Anyone know where I can find one? Or is it just a simple bolt on?

 

They're typically a simple bolt-on, however some require new holes to be drilled in the strut tower.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Much obliged sir.

 

on m previous car(not a mini), it was pretty easy to put on, the hardest part was getting the courage to drill some holes

 

Does a MCS benefit noticably from getting a brace?

 

Aloha,

I was all ready to have the Dinan strut brace installed when the dealership pointed out that my strut towers had mushroomed. This was caused by a hard impact with one or more of the notorious Oahu potholes and prevented the mounting bracket from fully seating. The cause was known to my MA as the same thing was found when he wanted to install the Dinan brace.

My recommendation is that you check for mushrooming before ordering. If you have "mushrooms", bodywork is necessary to get back to good.

This seems to be a design flaw to me and the strut brace also seems to mitigate at least some of it. Good luck.

 

check out the sparco site as they sell one for the mini. at a nice price too.

 

For the average street driver on smooth roads the strut brace isn't necessary due to the stiff frame of the MINI.

For those that do track driving or very fast cornering at autocross or at driving events then the stiffer front might be helpful but mostly when the MINI is driven at it's limits.

For those that live in a place where poor roads are common and you want some additional protection from damage to the top of the strut towers (mushrooming is a damaged top plate on the strut tower) then adding a strut brace might be a reasonable idea.

I added a strut brace to keep my front end a bit more rigid and stronger to minimize metal fatigue over time. The strut brace is easy to install and just a bolt on. Remove the stock three nuts and bolt on the brace at those 2 or 3 points (depends on the bar).

Most bars don't require drilling. Watch out for steel vs aluminum bars. Some are even titanium but the weight are pretty low for aluminum. I have the BMP bar which allows for preloading one end of the bar using an adjustment bolt. Weight is 3.5 pounds and no extra drilling is needed. For the MINI the intake box and ECU cover of the MCS or the battery box of the MC are hit by the addition of the strut bar so just keep that in mind. Low profile replacements for these items are available.

I cut a notch into my intake box and had a flat ECU cover. We don't know if one strut bar is any stronger than another- there are no tests. Steel bars are only a little cheaper and do add weight. You'll need to remove the bar to change oil and filter so watch out.
If you do a normal servicing I'd advise removing the bar before taking your MINI in or you'll be charged for time needed to remove and remount the bar.

For those on the track and at autocross- I doubt that the bar will give you much advantage in time for each run but it might stiffen up the handling for the front end and some drivers do like it.

 

I don't remember if it was SCCA or another racing group, but a strut bar was allowed if it used original holes, but not if you drilled new ones...

Jdewey

 

Is there any strut bar that will fit over the stock air box without cutting it?


Dave

 

Minihune...Where do you get a flat ECU cover. I installed a Heix Minisport upper stress bar yesterday and had to cut down and duct tape my factory cover.

 

To answer my own question.

The dinan fits perfect, no cutting or modification required.
I installed onr last night.

Dave

 

When I got my BMP strut bar the ECU cover came with it. Promini might sell the ECU cover alone.


The ECU cover has an aluminum top and I have a rubber strip on it