be LOW not all 4x4ish

 

These are now available, and are probably the most effective reinforcement plates available, as they sit under the tower, where the stress comes from, instead of on top of it:
http://www.mini-madness.com/index.as...ROD&ProdID=334

 

I have a set of the red Cravens I'll sell for $110 shipped. They have been on the car for three months. The only reason I'm selling them is I want black ones.

 

Still selling? Top and bottom, or just tops for sale?

 

Does this happen on all MINI years? Even late model like 08 and 09? If one is to be as careful as possible and avoid as many pot holes as possible does this mushrooming still happen just given enough time?

We don't have a lot of large potholes in the Washington due to our mild weather (although there are some depending on where you drive.) and I have not heard from a lot of locals that this happens. But being new to MINI's (still waiting for delivery.) I may not have all information yet.

Any more heads up on this would be appreciated.

Regards,

Pat

 

I think that the biggest problems come from running larger wheel combos, cause I have hit some holy hell potholes in NYC that have damaged the wheel (they just run out in front of you here) and the towers were fine. I do have the M7 braces. It really makes me think as to what kind of holes people are hitting to end up with the super Mario shroomage.

 

It doesn't have to be much of a pothole if you hit it during a turn, when the suspension is already partially loaded on the outside wheels.

The issue is how often you bottom-out that 2" of first-gen suspension travel (or less if lowered), and how heavy a wheel you hit the tower with.

It also seems to vary by car - I was surprised to find noticeable mushrooming after 50K miles on my Mar.`05 build, even with light 15" wheels and very few potholes (Oregon roads).

 

I had a buddy who straight up welded 3/4 inch thick steel plating to the top of his strut tower...He did make holes for the bolts and the camber adjustment...

His reasoning to me was that STBs are only reinforced on the same 3 bolts that the strut is held with...to maximize strength, you need to utilize the sidewalls that are around the strut tower... They came out bada$$ but not my cup of tea at all. just a thought if you have the ability to do something like that or know someone who can.

 

I personaly had a fair amount of mushrooming on my stut towers. I flattened everything out and installed the M7 FSTB and for added reinforcement I installed the Helix BEEFY adj camber plates. Now I have 1/2" of billet machined alluminum both above and below and have had no signs of mushrooming since. Like Nabeshin said having the adjustment at hand makes for a very precise allingment as far as camber goes. Best case is to reinforce top and bottom BEFORE any mushrooming happens.

 

Just installed the Mini-Madness strut tower plates recently. Hopefully this is the end of my mushroomed towers.