I am completely and totally stupified by the quality of the strut towers. I bought my car with full understanding of the problem and looked at 3 or 4 in the dealership to compare my strut towers to other cars in the lot to make sure I was not buying one with mushrooming, Well let me tell you what...I had not a clue what it actually was, yes I understood the principal but thought the slight (and I do mean slight) dome at the top was normal. It appeared to make sence. A bit of a dome would be stronger than a totally flat surface. Several of you told me they should be totally flat. Well, today I put on my craven plates, I went to fit the first and it wobbled like a kids rocking horse, I was in denial! (and thats not just a river in egypt!) I hope my neighbors didn't see me with a 20lb sledge hammer and block of wood hammering them back flat!!!!! I am still in disbelief. How weak are these bloody things?

On another note, if you don't have a torque wrench I would not even attempt to install them, 25 foot pounds is like nothing, I would have twisted off each stud with no problem had I not had the torque wrench, I am actually a bit dubious that it is enough to keep the bolts tight, I would have preferred some large lock washers. I cannot fault the fit or quality of the craven items and would recommend them wholeheartedly.

Cheers. Peter in the UK

 

As long as both sides are domed evenly, it helps to think of mushrooming as free lowering.

 

I like that thought, "hey, how'd you get your MINI to look so PHHHATTT!!!?"
I let it shroom baby, shroom! Peter

 

its not perfect until the struts themselves have dented the bonnet, thats why you know you hit the big time.

 

Put em on and drive. Had mine on for a 2 years and still good to go!

 

They are on and I am not stressing about the bodywork I had to do. As a matter of fact this board taught me how.

Cheers. peter

 

Can someone explain to me how attaching a thin aluminum plate held on with three small nuts torqued to 25 ft lb over the top of the towers can effectively stop this from bending up? Makes no sense to me..........I might understand it better if they went underneath, but on top?

 

Magic...?

 

There is a thread that was started in 2006 about shrooms, plates, under vs. over, etc. I think there were two threads, one on shrooms, the other a poll on if tire size and run flats exacerbated the problem.

More than a few asked your exact question.

I have the M7 plates, but agree that it does not seem it would be that effective at preventing shrooms. Some say the Craven camber plates are better because they go under instead of over like the M7 does.

Be warned, I spent almost three to four hours reading both threads, there's a lot of info in them. I found it rather interesting, but others [aka normal people] may find it boring.

 

I don't know squat about physics, but I think it has something to do when there is a shock or jolt, the plate disperses the force evenly over the entire surface area thereby minimizing the chance of shrooms.

Take your finger of one hand and poke the palm of your other hand.

Now instead slap one palm against the other palm.

Palm to palm is like the M7 reinforcement plate, that also makes the existing mounting surface thicker/stronger.

Best I can do. What the hell do I know.

 

 

i dont use one.

 

I believe the general concensus is that plate above is good, plate below is better and both plates are best. Whether any of those fixes works will depend on the force of the impact.

 

Ken, have you placed a ruler on the top of the strut tower? If so, does it rock at all--even just a little? When I place a ruler on mine there is enough curvature for slight rocking. So, I think I may have ever so slight shrooming. I'd be curious to see if yours would keep the ruler dead flat considering you take very good car of your car and therefore might not have shrooming at all. Can you check please?

 

It will reinforce the metal of the thin tower, but it will NOT stop the strut mount from deforming. It is only reducing the "symptom", but not tackling the actual problem.

 

the plate is a half and inch thick, I feel as others do that they may do little or nothing to help the problem but hey I am a mad poseur and drive with the bonnet off so all the extra bling helps.

PS, in actuality I am a 40 year old saddo trying to have some fun, I figured the 150 bucks or so was worth the effort, plus I got to bank on my car with a sledge and some wood, didn't have to pay 5 dollars a whack like at the carnival.

I would think they would help somewhat, if even to keep the bolts from splaying outwards but not nearly as much as an inner and outer plate.

Peter

 

I'm glad to hear you got your car back. I installed the M7 plates and bar a couple weeks ago and found the drivers side had mrushroomed a bit as the plate wouldn't fit properly in the holes. I used the 2X4-big hammer method until it fit so I hope it's ok. This car is probably the most fun car I have ever had and I love driving it, but it can be the biggest PITA when these problems arise. The clutch has been replaced because of the dreaded squeal and now the slave cylinder among othr things. The clutch is squealing again and after the cylinder was fixed the clutch feels completly different. I've got 8K left on the warranty so time is running out.

 

I have told the wife that if another big thing goes during the warrantee period, I.E. in the next year, we will trade it in before the year is up. Would be sad to see it go but the huge positives are outweighed by the negatives that seem all too common with this car. Peter

 

I have had my m7 plates and bar on for about a year and over the course of that hit some massive pot holes. Heck I hit what can only be described as a cavern because when the car hit it it made a very loud slamming sound. I went back to measure the depth and came back with 5 inches at the deepest point. Aside from slightly bending an S-lite everything was fine (only doing about 15 at the time). I recently pulled the bar off and havent seen any new mushrooming.

 

Understandable, and given the number of years that cars have had strut suspensions, there is no excuse for weak towers being employed in a modern vehicle for years without correction.

 

the car always had slight curvature from the getgo, actually. even
the picts ive seen with the strut protectors or watever they're called
showed slight curvature.

 

Hummmmmmmm....To buy them or not to buy them.....

 

can't hurt...

 

Thanks for the info! I think I'm OK so far then.

Some have said it should be flat while others like you have said there is a very slight curvature. Haven't seen any pictures of a brand new strut though. Could be difference in perception.

 

I hate to say it ...because I like my MINI more than any other car I've ever owned, but I've adopted a similar feeling.

I knew when I bought it that it wasn't going to be like my four Hondas or my Lexus. I told myself that I would allow my MINI 3 strikes. The first occurred at 5K (power steering pump) and now I've got the dreaded fly wheel squeal ...its not always there ...some days it is, some days its not and I only hear it on the first and sometimes second launch. So, this will need to be tended to at some point.

I've got 17K miles on the car and have never, ever had a modern car that didn't make it past 150K miles with just routine maintenance and normal wear and tear. Stuff breaking and the need for preventative measures to prevent breaking (mushrooming) is all new to me. Japanese cars can really spoil you ...but they are so damned boring.

I knew what I was getting into, but hoped I'd be one of the lucky ones. How MINI treats me when I bring it in for the clutch issue will have a lot to do with how I will feel moving forward. My plan is to own my MINI for many years, but that is more up to my MINI than me.

Dean.