I've had mine about 4 years now. I was inspired to get them for two reasons . For one I thought that if the factory felt that they helped stabilize the shock towers on the convertible then it might help the hardtop as well. The second reason was that a well known " hammer " said they could not be bought unless you had a convertible. That challenge could not be ignored LOL . In any event they were cheap , weighed less than a pound a piece. FYI If something is designed properly it need not weigh a lot to do a lot. My car was not drilled completely for them and I had to put in a few of my own. Not a big deal , maybe a hour 's work total . With the roads I hammer the car on out here as well as the curbs at the track I need all the help I can get.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

The convertible hasn't been around that long.

 

Ok . I've had them one month after the convertable first came out . You tell me when

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

They arrived in the US Fall 2004, so about two and a half years ago. Maybe it just feels like 4 years... can you remember what your product line was like back then?

 

mine are in and headed to Sebring tomorrow. my ultimate thinking was that these might help, weigh very little and are inexpensive.....why not? the weight has been more than offset by the addition of a cf bonnet.

 

Randy is this your car? If it is did you use inserts for the bolts? And what the heck is a "plasma booster"?

 

You guys....I'm blind and part retarded. What the hell am I looking for ?

 

The black bar on the right side of the engine bay with the three bolts on the top. It is reinforcing the shock tower.

 

Ohhhhhh, sweeeeet !!!! How did I miss that ?? Looks like it could add some structural stability. Probably more than my rear stress bar. Thanks for pointing it out !!

 

How much disasembly is required to put these in on a fully stock car? I can see the tops but the pics dont show the bottom, and sometimes what can look like a clear path turns in to having to take half the engine a part to get to the one thing you want.

 

Yes this is my car .As I recall the nuts for the top bolts were accessed from behind by removing the fender liner . I am not sure how Steve secured the lower bolts to be honest. Its been like 7 or 8 years since it was done As for the Plasma Booster that was a product we sold for the first 2 years and then dropped it due to EG, Excessive Grief LOL . We private labeled and repackaged a unit that had been used for many years in the BMW world but when a couple of " experts " who are no longer on here waged a campaign against it we just had too many other things on our plate to really devote the time to defending it . We had sent a test unit to one of these guys and he came back with a negative review. Only after a few months when he finally returned the unit to us we could tell by the condition of the wiring and packaging that it had never even been installed .It is still a topic of discussion from those that think it never worked when in truth it did what it was supposed to which was enhance the spark output to the plugs.The ignition pulses are noticeably smoother and there is quicker throttle response . I made $ 100 one time when I was bet that I couldn't tell the difference with it on or off. It is easily able to disconnect and re connect. I was five for five and lunch for the shop was on me It is still sold by Mini Mania and other outlets but we no longer carry it. I actually bought mine before I joined M7 and will not take it off. The last time I saw Randy Webbs racer he still had his on as well. Any way sorry about the off topic post but you asked

Randy
M7 Tuning .

 

Its really not a big deal. I think the inner fender liners have to go as well as a couple of mounting brackets on the frame but nothing drastic.

Randy
M7 Tuning

 

I installed mine last week and my son did his today.
Both had to drill and install nutserts

We both painted them (his black and mine red)
The local 2 dealers couldn' t find them
In about 20 min from a different post I had #s and had ordered from Custom Mini.
2 days later one of the dealers called and quoted 38.00 each.

You can push the inner fenderwell down and "into itself" and have enough room to drill install nutserts and bolt in.
NOTHING needs to be removed.

You can remove the bracket that holds a wire harness connector and seperate the clip part from that bracket, and that will then be able to be pushed into the drivers side new bracket that has a drilled tab.
Just like the factory does.

I "think" they will help but again hard to isolate and quantify

>

The force that a 1 pound steel "tube / pipe / rod" can brace longtitudinaly (sp?) is AMAZING.

 

Installed ...


Pass side ..


Drivers side (with wire connector correctly placed in new brace bracket)


You DON'T need this part of the old OEM connector bracket

 

Great info and pics . Plus nice car .

 

What did you clamp onto your strut brace?

 

it does look like something is clamped to the brace ...

that is actually the heat diverter with rubber seal on top for the intake and a foam "gromet" I placed at the cut-out for the brace.

 

INSTALLED MINE THIS MORNING
PAINTED TO MATCH. JUST POPPED OUT THE PLUGS FROM THE THREADED HOLES AND BOLTED THEM IN PLACE. DID NOT HAVE TO REMOVE OR DISTORT INNER FENDERLINERS AT ALL. ONE BOLT ON THE DRIVERS SIDE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A PITA BUT A PAIR OF LONG 90DEGREE NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS SOLVED THAT ISSUE.

 

mine are on order today, thanks again to Brad from custom mini shop

 

I had the chasis stiffeners put on my O3 MCS they had had to drill the holes and move the ground up about 2 inches. At time I had stock SS suspension, and it felt a bit more solid w/ braces. Before my car would jitter a bit over potholes or uneven pavement after braces felt more stable, thats the best I can descibe the benefit. In terms of handling its hard to determine other than the feeling of more confidence in the cars stability while cornering. But yes Custom MINI Shop does have them.

 

Custom Mini Shop has the convertible braces back in stock.

Steve

 

I don't see these on your website. Do you still carry them? How much for both braces and bolts?

Thanks

 

PM sent

 

I am also interested in these what is the pricing on them from customminishop?

 

PM sent to you also.

We have several sets of the braces in stock.