Check out the Chassis Bones braces as we have had great luck with them and cost effective
https://www.waymotorworks.com/chassi...5-f56-f57.html

 

jobea did you end up installing this brace?

 

Interesting. Would be nice if they had a not-full set... I already have the Craven big pair.

There are also the Ultra Racing braces:

https://ultraracing-usa.com/product/...upe-2014-2019/

@Mini_Vinnie has the full set, I believe. Discussion over here:

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

I'm pretty skeptical how well these work, but for sure interested if someone can point to specific improvements.

 

My best "engineering" guess would be "not the best ROI/bang for buck. I (probably most on this site) didn't buy this car for practicality, so anything that can add "fun" to our already fun car for me is good.
A few months ago I was so pissed at my Dinan that I went out and test drove a Camaro 1LE (owned Camaro in the past), I left the test drive more impressed with the MINI.

 

I guess I'll be the first to review.

 

Sweet! Let us know how it goes.

Is it steel or aluminum?

Where did you order from? Did you not get the two tunnel braces as well?

Btw, a big piece of cardboard under the car is way more comfortable than concrete. =)

 

Had the dealer install it, way better than cardboard. Got it from the Japanese site, did not get the two tunnel braces (the mid one seems to only serve the floor from spreading) the rear might be a value tho. It's steel (confirmed with magnets). Unfortunately it interferes with the catalytic converter. USA models may have different Cat's than Japan. The dealer temporarily zipped tied the exhaust up (they checked with me first). I got this far so I had to try it. Car felt stiffer over bumps, can't tell yet in the corners. Total weight added 3.39 kg or 7.5 lbs: Brace weighs 3.15kg hardware difference 242gm. I tried reaching out to iSweep, see what resolution they offer. The pic are with zip ties and almost touches.

 

Oh man, that sucks!! Yeah if you look on the iSweep site, they have a pic of it installed, and indeed there is no cat there. Same as Europe I guess. Seems like if they designed it just *slightly* different it would have worked worldwide... bummer.

I'm sure an exhaust shop could easily remove that cat...

Or throw some stainless ties on the exhaust hangers. The ones used to hold header wrap on.

Give us more info on driving when you can =)

 

Apparently these are being sold in the USA without testing? I don't plan on modding the exhaust to suit an item that wasn't "correctly" designed. The exhaust vibration can be felt in the car now that the rubber hangers have been bypassed. Of course this will work for a car that had the cat deleted. I will take around some corners and see how it feels.

 

Its okay to delete the 2nd cat to make space, the dealership only cares about the primary cat if it throws a code. I removed my 2nd cat and the dealership didn't blink an eye.

 

But the fact of the matter is you should not have to modify your exhaust just to install this unless they say it up front.

 

hadjiikong my thought exactly. They haven't responded yet so I opened a claim with Paypal. We'll see where this goes.

 

Does anyone know if the stock exhaust 2nd cat is in the same location as the JCW?

 

Yes, the 2nd cat is the same in all US F56 models. I have a 2014 S, and have had on my car a JCW exhaust, and currently have the JCW Pro exhaust. Cat is the same size and placement on all 3. I don't know if anything changed on the LCI (2019?) and on, or on F55, F57, etc.

 

We'll I just heard from the seller, said they never had this problem. Their solution is, I buy a $1,200 exhaust system. No, I'm not making this up.

 

you could do to a shop and get that part cut out. That is what I did back in the day. It was around $50

Disregard if you have emissions testing

 

I might remove the brace as soon as the zip tie fails. Vibrations being transferred into the car being that the rubber hangers are bypassed. Someone suggested shorter urethane supports, don't even know where to go for that.
The seller did step up to make sure I was happy tho.

 

Stiffer exhaust bushings might work... Maybe try some fender washers under the brace with longer bolts to move it out a bit? How does the bar feel, apart from the vibrations? Do you think its worth finding a solution?

 

It would have to dropped over 1" to clear the Cat. Car felt stiffer going over bumps, might need Auto crossing to realize the benefits. I haven't pushed the car that hard yet. I have feeling I'll be selling it, can't drive with zip tied exhaust.

 

Im sure someone will take it off your hands if you want to get rid of it, looks like you just need any of the aftermarket exhausts

 

I removed the zip ties & stock rubber hangers and installed Polyflex exhaust hangers (EXH032 & EXH025) so far so good i.e. no contact with the brace, well see if they start to sag.