What happened to the prices on these? Just looked at a couple of vendors' pages and they are now priced in the $170 to $190 range. How did that happen?

Seems like a good opportunity for an aftermarket company to undercut the MINI prices.

 

Wow, glad I got them back when they were $40! I would look on eBay or part outs. Hopefully the sellers haven’t raised their prices yet.

 

It is a sign of the part is about to dry up. Vendor gouging. I encourage anyone that come across this to boycott the vendor in question.

These two parts are $25 list, and some put together a kit with a boutique price.

I ordered a set at a reasonable price but yet it has been days now and still no shipping notification. You read between the lines.

The truth is I struggles if these do anything to the non-cabrio. I suspect it merely there to suppress chassis resonance that is unique to the roofless chassis.

 

Interesting, I just checked the price of new supports individually and the right side is $18 and the left is $97.

 

Yah. This post alone sounds the alarm to all the prospectors to raise their price to precise metal.

 

Because the left side supply is very low. One vendor list over $100 for it. I am tempted to shame it publicly.

 

Here is one very good indicator these braces are placebo:

do you thing this race team can't afford $40 parts?

 

I bought a pair about a year ago. The main thing they have done for my car is cut down the rattles coming from the dash/cowl area. Luckily, that's about all I was hoping for out of them.

 

Just so that I don't come across as a moron. For the benefit of the doubt of some vendors that has raised the left side brace to stratospheric level, I infer that is automatic eCommerce software at work. Few of the vendor stock parts. The dirty secret is most are dropped ship, or order from wholesaler (MINI USA in this case) on demand. It could just be the eCommerce software just computing the price we see based on cost-plus % profit.

If mine ever show up I will sell them to the highest bidder as each passing day, it gains in "value".

 

As far as minimizing vibrations/rattles/whatever you want to call them, IMO those braces do nothing. Although I have a tower cross brace I do not know how much they really do other than bling as the brace has slotted holes for the where the bar mounts to the portion bolted to the tower. The process is relaying on 30 ft/lbs of torque to hold the bar from sliding within the slots. It sure looks like the bar on the race car above is a solid throughbolt connection.

 

There is an old thread on some experiment that has been done to show the bling tower brace does little. They used zip tie. A better setup would be to use a strain gauge with a data logger on a track session.

That race car brace appears to be custom, and has a center support which is difficult for a road car to achieve unless you are willing to butcher into the cowls and rip into the cabin air circulation.

 

If the aftermarkets were not slotted they would provide allot better support IMO. Possibly they had to build the things to compensate for the how much the metal towers are able to move/deform after fabrication. There is an engineer someplace that could figure out how much resistance the bars can provide with the elongated slots.

 

I am with you on the ones with slotted fastener holes, and would not buy. There is one with 3 section bar to minimize shipping cost.

I incline to think the underbody cross brace is more effective, but at the price of increased risk with road hazards, as well as service access. If my Mini is only a road car, I would not be bother with any of these.

 

I bought mine for the same reason.

Like the debate on whether a strut brace is bling or actually functional on a MINI, many people just did the cabrio brace retrofit because the price was so low. For $40 the cabrio braces couldn’t hurt and was just a cheap way to satisfy an urge for another mod, at $150+ I don’t think anyone would have added them.

The slotted, multi-piece design definitely compromises the intended functionality of the strut bars. I also haven’t seen any aftermarket strut bars like the one on that race car that has additional bracing going back to the firewall which actually would make a difference.

 

There are a few r52 guys here parting cars like Burley. Just get them from them and clean and hit with some black paint. Cheeeeeep.

Get the undercarriage braces while your at it... or will that not work with a r53 exhaust?

 

I'm pretty sure the R52's exhaust tubing is flattened in those spots to clear the undercarriage braces. Theoretically they should work on an R53 if you flatten the exhaust the same way. I just don't think I'd want to do that.

 

The undercarriage brace requires a lot of changes. I think the cross member for the control arms are different. I still think they do little to R53/R50.

 

Exactly. The talk about boycotting and shaming vendors is nonsense. The prices reflect their cost to order the part from MINIUSA. These parts are no longer manufactured and the parts come out of remaining inventory. I doubt that anyone will ever make an aftermarket version because the demand is so low. Interesting though, the discrepancy in price between left/right. Perhaps more accidents happen on the left side, requiring only the left brace to be replaced?

Google the part numbers (51617123515, 51617123516) for sellers. The prices at MINI of Kennesaw are still low, possibly because they have it in stock, or they haven't updated their website. If they have to order the part from MINIUSA, you should expect the price to jump.
https://parts.miniofkennesaw.com/products/Mini/Diagonal-rod--left/1388835/51617123515.html

 

The way R52s are able to use a R53 exhaust is by adding some spacers between the x-brace support and the frame so the support clears the exhaust. On using the R52 x-braces on the R-53 the question would be if the R53 frame has bolt receiving reinforcement in the areas required. Would think that BMW/MINI would have made all frames the same for 05 & 06 but do not know. The black body trim is also different on the R52 then the R53 as there is a cut out for the x-brace connection just behind the door.

 

This is the brace we are talking about right?


It requires changing the subframe as it has bolt holes to accept the brace. You can see in the previous photo.


I fail to see how this would improve upon what already very stiff tin top chassis. I wager all these are to suppress topless chassis resonance. The Mini chassis is the stiffest for all the cars that I've ever owned. On the uneven surface of the driveway, very often it sits on 3 of the 4 jack stands. There is no change in the most minute door latch engagement when I open and close them while on jack stands.

 

Yes but IMO they do diddly squat for resonance. I can see how they would help, but not replace, the rigidity that having the steel top connecting the windscreen to the back end.

For me, unless one is tracking the car, all this extra stuff is just a way that somebody entices another to part with some of the money in their wallet. Most, including myself, probably do not have the talent to take advantage of these types of modifications and then a public street is no place to play F1 racer.

I like a little more HP/Tq and some better handling but only going so far to accomplish. For those that want to go full out, have it, just please don't be driving towards me on the Dragon.

 

Something that never cross my mind until now is R50/R53 also have the rear curved aquarium glass bonded to the roof frame, in addition to the windshield that is also a stress element. No wonder the little car is so stiff.

Convertible is very tough. Very high sill like the Lotus helps a lot at the expense DD usability. Porsche's convertibles have a lot of sophisticated structure design and manufacturing, and adhesives play very important part.

 

I went to a C&C back in the spring. Guy pulls up in his SLS AMG and goes to get out. I had the best chuckle as the guy was so short when he went to get out his feet could not touch the pavement as he was so short and the high side sills.

 

Oh, and yes even the vert is so stiff that three jack stands will work.

 

Yep the 51617123515 side went up in price, the right side is still the old price. My guess is a new production run? The other side when they sell out might go up in price. We have our eyes out for things like this on the ECS side

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ss-braces.html