I am pretty new to MINIs and am just kinda realizing what a big deal this mushrooming is!!

When I inspect the towers am I basically looking for them not being flat on top?

If there is any sort of dome shape to them at all are they mushrooming?

Are the M7 SRP's the cheapest way to counter this problem?
I was thinking of gettting the IE fixed camber plates... Is this also a good way to battle this problem? They are fairly inexpensive as well.
Is a STB good at helping this or are the other products mentioned better? I dont really need the bling or the added benefits at this point of a STB. I would eventully like to get one, but am more worried about the fighting the dreaded mushrooming at this point. If my MINI is mushrooming I am going to be bummed....

Last night I find out about the door sill rust... Now the mushrooming... Whats next? This damn car is like a sick child!!! Why am I so emotionally concerned!!!???

My wife has the car right now... I wish I could check it out... The suspense is killing me!!!

 

You are basically looking at the mounting surface where the strut is bolted to the tower (3 nuts). These should all be on the same flat plane. To my dismay, I found that my passenger side had a very slight dome shape to them. You can even see the studs for the strut mount pointing slightly outward as a result. Fortunately, the driver's side still appears to be nice and flat. Being that I live in Alaska, the Mini gets driven on dirt roads and I have been VERY careful about avoiding potholes. The M7 SRPs seem to be one of the best ways to reinforce this vulnerable area...hopefully I'll get a set for Christmas.

But luckily for me, my Mini doesn't suffer from the door sill rust at all. That was a HUGE relief.

These cars are just so much fun, and it's sooooo easy to get attached to them. I can't think of ANY other car I've owned that I like as much as my Mini.

Best of luck to you. I certainly hope you're one of the lucky ones w/o the mushrooming problem. Keep us posted!

 

As the poll results show, mushrooming (and strut mount failure) becomes more prevalent as you go into 17 inch or larger wheels and runflat tires. Having bad roads magnifies the issue as well.

Covered by AKIndiMini above.

Cheapest, yes, but not a complete solution. There is another thread about the relative benefits that the SRPs provide relative to a camber plate. Also, the SRPs do NOT prevent failure of the strut mount. So, if you go this route (SRPs), you will still have to periodically inspect the strut mount for tearing.

The IE camber plates address two elements of the problem - mushrooming and failure of the strut mount. Plus, you get the benefit of improved handling from the slight negative camber of the IE camber plates.

A strut tower brace is more of a handling improvement at the extreme. If you are not autoxing your car, I doubt you will see any benefit from a STB. The best solution/prevention from a cost/benefit perspective is the IE fixed camber plates.

I can't comment on why you might or might not be so emotionally concerned. Even if you have the door sill rust and strut mount failure and strut tower mushrooming, it is not the end of the world. After all, it is just a car. That said, the MINI is a really fun car, so I wouldn't begrudge you any desire to keep it in tip-top shape to be able to enjoy the "fun-ness" of it for as long as possible.

Ah, well that is something I can't help you with.... You will have to just hang in there until your wife returns.

 

Thanks so much for the feedback!!!
AKDmini, camini fan.... You guys rule!

I talked to Peter today at M7... talk about customer service! I told him I was concerned with the mushrooming and I wanted to do something about it. He had advice which was similar to yours.

I am making a trip from Santa Barbara to OC tomorrow (saturday) to see my sister. He says "come by we will check it out and get you some parts to fix it up". I said its Saturday are you guys usually working on Saturday? He says "just call me on your way down. The kids have soccor tomorrow, but I will meet you at my place and fix you up". This is what I am talking about!
I will be buying a STB from Peter tomorrow and hopefully getting the IE camber plates from Santa.

Yes I am emotionally attached to this car, but a major part of that is the friendship, support and fun that comes with owning this car.
I have had alot of cars, trucks, motorcycles and everything else with wheels over the years. This car has the most supportive community I have ever seen since being invloved with racing motocross my whole life.

Now I just have to inspect the rust!!!....Doh!

 

How many of you all filed complaints with the NHTSA? I did. I bet if enough us complained and state that this could be a safety hazard, something might get done.

 

I noticed that I too have mushrooms under my bonnet. I saw a friend's with the M7 setup. He has a MCS and the M7 setup raises the bonnet just a tad when closed. There are definite marks on the underside and a noticeable height difference when closed - anyone have this as well?

 

I just picked up an 06 MCS, with the 17" RFT's. I presume the
recommendation is that I should install the M7 SRP's at a min?

I've drive in Phx, AZ. Not massive pot holes. Nor do I "off road".

 

I would....just for insurance. Seriously, you've got unaffected towers. Mine for instance have already bent once, so now they are weaker. If I were you I'd either get the plates or the tower. I don't do much track time, but I'm a very aggressive driver, so I opted for the tower.

 

Based on poll results so far, you have two risk factors - 17 inch wheels and runflat tires. I would agree with your consideration of installing SRPs at a minimum. Personally, I would go with the camber plates which will give a handling improvement in addition to protection from mushrooming and failure of the strut mount (the SRPs do not protect from failure of the strut mount).

