New Engine Mount Solution coming soon

[rsnookjr]

Got'em dude! Thanks for your efforts. Will you be supplying replacements for the future? Oh yeah, and how long did you say the warranty is?

[Dang!!!]

payment sent for black but color doesn't matter.

[Matt in Houston]

Payment sent for red ones...

[Lotusmotion]

All in all, installing the engine mount inserts is a straight forward, low mechanical skill job that requires some time and patience because of the fiddly bracket base bolts. Having good ground clearance to work under the car and good tools will simplify matters.

The inserts are well made. I expect they will be as durable and have a lifespan comparable to high quality chassis and suspension bushings (time will tell).

The installation took a lot longer than 1/2 hour, which I fully expected. It took me about four hours including time to raise the car onto ramps for work clearance, remove the diffuser and center panel, fiddle with the hard to remove base bolts that attach the front bracket to the engine and rear bracket to the transmission, install the engine mount inserts, put everything back together, and put away my tools and ramps.

In test driving, there is additional and noticeable vibration that can be felt in the seat and seen in the door mirrors as they vibrate ever so slightly at idle. The overall feeling is that the engine is hard mounted to the chassis (kind of reminds me of my Morgan +8!); the engine / drivetrain feel less dampened and more rigid, because they are.

Shifting is a lot more precise under hard acceleration and decceleration. This is a good thing and will be appreciated during track use.

This mod compromises comfort for the sake of improved shifting precision, improved drivetrain stability, and marginally improved chassis stability and handling in transitional situations.

Overall, I would recommend this mod if your car is used on the track, autocross, or otherwise driven hard. The engine mount inserts result in the car feeling like it has a hard edge to it. My car is used on street as well as the track, and I am pleased with the benefits this mod provides. Though, I have forewarned my wife for when she drives it so she doesn't think something is wrong.

I would not recommend this mod if your car is used mostly on the street or as a daily driver, because the additional vibration at idle and hardened feeling of the chassis may become annoying. This is a mod the passenger may not appreciate unless he / she is a hardcore car enthusiast.

A Big Thanks to Manly for his initiative, being innovative and providing the Lotus community with a cost effective and sensible mod!

P.S. The red ones will make your car faster!

[MightyMike]

Installed in approx. 1-hour. Good project to knock out same time as changing oil. Vibration is noticable when idling, but no different than stock while driving. Thanks Manly!

[mlk_f1]

Originally Posted by Lotusmotion

All in all, installing the engine mount inserts is a straight forward, low mechanical skill job that requires some time and patience because of the fiddly bracket base bolts. Having good ground clearance to work under the car and good tools will simplify matters.

The inserts are well made. I expect they will be as durable and have a lifespan comparable to high quality chassis and suspension bushings (time will tell).

The installation took a lot longer than 1/2 hour, which I fully expected. It took me about four hours including time to raise the car onto ramps for work clearance, remove the diffuser and center panel, fiddle with the hard to remove base bolts that attach the front bracket to the engine and rear bracket to the transmission, install the engine mount inserts, put everything back together, and put away my tools and ramps.

In test driving, there is additional and noticeable vibration that can be felt in the seat and seen in the door mirrors as they vibrate ever so slightly at idle. The overall feeling is that the engine is hard mounted to the chassis (kind of reminds me of my Morgan +8!); the engine / drivetrain feel less dampened and more rigid, because they are.

Shifting is a lot more precise under hard acceleration and decceleration. This is a good thing and will be appreciated during track use.

This mod compromises comfort for the sake of improved shifting precision, improved drivetrain stability, and marginally improved chassis stability and handling in transitional situations.

Overall, I would recommend this mod if your car is used on the track, autocross, or otherwise driven hard. The engine mount inserts result in the car feeling like it has a hard edge to it. My car is used on street as well as the track, and I am pleased with the benefits this mod provides. Though, I have forewarned my wife for when she drives it so she doesn't think something is wrong.

I would not recommend this mod if your car is used mostly on the street or as a daily driver, because the additional vibration at idle and hardened feeling of the chassis may become annoying. This is a mod the passenger may not appreciate unless he / she is a hardcore car enthusiast.

A Big Thanks to Manly for his initiative, being innovative and providing the Lotus community with a cost effective and sensible mod!

P.S. The red ones will make your car faster!

damn, 4 hrs. LOL I'm speechless. That is just way extreme dude. I hope you drive a little faster than you wrench. hehe. j/k I'm happy to hear you guys are happy with the mod.

My first time doing the install took me just a little short of an hour because I did not have any instructions at all. After the first time, it only takes me ~30mins. Since I provided all the instructions, I was expecting most can do it around ~30min range. and ~40min with RTD brace.

My approx install time:
1) backing up the car onto ramps: 2 min
2) removing undertray and diffuser: 5 min (I have a cordless driver)
3) Front lower mount remove and reinstall: ~5 min (only three bolts)
4) Rear lower mount remove and reinstall: ~10 min (RTD brace add ~10min)
5) Reinstall undertray and diffuser: 5 min
6) drive the car off the ramp 2 min
No more loose or broken exhaust, improve shift accuracy, and improve throttle response...priceless.

