Probably a stupid question...

I need to yank my m7 strut bar for a few days. That includes the SRPs. During install I cranked the torque wrench to 25lbs-ft, which is essentially nothing / hand tightened.

Now that I need to remove them ,what is the original mini spec? Is it still 25 lbs-ft?

 

YUP!

 

You've got some strong hands!

- Mark

 

I do. Grip of steel. Seriously though...25 is about as low as a torque wrench can go.

Anyway, it's off. Surprisingly, I feel a difference, minor but it's there. It handles the crappy roads we have here in Boston better without, in that I no longer feel like every pot hole is the mini's last. At the same time there is more torque steer and the steering feels looser. Torn between, with or without.

 

You may want to get some smaller torque wrenches. There are lots and lots of fasteners all over a Mini which have torque specs of 25 ft-lb are less. I have three wrenches with ranges of 2-20, 10-75, and 20-150 ft-lb and the one I hardly ever use is the big one.

- Mark

 

I had no idea. I will look into it. Thanks

 

Craftsman has torque wrenches with a range of 5-80lbs. At any rate, set it to 25lbs-ft and don't worry too much if it feels any different. Even the best torque wrenches out there have a +- 3% tolerance so it will never be 100% precise. Just check it after a few days to make sure it's still tight.

 

Since were on the subject guys please help me out I would like to make this strut bar my next mod, my question is do I need these plates that go on as the base first these I think prevent the mushrooming ? Or do I just go with the strut bar and that will take care of body roll and the mushrooming?

 

Strut bars come in 2 flavours.

The first type is just a standard strut bar to connect the 2 strut towers and tighten up the front end.

The second type is a strut bar AND upper plate combo to prevent the dreaded mushrooming.

IMO the M7 is the gold standard for the second type.

...Les

 

Generally if you have an R56, mushrooming is not an issue so you would not need the SRP. I think there have been many more documented issues with the towers on the first Gen so having one may make sense.

Whether the strut brace is useful is subject to more debate and strong opinions in both directions.

 

I've read the same...no mushrooming issues on the 2nd gen mini.

The M7 bar is a combination of anti-mushrooming plates and strut bar. It just comes that way, so you have no choice. It's priced reasonably in comparison to others so it doesn't matter.

In my opinion, there are only slight/minimal changes in performance;

Positive...It reduced noticeable torque steer. It tightened up the front end.

Negative...Due to the tightened front end, every pot hole became significantly more noticeable. It may have made the ride louder. It somehow masked how off my alignment was. Once removed the car yanked left.

 

Thanks guys for the info

 

I agree on the R56 having stronger strut towers then the R53. However, if you've lowered your R56 you're much more likely to bottom the suspension. For that reason, and being the cautious type, I went with the NM brace/plate set up. After 25K, I've bottomed it but good a few times with no mushrooming.

 

All depends on how big and deep the pothole. Hit one couple of weeks back with the 07 MCS and bent the barrel on the right front rim. Sent it to the dealers to have them check it out, replace anything bent and scare me with the bill. After 7 days they set the tire pressures and the toe and said the car suffered from memory steering and they needed to replace parts on the left side. At this point I'm ROFLMAO. Car still pulls to the right bad.

So, checked the suspension out today and sure enough, the right front strut tower is bowed upwards about an 1/8 of an inch or more. Certainly ain't as flat as the left side.

Question is, how hard is it to get the bow out again? Also, I'm assuming the strut bearing assembly is bent too so that's going in the trash.

Time to think about a camber plate and a STD for sure.

 

OUCH!! Good Luck.