Confused about strut Brace.. which one for my Little One?

I am considering a strut brace and like the JCW one but I see that some of you that installed a strut brace did not pick JWC..

I was quoted $350.00 from my dealer for the installation of JCW.. suggestions ??

Thanks

 

If MINI intended a GP to have a strut brace, MINI would have provided one

Do you really want to sully a GP with a non-OEM part? Get the JCW. You can order one from Classic here cheaper than Tate and have Towson install it for much cheaper.

I'm not joking ... serious. Keep the car OEM, it will be worth more later.

 

Get a quote from Morristown Mini too... And I don't know that you need to pay a dealer to install. A strut brace is pretty durned simple.

 

I agree with both previous posters.

Yes, stay with JCW for your GP. That makes great sense.

Save yourself some installation charges, and install it yourself. It is one of the easiest mods you can do yourself. Take the strut bolts off (three per side), but bar on, then put the bolts back on.

DONE!

 

VERY SIMPLE to do...the suspension will NOT fall out when you remove the old nuts! easy and I got mine from Morristown for about $250

There has been a lot of discussion about the need for a front brace but personally I like having mine

REMINDER...DO NOT OVER TORQUE THE NUTS THEY PROVIDE! MAX 20 Ft LBS. I had a one crack at 18lbs!

 

[quote]Actually at delivery in NJ one the top tech of MINI USA suggested to install one. I am just curious as why some people installed an non-OEM strut. In any case thank you all for your in put . I will go w/ a JCW

 

Do not get a JCW strut brace. Your best bet is an M7 brace with strut tower reinforcements. There has been a few cases of strut mushrooming on new GP cars already. 2 cars on the way back from California. Do youself a favor and look at the M7 brace. I have one on my GP.
Larry GP0088 NJ born

 

The main reason to get a strut brace on the MINI is to add support to the tower tops. That said, the JCW cannot provide much in the way of the most traditional reason for adding a brace, which is to brace against chassis flex. The JCW brace is hinged on both ends so it can only brace against inward and outward flex not lateral. It is mostly shiny bling in my opinion.

I was at several booths discussing this in Monterey and one aftermarket vendor had an M7 brace that he was selling heavily discounted because he had machined it to get it to clear the ECU next to the CAI and it never could be made to fit. I was told this is a known issue on 06 MCS. If you are going to buy an M7 make them guarantee it will fit your GP. It is a nice looking, well designed product.

I am very happy with the Dinan I put on mine because it bolted on properly out of the box and is completely rigid. Only thing better could be a one piece. There is the new one out of England that you can see on MINI2 but I don't care for the style of it.

Any bar you get, you can install yourself in ten minutes. It can also come off just as fast so worrying about putting a non-JCW part on for value and such is silly. Go with what will work best for you. Best of Luck!

 

I picked up the Dinan new off of ebay for $160.... some guy just decided not to install it on his...

 

newbs49 - My GP 0102 experienced mushrooming on Route 66 during MTTS, so I guess I'm one of the two you mention. Interesting, my '05 MCS with 26,000 miles, no mushrooming at all.

lastrega - As you can see, there are a lot of thoughts on this subject. Based on my MTTS experience, I went the "no holds barred" route, and I'm putting Helix/RDR camber plates on the underside, and the GTT strut brace (in powder coated black) on the top. Each to his own, YMMV, the GP is a great car to own and enjoy!

 

Lastrega, Soulfire is going in to Tate on the 26th and when they finish, I am putting the M7 STB on when they finish. If you want, I can put it on for you then.

 

OK my head is spinning now... JCW, M7, Dinan but I appreaciate the in put from all of you and thanks Jay for helping.

 

GP Owners,

Pop that hood and IMMEDIATELY check your strut towers for any signs of the eventual "mushrooming". With these harsh runflats and tight sport suspension ... it's bound to start collapsing the strut towers sooner.

Check other threads on this as well outside of the GP specific forum for tower strut brace options. Plenty out there, just some better than others.

Fortunately, I'm catching this before any damage starts. But that's only because I've been reading up on stress bars in general for the Mini GP.

I don't even consider this a mod now. More a NECESSARY preventive maintenance thing.

Next step after this ... switch out the run flats at the very least or go with 17x7 rims and 205/45R17's in non-runflats to reduce the chance of mushrooming even further.

 

If you really want to prevent mushrooming your first move should be camber plates such as Ireland, RDR, H-sport or others that mount under the strut tower to support the tower. Ireland fixed plates are ideal for those who don't track their cars a lot or for those who do. Very cost effective. Then a good strut bar he helps further.

 

Bare w/ me here. Are you saying that runflats or the rims are the cause of "mushrooming"? or it's more so for the GP?

I bought two JC strut braces - got one installed on the MCSC and to my big surprise very little "mushrooming" just a bit on the right tower which did not affect the installation.
I was told that doing the Dragon the mushrooming is inevitable but I have the MCSC for over two years (about 22K miles); two Dragons , autocross - even with run flats- and I have runflats for the winter and ultra high performance tires for summer and always on 17" rims, yet no mushrooming ..

I am planning to install the other JC brace on GyPsy, soon - maybe be4 Xmas with the help of my club friends- but I am so confused about this mushrooming effect



MD MINI GP
MD STREGA2

 

GyPsy, morristown has the JCW brace for $100 off NOW! Get it while you can. OEM for me. "Pop...Pop...Pop...I really should shift"

 

Dinan Strut Bar will not protect against mushrooming... Ask me how I know...

 

I just installed the M7 strut tower reinforcement plates on my GP and on my Cooper today. I hope they do the trick, from everything that I've read they're good insurance. I bought them from Way Motor Works, Way brought me some nice red ones for the GP.

 

Pics...Pics...Pics

 

Runflats + stiff/sport suspension + poor road conditions = more likely to mushroom than any other combo. That's exactly what the GP has. Slight bulging for sure in near term unless you do something up front to prevent it.

Here and elsewhere it's been discribed as inevitable.

Good luck

 

Elsewhere it's been stated that the JCW brace will not help with mushrooming.

 

Doing the same here as the quick fix for now. But looking to switch out sooner rather than later the strut bolts as they are short on the M7 reinforcement plates and/or strut bar. Not a good thing.

 

Do a search ... you'll see some sweet schrooms

 

Yes I agree on the bolt length, the threads just barely came to the top of the nut and I wasn't real crazy about that. Let us know what you find out on longer bolts and what's involved in swapping them out.
I will see about getting some pics real soon of the plates and I have some spy shots of GP rubber floor mats...