Ok, this technically ties to the mushrooming thead, but I hope it can be seperate discussion and being a seperate thread, it won't get lost in that debate.

Aside from the obvious benefit in handling from the camber plates (either fixed or adjustable), would it be plausible to assume there may be a structural benefit to these as well? Being this is an additional plate added to a high stress area, I would think it will help to prevent the strut tower deformation, and possibly the strut plate damage that's being discussed on the other thread.

Take for example the E36 M3 - 1995 they had the tower deformation issues similar to the MINI today. 1996 BMW fix is to add a reinforcement plate BELOW the strut tower and presto - problem solved. Tuner Motosports still has the M3 reinforcement plate availble and it's stamped BMW so they actually took corrective measures themselves.

Where such a simple plate does not exit for the MINI - (not bringing into discussion the STB, i'm talking below the tower, not above - that's another debate) - would a camber plate function in the same manner????

There seem to be several options for these plates, from adjustable $300+ to reasonable priced fixed plates from IE and Dinan. The only thing I do not know is if the resulting ride hight is noticible or negligable.

Discuss ......

 

Ok, I should have titled this thread differently - Should have mentioned this is a theory about the plates as reinforcement.. I apologize if it was misleading. Sorry...

But 44 views an no opinions? Is that a record for this board?

 

Well... yeah, the plates will reinforce the strut towers. And I believe that a plate below the metal is better than one above. But I have no science to back that up.

Another problem is "preventatives" work 100% of the time - until they don't. You can never say that the problem is solved, just that it is solved so far.

I didn't have mushrooming without reinforcements, so it makes no sense for me to say that my camber plates "solved" my mushrooming problem.

Helix plates are super thick and beefy. They will raise the ride height in front a tiny bit (1/4" or so).

 

Snid - Thank you for the reply, and judging from your car's strength, 100,000+ miles, VT roads, track and a moose.. I think it seems the mushrooming paranoia may be just that.
I'm starting to chalk my bent strut mount up to a fluke... not a design error, but any re-inforcement is a good thing I figure.

Can I ask what you have done for suspension mods?

Can't belive all the times I've been in Burlington, and I haven't seen the Velvet Red Mini anywhere.

 

My suspension right now is the Cooper stock sports suspension front swaybar, the Helix 22.5mm rear swaybar currently on the middle setting, the JCW suspension springs and struts, and Helix camber plates. End links are stock in the rear, and oe-replacement in the front (nothing fancy, but the stock ones fell apart when installing the camber plates). Control arms, bushings, etc are all stock.

My setup is good as a compromise setup. While I do track my car, I also drive it every day, all year round - including in the winter snowstorms. That severly limits what can be done in terms of suspension work.

 

After 42K miles on my MCS, one strut tower is mushroomed and both strut mounts have minor cracks. My car is lowered with H&R springs and a H-Sport Comp Rear Sway Bar. I have H-Sport Adj Control Arms to install. I have made my own sway bar drop links to install.

After reviewing many options and NAM threads, I have decided to install the new H-Sport Adj Camber Plates. The new H-Sport plates are similar to the Helix/RDR design but they do not increase the ride height. I decided on the camber plates because they will solve both problems (mushrooming and cracks). As has been stated, the camber plates are a better solution than SRPs because they mount below the strut tower to provied the support where it is really needed (below instead of on top). Also the camber plates remove the troublesome rubber strut mounts. Of course the camber plates are more expensive $470 than the combination of SPRs (about $110) and new strut mounts (about $50 each) but the camber plates will fix the problem plus add the huge benefit of adding negative camber to the front suspension.