Well it does not go faster, but it feels better, its noticable, .. at least to me. something like when i put my rear swaybar in, not as much but you do feel stiffer.. if you can be any stiffer in a mini.

fyi, install is like, my 12 year old can do it, took maybe 20min, slight hood bump, but not realy noticable, i plan on doing the heat soak thing today to lower it some.

M7's quality is .. A+, this is by far one of the best looking and well crafted parts i have had.

see pixs.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...00&ppuser=7497

 

All the M7 gear is just a touch nicer isn't it? Check out their OCC if you can, it's as gorgeous as it is functional.

 

yes, and peter is super, he answers emails asap and ya can get him onthe phone.. or at least I could.

 

 

Yes he is...I think he walks around all day with a headset otherwise he wouldn't be able to wipe his....uh...nevermind

I just "upgraded" my strut brace to M7's and am very impressed with the quality...much more effective design than others in two respects:

1-full top plate attached to all three strut bolts...this sandwiches the tower securely inbetween the M7 brace and my Megan's camber plate...

2-bar is bolted to top plate, not hinged as in other designs...hinging allows the towers to move together side to side...not good...

 

. . . what is "slight hood bump" ?

 

The hood bump is the result of the brace sitting against the hood insulation. The hood ends up pushed slightly higher than before (about 1/4 in or less), but once the insulation is compressed (do a search for the 'soak and slam' method), the hood bulge goes away.

I too am very impressed with the overall design of the brace. I had the M7 SRP's before and they never quite sat down right but the plates with the brace torqued down nice. The solid feel of the bar once in place is very impressive. And of course, is modular so no problem on oil changes, etc.

 

On certain build variances of the Mini, the hood liner sometimes interfere with the brace...this can happen with other designs as well. In these cases, the interference causes the rear of the hood to be pushed up slightly...about 1/8"...not noticable...

 

see above comments.. mine was about 1/8th.. im doning the soaking and slam today. which should make it go away or even less., but unless your looking for it, ya realy cant see it.. imo

 

where are u able to purchase the black STB? are they still available?

 

Mine came in about 1.5 weeks ago, I did not specify a color, and a black one is what showed up.

 

From what I was told by Peter, all current M7 tower braces are black. I would have liked to get the 'platinum' version myself.

 

On my April '05 MCS the bonnet would not close! I removed the liner and soaked both sides, then slammed, leaving me with a 1/4" hump. I eventually removed some of the lining and it fits perfectly now. There would appear to be a higher variance than imagined for this installation.

cheers,

 

im going to try without removing the liner.... first.. .its hard to see even now...

 

I refuse to remove my liner. I can live with the tiny gap that is left.

 

You don't have to remove your liner - I didn't remove my liner (other than to soak it) but cut it away. Here's what it looks like:



Sorry, the photo is doing double duty--showing that the CAI actually seals against the liner!
cheers

 

that does not look too bad, im going to get a spray bottle and wet it, drive for about 20 min, see what mold gets made, and trim it out. some... thanks for the pic... nice to see

 

Liner gone ...less weight !!!!