Originally Posted by MightyMike

Vibration is noticable when idling, but no different than stock while driving.

yup, you will notice slightly more vibration when the car is at idle only. Once you give it a couple hundred revs, it feels stock vibration-wise.

[mlk_f1]

Originally Posted by shay2nak

got mine!

hey will these last a while? Are they pretty durable, resistant to drying out & cracking? Just aksing...don't know much about these materials

Yes, they will last a lot longer than the stock rubber mount. They are resistant to oil, heat, crack, drying out, etc. The shop told me they should last at least the life of of the car. I will try to get the specs of the material from the shop next week.

Originally Posted by rsnookjr

Got'em dude! Thanks for your efforts. Will you be supplying replacements for the future? Oh yeah, and how long did you say the warranty is?

I don't think you will ever need replacements. But yes, I can send you a new one if one does break.

[mlk_f1]

Originally Posted by X7LDA

Can someone please answer the following -

1) When you say more vibration at idle, how noticeable is this? And is it the actual engine itself that's vibrating? Will it cause more noise in the cabin?

2) With the stock parts, the engine does move about a LOT, would installing these cut down on some of the squeeks and bumps that come from the engine bay whilest driving?

3) Anyone installed them yet and can say how different they feel to drive on a daily basis?

4) Does the clam have to come off for this kinda job?

Definitely interested and going to order a set for over here in Scotland!

L

1) The engine will transmit more vibration to the cabin at idle. If you don;t do any spirited driving at all, you should not get this mod.

2) No, it is a lotus. I don't think the noises you are referring to comes from the engine bay.

4) no, only have to remove the undertray and diffuser.

[Lotusmotion]

I have no doubt it can be done in 1/2 hour.

Where I lost a lot of time was with removal of the lower bolt on the front mount, where the bracket attaches to the engine, and removal of the upper bolt on the bracket that attaches to the transmission.

[pete k]

If you just upgraded ONE of the two mounts, would there be less vibration at idle, but still some reduction in engine movement? Sort of for occasional track days? Just a thought, although I guess no one has tried this. Possibly I will.

[Smoky]

Hmmm...all these reports of vibration at idle.... this is why I was asking about this before, and it is why I waited to install mine to see what others reported.

Sounds like the vibration is a bit harsher than the website let on, if the mirrors are shaking. I am about 80% daily-driver/20% track. But I don't mind a few compromises to enjoy performance. Shaking mirrors may be a bit much.

At least it is a reversible mod. Unfortunately it'll be a couple weeks before I get to the install. But I'll give it a shot, and see what it feels like.

I just remember my buddy's Neon R/T long ago, when he installed engine mounts. It literally felt like the engine was bolted to the interior. It was almost painful after a while. I remember he used a fairly aggressive mount/bushing upgrade. I was hoping the kit offered in this thread was a bit less aggressive. I guess we'll see.








So if folks who have installed so far had to rate the vibration, how would you rate it on the scale below:


1 (barely noticeable)
-
-
-
-
5 (mirrors and eyeballs shake)
-
-
-
-
10 (teeth shake, feel it in my skull)


My friend's Neon was a definite 10 in the harshness dept. Where would folks place this bushing mod in terms of harshness/vibration intensity?

Thanks

[MightyMike]

Don't worry about the vibration. It just feels different than stock - in a good way. On Smoky's vibration scale, I'd give it a 4 (eyeballs don't shake).

[Lotusmotion]

+1 for the "4"...slight vibration in side mirror but no eyeball issues.

[LordZ]

I'll see if I can tell a difference tomorrow. Just put them in today. Only took an hour and a half. Most of that time was crawling back out from under the car to get the correct sockets.

Seriously, who uses a 15mm on anything?!?!?

Thanks for the quick shipping though, got here very quickly.

[Matt in Houston]

Originally Posted by LordZ

I'll see if I can tell a difference tomorrow. Just put them in today. Only took an hour and a half. Most of that time was crawling back out from under the car to get the correct sockets.

Seriously, who uses a 15mm on anything?!?!?

Thanks for the quick shipping though, got here very quickly.

Good then next weekend you can swing by and pop mine in since you are experienced now...

[LordZ]

I can come by and show you how to do it. The sweat will be yours though. hehe

Really not that tough though. I'll be happy if it stops the flex enough that my stage2 stops hitting my PPE headers. At least until my 2bular gets in. Really don't want to swap back to stock headers and cat for the sept 6th MSR event...

[Darth G-F]

How does this mod compare with the FF engine damper???

[Noel]

Engine mounts are the way to go to ensure you properly reduce engine flex/movement. Torque dampers are more a "secondary/bandaid" solution, ultimately, it's the mounts that carries all the load.

[Pestodude]

Originally Posted by mlk_f1

yup, you will notice slightly more vibration when the car is at idle only. Once you give it a couple hundred revs, it feels stock vibration-wise.

My car idles at 1000 rpm's. Is there a way to adjust the idle to 1500? then the vibration would be less of an issue.

[Pestodude]

Originally Posted by Darth G-F

How does this mod compare with the FF engine damper???

I have the ForcedFed dampener. At Butonwillow two weeks ago we did some unscientific testing between my car and a car with these mounts and there was significantly more engine movement in my car. I plan to switch out my dampener for the new mounts.