I have a feeling it's not what I used to do in the woods with friends when I was in high school...

Seriously though, I'm *totally* new to the suspension game and don't understand much of the terminology yet.

Thanks

 

If you do a search on NAM, you will be buldging with information

 

Mushrooming with information in fact!!!

 

 

Here's the quick answer: if you hit something (a pothole, for example) really hard, it could cause the top of the strut tower to bulge upward from the force of the impact.

dan

 

Before you conclude that the MINI is built out of cardboard, it's really just the opposite.

The MINI front end is really stiff and doesn't really need that much help but if you install-
Stiff sidewall Runflat tires on
wide and large diameter stock rims using
Stiff suspension (springs and shocks)

and you drive fast on
Bad rough pothole ridden roads in the dark or in bad weather

Then the chance of hitting something and sustaining damage
is very common.

Damage might be a blown tire or ruptured sidewall
Or a dented rim
Or suspension damage
Or a "mushroomed" strut tower.

So drive slower and be careful.
Think twice before you buy those 19x8" rims you always wanted because you'll be fitting them with 30 series tires
Don't hit anything that's not flat in the road
Add either some M7 Strut plates or a stout Strut tower brace for some extra protection. Alumimun is lighter than steel.

 

Thanks to all contributors for taking the time out to make things simple for a newbie. I've been reading lots about strut towers mushrooming. One thing I'm noticing and curious about...

Is the mushrooming problem more prevelant on pre-R56 MINIs?

It would seem to me that even if MINI never acknowledged this issue as "their problem" (in other words an admission of guilt), they would have likely gone to great lengths to resolve the issue with the R56 (if only at the bequest of their legal department for purposes of avoiding class action lawsuits). Maybe I'm thinking too conspiracy theory here, but I'm curious because most of the mushrooming writeups I've read have been on pre-R56 cars.

 

 

Oh BMW knows about it. The dealers know about it, but they are going to blame it on such things as driving styles, or the wonderful American roads.
I was quoted 350.00 to fix one, or get a deal of the life time from the dealer, and get both done for the low low price of 525.00!!! You can buy the original BMW part for less than 35.00! Oh, and just so you know it is more common on the S models with the 17" runflats, and even moreso when Sports Suspension is in the factor. Mine ripped out on the passenger side at around 33,000 miles.

 

One more byte of info here. I just had this happen before I changed out my struts. I am running 17" with runflats and (was) the S sport suspension. I hit a pothole hard enough to pop open the glove box and send a shock up my spine that chattered my teeth. My passenger side tower mushroomed about 1/32" (ball park estimate--I haven't nearly the tools to measure this properly)--I could just feel a slight warping on the surface. Anyhow, it may not be worth fixing for that little damage and my front tower bar still attaches correctly. I would imagine that most cars would have a little damage if this happened to them. Not that I have any research to back that up.

dan

 

 

BFH fixes it for free...

dan