1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Can someone explain motor mounts to me

Bite the bullet, buy the Vibra-technics, and be done. I did all three of mine when I changed to a JCW head and added a Milltek header and exhaust....minimized motor flex and provided peace of mind regarding cracking of my Milltek.

Colin is a straight up guy...easy to deal with and he'll have the Vibra-technics out to you in a jiffy...

 

If you are looking for a solution that will be minimal vibration the BSH is not for you.
Same story for the Powerflex, Poly that they are made out of will change durometer with temp. the colder it gets the harder the material becomes.
The Vibratechnics mounts are made from engineered rubber, it truly is the best solution for mini engine mounts, If you cant stand the idea of any more vibration than stock it might not be for you, the added vibration is however minimal and often times once it breaks in and you get acclimated to it you wont notice it.
Yes its expensive but it will not need replaced or spew brown oil everywhere.

If you plan on adding a cam and a head you would be best served adding the upper and lower motor mount at the same time, the added power will twist the motor in the chassis even more, and break the exhaust flex joint.
really the power plan should be Head/Cam/Header
Without the header the combo really wont work.

If you want/need the Vibratechnics mounts I have them in stock and ready to ship at
Greene Performance

 

If you have a header, I STRONGLY SUGGEST a stiffer motor mount...
Of the ones available, vibratecs is the best for least added NVH...
If you use the stock mounts, keep them fresh...dare I say yearly?!
An engine moving around lots with a header will cause it wear or crack...the flex joints or "baskets" can fail...
Imo if you have a header..just suck it up, and put in a better mount. I got about 30-35,000 miles each for the OEM mounts, but they tear and leak...longer term if you don't catch a failure, it causes other issues...like clutch and exaust issues from excess engine movement....
Going cheap here might cost you more, both in parts and a welding bill...

 

As much as it pained me to spend the $ on the Vibra-Technics, it broke in nicely within ~1000 miles and the increase in vibration has been minimal since.

 

If you are looking for Vibratechnics Mounts get them from me
Greene Performance

 

I had the Powerflex mounts in my '03 JCW for one week and took them out again and went back to stock......hated them.

Once I had the stock mounts back in it was heavenly quiet!

I think how you drive your car has as much to do with how long the mounts will last as anything else. Some people have the original mounts on their cars well over 100K, others can't make them last a year.

 

You can install the early parts, they are not actually any better they fail as well. they just dont spew oil.
Scott you are likely the lone exception who has no real complaint about vibration.

 

Thanks Cliff!

 

I like the VibraTechnic mounts that Colin sells. I have the top and bottom mounts on my car. They do a great job of holding the engine in place and damping the vibration. No harshness like the poly inserts.

 

Thank you for the engine mount response.
I have not done LCA bushings yet. My original LCA bushings seem to be hanging in there but I know replacing the LCA, power steering, and sway bar bushings needs to be a project in the near future but I am not excited about dropping the subframe so I have been putting it off.

 

On that age car, I'd refresh the power steering hoses and ball joints also, while I was in there. I had all that done on the same time on my car.

 

Yes. Thank you for the reminder on PS Hose and Ball Joints.

 

darn it, you're right. Now that kills it for me

Actually, I just put upper and lower new OEM mounts in there. Not going to change that for a while. Gearbox mount will get done when I rip into the car for clutch and other major items again, such as control arm bushings. None of that appears to be needed right now. Got new exhaust on the more immediate wish list and that costs about the same as these motor mounts.

 

Colin's answer is spot on. I had the BSH lower for a very short time. The transmitted vibes to the cabin were annoying as hades for a daily driver. Having replaced all 3 of the OEM mounts for VibraTechnics mounts, it truly isn't a noticeable difference over the OEM ones. It really is worth considering the extra $$ up front.

 

I think it will be up to your own personal needs. How hard do you drive your car or how long do you want to keep your car as it ages and needs other repairs.

My car has about 140,000 miles on it. I have replaced my top mount once. Given that, I might have to replace it one more time before I need to do some major work on the engine. But the second mount is still fine. For myself, I can't cost justify the price of the Vibratech mount.

I had a BSH lower mount on my car but after about a year of it, I decided the vibration and noise inside the passenger compartment was just too much for me in day to day situations. I went back to the stock mount. So if you are reasonably gentle with your car, the stock mounts should be fine from a cost effective point of view. But that Vibratech mount sure looks nice and probably worth the upgrade just for the quality and workmanship of the piece.

 

Listen to Colin and Savvy. Good advice from both of them. If your worried about vibration and harshness, save your money and don't buy any poly inserts or the BSH.

The stock mount is cheaper than the VT, but it will fail again. It may last 10k or 100K miles, it a crap shoot. My top mount failed with 18k miles on the car. I installed a VT mount so I would never have to replace it again. That was worth the extra money to me.

 

Zippy makes a good point engine movement can and will destroy a headers flex joint or beat the rest of the exhaust mounts.

 

I have been running the Powerflex yellow poly mount inserts (top and bottom) on my S for years now and have no issue with NVH other than at a low idle. I have the tranny mount sitting on my shelf with the intention of installing it when I get the chanc.