R56 MINI Strut Tower Mushrooming

Is this a real concern?

Would any of you R56 owners bother with reinforcement plates?

I've been thinking about it, but it'll bump me from stock class I'm pretty sure.

Personally, I would add them (prefer Craven's version), but I've had to fix this on a few R50/53 cars.

Technically, yes - it would bump you out of DS. But at the regional level, nobody would care, and if you do plan to go to National events, then removal is pretty quick.

Thatswhat I was thinking, especially sine Idon't autocross that much, spend much more time on tsd rallies, and I'd rather just protect the long term health of my new car.

Would it really bump you out of stock class if it doesn't change camber? If that's true, then what about reinforcing the subframe mounts on an E36, or adding any bracing to keep a car from destroying itself? Seems like a preventative repair to me more than a performance gain.

JoeTR6 wrote: Would it really bump you out of stock class if it doesn't change camber? If that's true, then what about reinforcing the subframe mounts on an E36, or adding any bracing to keep a car from destroying itself? Seems like a preventative repair to me more than a performance gain.

From the SCCA's perspective, I would say "yes," because the brace adds a (minimal) amount of chassis stiffening, even if its main purpose is to prevent strut tower mushrooming.

Hasn"t MINI issued a TSB about this problem already? Seems the SCCA should allow whatever repair/upgrade the TSB gives.

No. BMW/MINI has pretty much denied it being a design flaw. Some dealers will fix it under warranty. Most will accuse the driver of rough driving (pot holes).

Yeah, it seems a little silly that just the reinforcement plates (without the strut bar) haven't been allowed, but I mean, if they let one guy do it, then they have to let everybody, yada yada yada.

Oh well. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. I have a few weeks before the car is even in my possession, plus I don't think I need to worry about instantaneous issues, so... yeah... wait and see?

When we ordered our R52 (Cooper 'vert) in early '07, we already had a set of Craven plates waiting for its arrival. But like I said, I've had to fix this on a few cars (our R53 as well as a few friends' cars).

The thing is, the plates are preventive, not a repair. If the tower mushrooms, it'll have to be fixed (pounded flat again) before the plate will fit. If it's really bad, the strut will have to be removed and the mount straightened as well. And each time this is done, the metal is weakened more. IMHO, better to install them first and be done.

I've noticed that most of the plates out there (Craven, M7) specifically list 07-10 and not 2011 or 07+. Did MINI change something? I haven't been able to find any definitive answer on this.

My hunch is the vendors haven't updated their websites for 2011 yet. As far as I know, there have been no significant changes to the R56 (and R55 Clubman and R57 'vert variants) chassis since its introduction.

The screwy part for vendors is how MINI overlaps the platforms. The Clubman and Convertible will likely stay as-is for a year or two after the next coupe platform is introduced. It gets downright confusing at times and I've been involved with these cars since 2003. It practically makes the BMW E## codes look simple.