Solid Engine Mounts

[ragehardintothebendies]

Building a car for track, AutoX and street, too and from the aforementioned.
I have a soggy engine mount I need to replace as well as the usual tranny mounts etc.
Owing to the fact that I have an 87is and am running the older cooling system this is obviously an item that needs to be addressed.

In my travels I came across these solid mounts from VAC

http://www.vacmotorsports.com/cgi-bin/view_item.pl?item_id=367

My questions are
1, Would a solid mount cause stress problems with the crossmember?
2, Would the compliancy in other driveline bushings such as the tranny mounts cause undue stress on the drive train?
3, would transmission mount's of a similar design be a viable option?

Also if anyone has experience with these or similar urethane mounts, I’d be interested to hear you feedback.

[PeterCip]

1. maybe a little more stress in the crossmember but nothing to worry about. the only difference you will actually notice, is a massive increase in Vibration.
2. you should really have bushings of the same material in the tranny. otherwise you will put extra stress in the bots that mount the tranny tro the engine block.
3. see above..

if you want ot get rid of the "soggy feel", why don't oyu explore the option of the Urethane mounts.. they allow a little flex but for all intesive purposes, they are rock solid..
I think Ireland engineering has them.
-pete

[ragehardintothebendies]

Awesome, thanks for the response.
I too thought that the material for all associated mounts should be the same

The reason I am thinking of going with solid mounts is that I would like to lower the entire drivetrain 1/2" - 1" IIRC, the Groupe A mounts for the M3 do something similar.
I would also be able to have them machined locally allowing me to experiment with different heights.

Failing this I will probably go with all urethane mounts from IE.

[AdamF 88iS]

The additional vibration and stress on the crossmember is more than enough to cause a crack. Hell, the stock mounts can cause cracks. Word on the street is that some guys who tried the factory Group N motor mounts on their M3s (which are almost solid) found that it made our already weak subframes crack where the motor mounts bolt on rapidly.

You'd better reinforce it.

[RedBaron86325]

I run the IE motor mounts and tranny mounts. Since it is for the track, you won't mind the extra noise in the cabin. The motor mounts didn't add any noise, but the tranny mounts did. They are pretty stiff. When you hit the throttle, the engine doesn't move, the car does.

[Bryson]

just for reference, I cracked the ear on my subframe with stock engine mounts and a stock m42

I've been thinking about urethane engine mounts, since noise level isn't a problem, I'm even more inclined to try them. urethane rocks

[Inspar8r]

The additional vibration and stress on the crossmember is more than enough to cause a crack. Hell, the stock mounts can cause cracks. Word on the street is that some guys who tried the factory Group N motor mounts on their M3s (which are almost solid) found that it made our already weak subframes crack where the motor mounts bolt on rapidly.

You'd better reinforce it.

I broke my crossmember with hard street driving, and a bit of auto-x up in michigan. I have stock e30 motor mounts too. Those welds are VERY weak.

I'm surprised i don't hear more horror stories from engine swappers with the extra weight.

[ragehardintothebendies]

RedBaron Thanks for the input.

So I am now starting to think a pre-requisite would be a subframe reinforcement kit similar to the TMS one.
That may mean that urethane bushings would be a more affordable option as long as they are hard enough.

Does anybody else carry Urethane mount's for the e30??

Thanks again this is good info.

[Jand3rson]

I run the IE motor mounts and tranny mounts. Since it is for the track, you won't mind the extra noise in the cabin. The motor mounts didn't add any noise, but the tranny mounts did. They are pretty stiff. When you hit the throttle, the engine doesn't move, the car does.

Did the tranny mounts add a LOT of extra noise? Or just a tolerable amount?

Those motor mounts are badass looking!

[M-technik-3]

Anytime you put solid mounts or Urathane which is stiffer than Rubber you are going to get more noise and vibration. Just the nature of the unflexible beast. The old rating system about cars was sports suspension equaled more NVH.

So TJ yes you will have more noise.

