M7 R56 Strut Tower Brace (J-Brace Model) 56-5M7104 Installation Guide THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT FIT ON THE BASE MODEL COOPER (Non S, Non-Turbo) Tools (not included): 13 mm Socket 15 mm Socket or wrench Socket Wrench Torque Wrench (Optional) Wood 2 x4 Package Contents checklist: 2 Mounting Plates (Strut Re-Enforcement Plates) 2 Mounting Brackets, Passenger/ Driver (based on intake installed) 1 Cross Bar 4 Short Hex Drive Bolts 4 Lock Washers 2 Long Hex Drive Bolts 2 Flange Nuts 1 Allen Wrench (Optional) Hammer Estimated Time (Actual time may vary): 15 30 minutes REV 11-1-2013 www.m7tuning.com Page 1 of 3
1) Inspect the top of each strut tower using a short 6 straight edge inspect the tops of your strut towers. If you notice any mushrooming (curvature) where the straight edge does not lay flat against the steel, continue with step 2. Search YouTube.com for R53 mini cooper strut tower mushrooming for some good how-to videos. If your strut towers are flat, move to step 4. 2) Jack up the front end of your car to relieve pressure on the strut towers. Do one side at a time. CAUTION: DO NOT HAMMER ON THE STEEL WITHOUT THE WOOD BLOCK. 3) Place a wood block (a short scrap of 2 x4 will work) over the mushroomed portion of the strut tower. Using one hard blow at a time, hammer until the strut tower becomes flat again. Move around the top of the tower and continue to straighten with hammer blows until the steel structure returns to flat. When you are satisfied the strut towers are flat, bring the car back onto the ground and move on to step 4. CAUTION: STEPS 4 and 5 MUST BE DONE WITH WEIGHT ON THE WHEELS-DO NOT ATTEMPT TO DO IT WITH THE CAR JACKED UP AND NO WEIGHT ON THE WHEELS. THIS WILL CAUSE MAJOR MISALIGNMENT OF YOUR FRONT SUSPENSION. 4) Using the 13mm socket, remove the 6 nuts at the top of the strut towers (3 on each side). Place the base plates (SRPs) for the brace over the strut towers and begin to screw down all 6 nuts. Torque each nut to 25 lb-ft (34 Nm) Please note: There is a small plastic locator stud on both strut towers. If the stud prevents the plate from being installed correctly, the stud may be cut with a pair of diagonal cutters (wire cutters). Cutting this stud off will not affect the way the vehicle behaves. REV 11-1-2013 www.m7tuning.com Page 2 of 3
J-Brace-RS J-Brace-LS 5) Slide the end brackets onto the J Bar. These are designed as a tight fit. Using the two long bolts and corresponding nuts, attach the cross bar to the brackets as shown in the image. Note that with the brackets in the correct position, the bar will be sitting more towards the front of the car. The bolts can only go from the front to the back. The back hole is threaded. Do not tighten. Using the four short bolts and four lock washers attach the cross bar/ bracket assembly to the base plates. Screw the four bolts down until they are hand-tight. Position and center the strut bar assembly to make sure it clears the MAF sensor connector on the intake air pipe. 6) Tighten all six bolts. a. Base plates: tighten to the body of the car at 25 ft-lb (34 Nm) per nut. b. Bracket connection points: tighten to 30 ft-lbs (41 Nm). c. Cross bar: With the nut loose, tighten the bolt to 30 ft-lbs (41 Nm). Then holding the bolt with an Allen so it doesn t turn, tighten the nut to 30 ft-lbs (41 Nm). You are done! Enjoy the ride! Team M7 Ultimate Mini Performance Products Engineered Tested Proven REV 11-1-2013 www.m7tuning.com Page 3 of 3
Ultimate MINI Performance M7 R56 Under-Strut System 56-5M7201 Installation Guide engineers and manufactures the highest quality and best fitting Mini Cooper accessories and performance parts available anywhere on Planet Earth! Please inspect your parts when you receive them to verify everything is included and no damage has happened during shipment. Read these instructions completely BEFORE attempting to install this product. If you are not confident you can do the work described or do not have the tools or skills necessary please contact a local M7 dealer (listed on or website www.m7tuning.com) or a local automotive accessory installation center to perform this work. We acknowledge not everything is perfect but we work very hard every day to improve our products and make installations easier. If you have any comments please contact M7 Customer Service directly at. We encourage and welcome all criticism Good or Bad. Thank you. NOTE: Professional installation highly recommended. The use of a lift makes the installation process much easier. M12x80mm M10x20mm Stud Adapter Kit Figure 1- Under Strut System Kit Figure 1A Hardware Kit Figure 2 Page 1 of 6
