I'm still researching what I need for lowering the R56 and it's been recommended to me by someone in the know that it would be good insurance to add some kind of strut reinforcement in case of some hard pothole hits.

Craven offers a strut tower reinforcement
http://www.cravenspeed.com/index.php?productID=104
who else sells these?

Question 2, will a strut tie bar be as effective in protecting the strut towers or are they mostly designed for front end rigidity?

Thanks.

 

.....chassis flex......unless you race and have specific front end alignment specs dialed in and/or you want bling, it is another way to separate a man from his wallet.....

 

which is why i'm asking about the strut tower reinforcement which is designed to protect the strut towers from damaged from road hazards usually not encountered on the track. I don't think there was any mention of chassis flex that i was trying to lessen.

 

Craven's plates are excellent for my R53. I expect no less from the R56 versions

 

The M7 strut bar is the only one at the monent that will do both jobs.

If you are considering getting camber plates in the future, save your money now. Camber plates will do a more effective job of preventing tower mushrooming.

 

M7 hasn't released a bar that'll fit the R56 yet, but it's apparently in the works ...

 

there is also this one from DDMWorks

http://www.ddmworks.com/MiniStore/MI...bay_brace.html

What's a good guess as to the cost of this when it is available?

 

JCW front strut brace is good....I like it.

 

looking a pictures that looks like a conventional strut brace and doesn't have the reinforcements to prevent strut tower mushrooming which is still what i'm wanting to prevent for happening.

 

The way it attach to the upper strut towers, it does cover up like 50% of the upper tower, so it will definitely help from that standpoint, plus it's tying in both strut towers making everything more rigid....will definitely help and you get the added handling benefits.

 

Has there been any reported issues of strut tower mushrooming on the new r56's? It seems like something that MINI would/should have addressed in the new design.

 

I've wondered the same thing. The R56 has been in production for well over a year and many tens of thousands sold. I have not seen even a single case of mushrooming reported in the forums.

 

I thought I read something that said the R56 was designed to fix this problem.

 

why else do you guys think the R56 has the SUV ride height for?

 

The dealers and miniusa knew about the problem when the r56 was being designed....I don't know why they wouldn't strengthen up the area a bit.

 

well i guess for 'cheap' insurance i ordered the craven version of the reinforcement rings. i thought about the m7 version which also has an option to add a strut bar for not too much more $$ than the craven ( should be available in a couple weeks) but decided on the craven, sometimes simple is better....

 

here they are, they look pretty anyway

 

nice. I like the Craven too....mainly because of the small detail that they bevel the edge. My square edge of M7 strut bar plates cut through the sheath on my hood release....two M7 bars, two diff cars, same result.

 

I'm definitely waiting for M7 to release the R56 version of the bar/plate combo. I think the plates are available now and the bar will be available mid-March.

 

Drewster,

I have Craven's on the way & they should be here this week. Did you have any problems installing yours and is a torque wrench needed for assembly?

Good luck with yours. They look great!

Ed

 

Thumbs up for the Craven.

 

This is the way to go for a lowered car that also has/wants a CAI.
Any day now...

 

Very easy install except don't drop one of the nuts down into the engine compartment, you'll never be able to find it and then you'll only have one strut defender for a week until Craven sends you a replacement nut.

I don't recall the exact torque but I think it is 25 ft.lbs. I would get a torque wrench to be on the safe and it will also be handy if you ever want to check the torque on your wheel lugs.

 

No, don't make the same mistake I did. You need different torque wrenches for the two applications because the values are too different. The wheel lugs torque at 88 ft-lbs (or 104 ft-lbs for 14mm lugs). The strut towers at 25 ft-lbs is too far down for the same torque wrench to be accurate. I used my wheel torque wrench, set to 25 ft-lbs but it was shearing off the tower bolt before it started clicking (expensive mistake). For 25 ft-lbs, I would get a torque wrench that has a top reading of no more than about 50 ft-lbs.

 

where do you find a torque wrench with the lower readings? I tried searching sears and home depot and the lowest i found was 0 - 75.