 

thanks. I'll have to look at those camber plates. appreciate the info with
this thread.

 

Can someone post a picture of a normal and a mushroomed strut tower side by side?

 

Great question. I second that . . . is there an example out there?

 

Here is a picture of a severe mushrooming case. You can tell what a flat one should look like from this one. The bolts and nuts should be upright and straight, not pushed over like a tree after a tornado.

 

You guys are freaking me out. I have a 17" rims and run flats. Based on the photo, I haven't experienced mushooming yet. (Bought a 2006 MINI JCW in August.)

What is an "M7 SRP"? And where do you get camber plates?

 

From M7's site:
Supercharger kits and systems, mini cooper intake, discount fuel injectors
Supercharger kits and systems, mini cooper intake, discount fuel injectors

 

Here are some shots of my '02 MC with 16s - mostly runflats, 14,500+ miles.
From the battery cover looking at the passenger side.


Looking to the driver's side


Head on at the passenger side

 

so, a few days ago we received some snowfall, and yesterday i got into a little incident which involved the passenger side front wheel, black ice and a curb. right now so far as i can tell, the camber is off, and i'm hopeing nothing is bent or anything.

but anyway, on my drive home today, i remembered the mushrooming issues posted online and i decided to take a look under the bonnet to see if i have that issue. upon checking, i found that my passenger side strut mount to have risen significantly, compared to the passenger side.

now, i'm not sure how much of this was due to the curb. but what can one do, after they've found out they already have mushroomed strut mounts?

 

I'm not sure, but I think a block of wood and a sledgehammer will do the trick to get things flat(ter).

 

If weak strut towers are as pervasive a problem as many are saying I don't understand why there are no formal complaints about it to NHTSA? I couldn't find a single one on their website.

Another mystery is that on MINI2 forum there are several posts from Britain that say it is not a problem there. I don't understand why it is an apparent pervasive problem in the US but not in Britain?

And lastly, I don't understand how the M7 alum. plates attached with just a couple of threads on a very small diameter stud can contain the forces that are generated sufficient to distort and deform the steel crown of the strut tower?

Is there a BMW Service Bulletin on mushrooming of MINI strut towers? I saw one article on the Internet that said so, but it did not identify it by number, which I thought was suspect. I searched in Google but could not find any reference to a BMW Service Bulletin on MINI strut tower problems.

If anyone has answers to these questions I would appreciate them. I have a 2007 MCS that will be delivered in February and I am interested in knowing more about this apparent idiopathic condition--mushrooming crowns of strut towers on cars that have not been misused, abused or subjected to severe and harsh environments.

Thanks. At this point I don't know what to believe.

 

I have to admit that I, too, remain a skeptic.

My '05 MCS has the 17"/runflat combo. Despite my best efforts to avoid impacts, I've hit a few teeth jarring crevices here in LA. It is virtually impossible to dodge every crater and gap on these horrible, horrible roads.

To the best of my ability I have not detected any change in my strut towers. I've taken four sets of photos over approx two month intervals and simply can not tell a difference.

Now . . . perhaps I'm lucky, but looking at some of the photos posted on this thread I have to ask just what are these drivers doing with these cars? Jumping over school buses? I'm used to driving over curbs and obstacles in my '91 Trooper (my UAV . . . urban assault vehicle), but even with this truck I don't simply hit the curbs at high speed.

Maybe I'm just lucky . . .

 

the first image was 11/16/06
the second 1/07/07

in between these . . . I can think of at least a couple of impacts which gave me pause . . .

Am I wrong . . . or is there virtually no change?

 

You're safe. It depends on what you want to do now. Just becareful with those potholes and stuff.

 

Just playing devil's advocate..., but if there were complaints, I would imagine BMW/MINI's immediate response would be to blame the conditions of the roads in the U.S. ....If only the roads were better maintained, there wouldn't be the problems with mushrooming....

Maybe they maintain their roads better than we do. Also, there may be less of the 17+ inch wheels and runflat tires than in the U.S. (pure speculation on my part, but there does appear to be some reason).

I will let M7 speak to how they feel their plates contain the forces. Separate from M7's claim to fame, remember that the forces that get to the sheetmetal, have been mitigated to some extent by the strut mounts. The deformation of the sheetmetal and tearing of the strut mount rubber is the result of extreme force overwhelming the strut mount.

I am not aware of any service bulletin. I imagine if one were available for the MINI, it would have been posted by now.

You have something of a new situation (R56 model car) that may or not be predictive based on the experiences with the R52/53 models. MINI may have improved the resistance to mushrooming; then again, maybe not. Only time (and experience) will tell. This may not have been the answer you were looking for, but unfortunately, there is no data available and MINI is keeping mum.

 

Thanks, Caminifan, for your responses.

 

FWIW here is a picture from the Detroit Auto Show of the 2007 MINI showing a different looking strut tower.