Ultimate MINI Performance STEP 1 Mid Car Brace aka A-Ladder 1. Assemble the A-ladder brace as seen in Figure #2 above. a. Use the (8) M10-1.0x20mm lg SHCS and split lock washers. Hand tighten only. FRONT OF CAR REAR OF CAR Figure 3 2. Install the 2 supplied Stud Adapter Kits 2 places located at the RED ARROWS figure #3. Locate the (2) 1 holes in located in the floor pan at near the back of the transmission. Unscrew the large black nut from the bolt and slide the rectangular tab with the bolt attached to it into the pre-existing 1 dia hole and center. Screw the large black nut onto the bolt, center it into the hole and tighten to 20 ft-lb. (27Nm) Figures #4 & 5 below. Figure 4 Figure 5 Page 2 of 6
Figure 8 Ultimate MINI Performance 3. Remove the two OEM bolts (16mm head) that the BLUE ARROWS indicate in Figure #3 & Figure #6 Figure 6 4. Install the ladder brace onto the car as shown in the image to the right. Figure #7. Use the supplied M12x80mm black SHCS bolts and flat washers at the back of the brace and the M6 flange nuts that came with the Stud Adapter Kits at the front of the brace. Figure 7 5. If necessary use heavy flat washers to space the rear of the A-Ladder brace down the and clear the exhaust. Figure #8 6. Tighten the front M6 brace-to-car nuts to 20 ft-lbs (27 Nm) 7. Tighten the rear M2 SHCS to 40 ft-lbs (54 Nm) 8. Tighten the 8 M10 A-Ladder bolts to 30 ft-lbs (40 Nm) STEP 2 Front Cross Brace Page 3 of 6
Ultimate MINI Performance 9. Remove the blocks from each end of the cross bar. 10. At the front of the car, remove the triangular plastic splash shields on either side of the car using a Philips head screwdriver. See Figure #9 Figure 9 11. Remove the 2 bolts on each side of at the sub-frame bumper support connection point. Place the cross member blocks over the 2 holes on each side and reinstall the factory bolts as seen in Figure #9. Torque to 75 ft-lbs. (100Nm) Figure 10 Page 4 of 6
Ultimate MINI Performance Figure 11 12. Take the plastic splash guards and position them up against the two installed blocks. Trace the outline of these two blocks with a marker onto the splash guards. Using a Dremel or similar cutting tool, cut the outline of the blocks out of the splash guards. Re-install the two splash guards so they surround the newly installed blocks. See Figure #11 & 12 13. Install the front cross bar to match up with the two attachment blocks. Torque to 30 ft-lbs (40Nm) each. See Figure #13 Figure 12 Figure 11 STEP 3 Rear Cross Brace Page 5 of 6
Ultimate MINI Performance 14. At the rear of the car, locate the rear brace attachment points. The attachment hardware installs the same way as the front of the A-Ladder brace using the 2 remaining Stud Adapter Kits. (Refer to Step #2) Disassemble the attachment hardware and slide the rectangular part into the holes closest to the rear springs. Center it in the hole and screw the black nut as shown in the images. Torque the large Black nut to 30 ftlbs. (31Nm) Figure 12-RS of car shown 15. With the notches of the cross bar facing the front of the car, install the bar over the studs and fasten using M6 nuts provided with the mounting hardware. Tighten these M6 nuts to 20 ft-lbs. (27Nm) 16. Final Check torque (tightness) of ALL installed hardware to the specifications listed in this manual. Figure 13 You are FINISHED! Test drive your car and Enjoy the Ride!... If you have any questions or concerns, don t hesitate to call our office Monday Friday, 9am 4pm EST. Or e-mail us techsupport@m7speed.com. Page 6 of 6
Mooresville NC 28117 M7 R56 Rear Chassis Brace 56-5M7202 Installation Guide Additional tools needed (not included): 10mm Wrench 13mm Socket Identify the included hardware: Allen Tools Hardware: #1 #2 #3 #4 Note: Do not fully tighten any hardware until the very end of installation. 1. Use the 13mm socket to remove the stock bolts which holds the rear seat latch bracket and remove the bracket(s) from each side. (R53 shown in left image) 2. Install the top bar of the RCB system so that the M7 logo faces the rear of the car. You may need to trim some of the interior felt material surrounding the mounting brackets. 3. Install the seat latch bracket on top of the RCB and use hardware set #4 for bolting it in place. Make sure that the OEM seat lock bracket sits ON TOP of the RCB crossbar assembly. 4. With the smaller Allen wrench, the 10mm wrench, and hardware set #3, attach the vertical bars to the cargo loops on the floor pan. Be sure the washers are on the outside of the vertical bar. Rev 5-17-2018 Page 1 of 2
Mooresville NC 28117 5. Rotate the vertical bars for attachment to the top cross bar. This may require the use of one Allen tool to line the holes up due to pre-tensioning of the system. Attach with hardware set #2. Be sure to use a washer under the head of each bolt and use caution dot to cross tread the tapped holes. 6. Use hardware set #1 to attach the lower cross bar to the two vertical bars. Be sure to use a washer under the head of each bolt. 7. Tighten all hardware. This completes the installation of the R56 Rear Chassis Brace. (fire extinguisher not included with this kit) If you have questions or need additional technical support, please email techsupport@m7speed.com Rev 5-17-2018 Page 2 of 2