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Product Description
Strut Tower Reinforcement Plates for the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S
Finally a true strut tower reinforcement that actually works to stop strut tower mushrooming!
For the last year we have been amazed by the poorly designed attempts to stop strut tower mushrooming. The current solutions on the market are made from billet aluminum and are mounted atop the strut tower in an attempt to strengthen the affected area. Not only that but our competitors cut a small notch in the aluminum surface for fitment atop the strut tower which weakens the plate by 50% or more!
The Madness reinforcement plates mount below the strut tower and cover 100% of the usable strut tower surface area for maximum strength. The Madness Plates are also made of high strength carbon steel which is significantly stronger than aluminum.
WHAT HAPPENS IF MY STRUT TOWERS ARE ALREADY DEFORMED?
Our MINI Cooper Strut Reinforcement Plates will pull the metal back into alignment when you tighten the nuts. Since the sheet metal of the existing strut towers is thinner than our reinforcement plate the two will be pulled togther when tightening the nuts down. We advise NOT to hammer the towers back into shape, this does more harnm and damage to an already damaged tower.
Our plates will accommodate the use of Koni adjustable shocks and work with most upper stress bars and are very easy to install.
Also included are our strut tower covers which add a cleaner look and the Madness logo to the under hood area.
 Bent way beyond a littleMatthew Varley (Beverly, MA) 2/25/2014 5:24 PM
Spoke with George on the phone and he recommended I get this, boy am I glad he did. After receiving them in the mail, I popped the hood to see what I was in store for. Not one but both towers are noticeably bent, almost rounded. I looked a bit closer and realized my passenger side strut mount was cracked as well. Took a quick drive over to my local Mini dealer, spent some money there then got back to work. The plate went in with a little shaking things around. New strut mount is back in and I am ready to roll. I highly recommend this product for some piece of mind and straight up reinforcement like in my case.
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Really necessary, one suggestionThomas Weber (Tampa, FL) 4/26/2010 11:08 AM
I've been waiting a long time to address the mushrooms on my strut towers. They were first discovered in '04 when I tried to put a Dinan strut brace on but couldn't due to the 'shrooms. What I had to do to get these on was take my Dremel tool to two of the holes on each plate and elongate them about 1mm. The mushroom effect had slightly bent the threaded posts on the strut and that was the only way to get them on. I suggest that they come with slightly elongated holes to accomdate such deformations due to mushrooming. Now that they are on, I share the sense of relief that I've fixed an old issue and can carve up the streets without worrying about getting the 'shrooms.
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Excellent product!(Unknown) 5/8/2009 12:41 PM
Just installed these on my '04 MCS. Had some mushrooming before the install and the car had a slight pull to the right. The install was easy and took about an hour with a tire rotation. The plates took care of the mushrooming and the pull is gone! I believe this is the best option if you already have deformed strut towers.
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An Ounce of PreventionAnonymous (Unknown) 8/31/2008 2:35 AM
I haven't seen mushrooming on my '05 but I have seen it on other Mini's. I must not thrash it as hard as some others do even though on a recent outing I did bottom out the right front supension. These plates fit neatly inside the strut tower and don't require any alterations. Would I ever experience mushrooming without the plates? There is no way to tell. I'm solidly convinced that I will most certainly never experience it with them installed. Fit and finish are first class and for my money the peace of mind is worth the asking price. ex997guy
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All-in-all, a great investment in my GoKart!Anonymous (Unknown) 1/14/2009 11:32 AM
As one of the very first to have these installed (August 30), I'm happy to report that they are awesome! Not only did the installation remove the bit of mushrooming I developed on my road trip to MTTS, I can now hit the occasional hard bump or small pothole without worrying that I'll need new strut towers one day. All-in-all, a great investment in my GoKart! (and you can quote me on that ;-) John
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Product Reviews
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A good way to protect your MINI's strut towers
Posted by Unknown on 2nd Apr 2018
I purchased this kit a few weeks ago. Initially thought these were installed on top of the strut tower but instead you need to drop the struts and install from under the fender. I jacked up the car and dropped both struts. After some fiddling around (and a bit of swearing) got both in. It looks like a couple of the bolts were bent making installation a bit more challenging than expected but finally got the plates on and used a hydraulic jack to lift the strut assembly back up as I lined up the bolts. Probably a quicker job if all bolts are straight. Did not have to unhook the sway bar, but it's a tight fit nevertheless. Some patience is required but overall very pleased.
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Fit with some modifications
Posted by sup3r.basscann0n@gmail.com on 17th Dec 2017
Jan 1st 2004 MINI Cooper R50
One of my struts was so badly shroomed that I had to remove and reshape the strut with the plate. Plates are strong and fit into the housing perfectly. Easiest was to get the in there if you have stock height struts like myself is to unhook the sway bar from the bottom bolt to give you more room to slide the plate into place. Ride height increase is negligible. Very happy with the plates and arrived in a timely manor -
great product
Posted by edward on 25th Jun 2017
After lots of research these seemed like the best option, installation was easy, I did it by myself in 20 min. I could actually see my strut towers flatten out as I tightened them down! Next will be a strut tower brace and my r52 will be much stiffer
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No brainer
Posted by STEPHEN on 27th May 2017
My passenger side strut mount was badly cracked, so I decided to replace both mounts plus the struts. My strut towers were mushroomed - not severely, but quite noticeably. Installing the Mini Madness reinforcement plates as part of the project just seemed like a no brainer. No further mushrooming risk, steering will stay aligned, etc. There does not seem to be any downside.
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nice part.....lenghty processing.
Posted by trebor on 21st May 2017
Ordered and paid on the 3rd, the 8th is when the order was processed and a shipping label was created and shipped on the 12th, arrived on the 16th......
The part is red coated steel.....easy to install, should do its intended job. -
Solid, functional well made product
Posted by Unknown on 10th Dec 2016
I had mild mushrooming of my R53 strut towers and added these during a strut swap. The Madness product is very well made and pulled the mushrooming right out when I replaced the struts and mounts. The red color looks great with Chili Red, or the included caps do a nice job of covering up the strut ends completely. The plugs are not as nice as they look on the web site - they are plain black plastic with Madness stickers provided that don't quite fit the plugs, but there come out OK with a little scissor trimming.
Probably the most economic way to deal with mushrooming, but more work to install than the M7 or similar units that bolt onto the top. If you are doing the struts or strut mounts, though, these just drop right on.
I would definitely buy these again if I did another R50/53. -
Takes a while to strut your stuff
Posted by Roger on 29th Mar 2016
Product appears to be of high quality. Was able to install without strut removal or spring compression. Ordered parts from 3 differnt businesses. Took 2 weeks just to ship.
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reinforcement plates
Posted by mario on 4th Nov 2015
The strut tower reinforcement plates install quite easily.
One factor to consider, both wheels must be off the ground to relax the front sway bar; as per George!
Then all you need to do is to remove the 3 upper stress bolts that holds the shock assembly. (Carefull thought must be taken here, place your jack under your wheel rotor, and kindly lower shock assembly down. Rather than let it drop by itself)
With that said, the shock assembly don't have to clear the upper strut well, but just enough room to slide the reinforcement plate up on top of the bearing.
once the plates are on, simply jack it slowly to align the bolts, & your good to go. Good luck!