No mushrooming says more about the state of the roadways that you travel and perhaps your ability to dodge potholes than it does about your motoring prowess. Consider that if you took the car to the track and flogged it for 100,000 miles, you'd get no mushrooming.

 

Just joking actually. Unsuccessfully.

 

Good to know. Thanks.

 

From my understanding, it is basically a good, better, best situation. Attaching a plate (like M7s) on top of the tower helps strengthen that area (just how much is debated), but may not completely prevent mushrooming. It just depend on how much force is transmitted to the area (i.e. how hard you impact a pothole, say). Indeed, there have been examples here on NAM where the M7 plate was deformed after installation.

Installing a stronger plate inderneath (like the IE camber plate) can also help. There are structural arguments why this option is better than the plate on top (for example, it is thicker, I believe).

Installing both above and below to produce a sandwiching of the strut mount is apparently the best solution.

That's my understanding. Someone correct me if I am mistaken.

 

first of all, putting camber plates on your mini is gonna create a great handling mini!! nice, high perf non-runflats and camber plates will give you a very big . no mushrooming is a bonus i'd get the tsw's if i didn't have coilovers. helix would be my personal next choice.

secondly, please do the cut out and trim backside of the lining method....it's very quick, easy, clean!!! just don't forget to put a sheet over the engine bay as it is so easy to lose those clips! if you want to soak it go ahead....but it's really not necessary and doesn't seem to have a good success rate.

peace out!

 

Seconded. Somewhere, down in the bowels of my engine bay, a small clip still sits, lurking...

 

I had to wait til the stealership replaced a cracked top mount for me and I installed an M7 strut bar. I thought there might have been a little mushrooming but the M7 plates torqued down nice and flat at 25 ft lb.
The hood bulged up so I soaked the bejezus out of the area that touches the bar, put towels on the bar, and one on the steering wheel to remind me to remove them before starting the engine, heh. Then I slammed the hood down and put a 50lb. bag of corn on the hood over the bulge. It's sitting like that til morning. If it still bulges, I'll just repeat.

 

Haahahahaha...a 50lb. bag of corn

 

Of course, what else would a dutchman use? I didn't have any manure. Anyway the hood alignment was much improved this morning and there is a nice impression for the brace in the insulation . I'm going to give it another soak n' press tonight. That M7 STB is a nice piece of hardware.

 

More corn tonight or are you planning to move to possibly....potatos? Nah, just kidding. Let us know how it goes. I've been looking into one recently.

 

It will bulge forever if you have an Alta intake. Tht is part of the reason I got rid of the Alta and went with the Dinan. No bulge with the Dinan.

 

The final result after two nights of soak-slam-& weight is that the bulge improved a lot but there is still a gap. Driving it helped a little too. I can live with the gap but it is enough to throw off my windshield washer adjustment. The jets squirt too high. I'm just going to adjust the jets and leave it like it is.
Cutting the liner would be the only thing left to do, there is a nice impression for the bar but in the center I don't see how the liner will possibly compress any more.
So if you are a perfectionist, you may need to do the remove and back-trim on your hood liner to accomodate the M7 STB. I'm happy with mine the way it is, I like that brace.

 

And I was hoping it would work so M7 could up-sell their strut brace with a bag of corn or 2

...Totally kidding on you're end

 

dude, please take some chalk and chalk up your bar. now close the bonnet. now open and you can see the contact points on the liner. take off liner (with cover over the engine bay, so you don't loose any of those plastic thingys). take out liner and use a utility knife to cut out the back of the liner opposite the contact points. reattach liner. close bonnet and viola...no more bulge....much easier and less messy than the "soaking method."

you don't have to settle for something that's not the way it's supposed to be.

 

Or just get an OMP that actually might do something

 

wait, the m7 does something.....the plates prevent mushrooming! agreed, the bar seems to have no effect that i can feel. the omp by contrast, definitely tightens things up nicely...albeit at the cost of some understeer ....but i guess that's what camber plates and alignment specs were made for

 

I have been all over the forums today looking to see if anyone is having this problem on the newer r56 minis.

Anybody please help!!!

 

 

Son...yer in enemy territory. Whyontcha ya wander on over to tha R56 forums...we ain't got no motard info round here

 

I have the Alta intake and had the hood bulge. My 'mechanic' just removed the whole hoodliner instead of recommending that I cut it. Is this a bad idea? The bar actually rubs on the underside of the hood now.

 

then i'd just take the bar off.....i can't tell a difference with or without the bar. i was more concerned about preventing mushrooming.

 

Finally got some time to do this. It was very easy and took no time at all. Should have done that in the first place, don't waste time with soak n' slam.