I did my MM CC Plate install last Tuesday and we pulled out the struts. It made life a litle easier. The only bad thing that happened was the top part of the dust boot made high speed contact with my fender and it is now home to a paint chip.
Hardest part for me was getting the strut tower nut on and off. Other than that it was just following the directions and make sure you messure twice if you're using the 4th bolt. Mine are Pro3i 4bolt C/C plates. Good stuff
if you have air tools handy it will be a walk in the park.
the plate install will depend on which you buy. I bought the 4 bolt MM plates. I though the install was very easy but you did have to drill a 4th hole. this scares some poeple. If you are used to working on cars you will have no problem.
If you get a spherical bearing plate be prepared for a bit more road noise on rough surface. I don't notice anythign on a nice road but if you get in really groved or rutted up surface some times there will be some harmonics you will hear. I wanted a plate that would alow me to run coilover if I ever wanted to.