Ditto. Running S-lites.

 

And, presumably, runflats?

 

80% of those who posted who have mushroomed are using 17 inch wheels. so far at least. I also would guess many enthusiasts would enjoy 17 inch wheels. Still, barring that skewing the results, I would think that there are enough 15 track runners and a load of of 16 standard users who would have also voted. Enough I would guess to make more than 20% of the people who viewed the pole.

Survey says! 17's suck. :(

 

17" wheels w/ runflats come standard on MSCs with the Sport Package, hence I would expect them to come out the highest (i.e. largest % participation in the survey).

If you want to up the accuracy a bit, how about adding options for those who don't have mushrooming or cracked strut towers? For example, I'm running 18" runflats (currently stock sport suspension, but planning H-Sport springs and FSDs soon)... and I have no problems so far in 3200 miles.

It would be nice if we had a database where people could input and update their 'shrooming profiles at will, but I'm guessing that would take a bit more work than the current poll...

 

I just voted.

17" wheels with lowering springs and non-runflat tires

 

Well, I voted 17's but run 16's in the winter for my dedicated snows.

 

Another thing that the survey says is that lowering springs don't help matters either....

If you want to avoid the issue of mushrooming and/or cracked strut mounts, it seems that you need to go with non-runflat tires, 16 inch or less wheels and no lowering springs. All of which would intuitively seem to be prudent - they all act to reduce the transfer of road shock to the strut mount and strut tower.

Conversely, if you want to go with 17+inch wheels, lower profile or runflat tires, and/or lowering springs, you had better plan on doing something (strut plates or camber plates (or both)) to reinforce the strut towers.

 

yeah, thats exactly how the data points. Really, a 15 inch wheel is quite large for the type of car it is. 16 is like low profile for a mini. above that might look nice but isnt that necessary for traction and apparently the suspension is too tight for such a jar.

 

17" aftermarket wheels/non-runflats - stock suspension - JCW strut brace - huge mushroom on Driver's side that was not there when JCW strut brace installed approx 4k miles ago. Glad to see that the strut brace helped...NOT!

 

Why isn't there a NO mushroom on the poll?

52,000 miles multiple state drives/17" 215-45 tires/Megan coil-over/M7 strut bar...no mushroom

 

jcw strut bar has no intentions of reducing mushrooming, just reducting your wallet and a little sway

 

Well, we are not trying to track all outcomes to the 98th percentile. Instead, we are trying to get a sense of potential problem areas. If you have 17 inch wheels and lowering (progressive rate) springs and no mushrooming or mount failures, and have less than perfectly smooth roads, you are either incredibly fortunate or are driving around all of the road hazards.

 

My 05 MCS, 17" runflats, has 26500 miles. At 22,000, just one lousy surprise black hole whacked my right side. Sounded like a big baseball bat, no maybe a land mine. I mean it will rock you! It's just the luck of the draw. I guess, Just say no to potholes.

 

I feel your pain. Did you suffer any wheel/tire damage? I had a similar experience (pothole at ~25 mph at night); but I got to replace a wheel & tire and a strut mount.... Major bummer.

 

Just the strut mount. I had no idea about mushrooms till I learned about it here. First thing I thought was will I be going down like a Japanese Zero in flames when it hit. But it kept on going straight with no vibration. Pulled over to look at the wheel. Rubber had transfered or bonded to my white S lites. About 5 inches on rim. Tire was good and no cracks. After enlightenment 2,000 miles later from NAM I checked the tower. Oh was I pained! Got it all straight, no alignment, none the worse for the wear! Still goes like a bat outa

 

I wish...prior to the Megans, I started with OEM struts and HSport springs...the outcome was shocking...I've hit some good bumps that made my Valentine fall off and the glove box pop open Luckily, no mushrooming yet...knock on wood...

 

Would it be worth it to have those of you who did post to the poll to add pics of your strut towers? ie see if they all bend the same amount in the same location? or if some are worse off than others? just a thought...

BTW: 6500miles on a 06MCS with 17" S-Lites and non-runflats = so far so good. This includes 2500miles on MTTS and I think I missed that expansion joint on 66, either that or I just didn't go far enough east. <sigh pf relief>

-e

 

where can i get that character of a cooper s like some of you have?

 

From right here!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=71003

 

I just sold my beautiful 0 miles set of 16's and runflats :(
Bought a set of 15" konig rewinds in silver an 205/60/15 Falken 512 all seasons.

I hope the performance can be on par with the 16's.

I know now that my m7 plates that are comming in the mail, the new 15's, the new 2006 version strut build, all will make me the ultimate test to see if it can be stopped.

the only other thing would be FSD replacement, something I want to avoid hving to spend on.

 

As long as you avoid the temptation to go with lowered (progressive) springs, you probably will fall into the no damage segment. Especially with /60 series non-runflats.... Unless of course, you decide to take the car off-roading.... In which case all bets are off.

The FSDs will make the ride that much better, however. The stock shocks are very good at transferring the frequency of the road imperfections into the seat (and ultimately to your back/neck). The FSDs stop the frequency transfer. After putting on FSDs, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to stock.

 

Sorry to come in late, but is it true that this "mushrooming" is not typically covered under warranty?

 

Seems interesting that the majority of mushrooming is with Run-Flats.... Guess the suspension was not designed w/ stiff sidewalls in mind.

I've added my vote - 16's and runflats. for the record NO potholes, and NO major bangs that I can think of. Called MOP and they say it's road-hazard, not covered by warranty.

 

I just installed my m7s. I know that the driver's side tower is fine, and the passenger side is the one that's slightly bent.

I put the driver's side plate on first to establish a baseline. Then I plopped the passenger side one on and noticed it wobbled a bit. So I tightened it down a bit anyway, and noticed that it would seat. But there were spaces under the brace that weren't under the other one.

So I jacked the car up to take some pressure off the shock and tower, and took off the brace, and started to hammer at different parts of the top if the tower with a sledgehammer on a piece of 2x3. Then I placed the brace back on to see if it wobbled and where it pivoted so I could work on that area.

After a while I became worried that I was gonna damage something so I stopped. I don't have the tools to remove the front shock assembly and I don't wanna mess with it, anyway.

So I was wondering. If the braces bolt down with no stress to the nuts and bolts, and the same umber of threads are showing on all the nuts, is this okay? I also don't see, at this point, how these braces are going to do any good, unless they just allow the sheetmetal at the top of the tower to come up only as far as the bottom of the brace.

 

Well that is disturbing, considering how many MINI's seem to have this mushrooming issue, and how relatively few cars from other manufacturers have this problem. Seems to be a design flaw, not a road hazard issue. I haven't checked yet but Buddha has 4k on him in less than 2 months. I have 17" runflats on stock s-lites and sport suspension.