[danbook]

Building a car for track, AutoX and street, too and from the aforementioned.
I have a soggy engine mount I need to replace as well as the usual tranny mounts etc.
Owing to the fact that I have an 87is and am running the older cooling system this is obviously an item that needs to be addressed.

In my travels I came across these solid mounts from VAC

http://www.vacmotorsports.com/cgi-bin/view_item.pl?item_id=367

My questions are
1, Would a solid mount cause stress problems with the crossmember?
2, Would the compliancy in other driveline bushings such as the tranny mounts cause undue stress on the drive train?
3, would transmission mount's of a similar design be a viable option?

Also if anyone has experience with these or similar urethane mounts, I’d be interested to hear you feedback.

Hi thanks for posting this one It really help me a lot for a newbie in cars like me..LOL anyway I'm planing to buy motor and transmission mount kit I already know where i can buy them and the parts and services there is really cool but my question is how does this parts help my car? can someone in this forum help me? please I need some advices Hoping someone is still using his account here and answer me thanks in advance!!!

[Emre]

Hi thanks for posting this one It really help me a lot for a newbie in cars like me..LOL anyway I'm planing to buy motor and transmission mount kit I already know where i can buy them and the parts and services there is really cool but my question is how does this parts help my car? can someone in this forum help me? please I need some advices Hoping someone is still using his account here and answer me thanks in advance!!!

Maybe bumping a 7-year-old thread wasn't the greatest idea: you're bound to get lots of sh1t for this.

When it comes to engine/tranny mounts, there are many more options available today compared to what was out there 7 years ago. These days, AKG mounts are probably your best bet for general street & track use. You'll want solid engine mounts (bolt through), but I think you should stick with 2-piece tranny mounts, otherwise you'll get big-time vibration. Believe it or not, the tranny mounts probably cause more vibration (especially near idle) as compared to the engine mounts. You'll also want to go ahead and swap in a urethane rear diff mount as well, since ideally you'd like to have the whole drivetrain mounted equally stiffly or softly.

As for whether it's worth it, that's really up to you. On my track-driven E30, I got pretty tired of replacing torn OEM engine mounts every year or two. They just don't hold up to severe track duty. I went with urethane mounts from AKG. The tradeoff is significantly more NVH, which manifests itself as huge vibration near idle and lots of buzzing/whining at higher engine speeds. For me, it's tolerable considering how the car is used (weekend toy + track rat). But it would get pretty tiresome on a daily driver.

[danbook]

Maybe bumping a 7-year-old thread wasn't the greatest idea: you're bound to get lots of sh1t for this.

When it comes to engine/tranny mounts, there are many more options available today compared to what was out there 7 years ago. These days, AKG mounts are probably your best bet for general street & track use. You'll want solid engine mounts (bolt through), but I think you should stick with 2-piece tranny mounts, otherwise you'll get big-time vibration. Believe it or not, the tranny mounts probably cause more vibration (especially near idle) as compared to the engine mounts. You'll also want to go ahead and swap in a urethane rear diff mount as well, since ideally you'd like to have the whole drivetrain mounted equally stiffly or softly.

As for whether it's worth it, that's really up to you. On my track-driven E30, I got pretty tired of replacing torn OEM engine mounts every year or two. They just don't hold up to severe track duty. I went with urethane mounts from AKG. The tradeoff is significantly more NVH, which manifests itself as huge vibration near idle and lots of buzzing/whining at higher engine speeds. For me, it's tolerable considering how the car is used (weekend toy + track rat). But it would get pretty tiresome on a daily driver.

sorry Emre If I'm asking an old thread but anyway thanks for the info..I really want someone like you to answer my question it really helps me a lot:nice::nice:. I'm obviously don't have idea about car parts so I choose to find an old thread where there are members that are expert on it.;););)

[Rascal2pt0]

In my experience urethane is great for daily and weekend autox. You get used to the vibration, kind of like a constant massage :). But if you intend to drive the car anywhere other than a track I feel that solids get annoying rather fast, and I think the gain is debatable, harder/urethane mounts will go a long way to improving your driving experience.

[b*saint]

I hate my urethanes. I am switching back to stock