[lkaufmann19]

I did not see much talk about the lower engine mount so I wanted to give my thoughts on it. I just put the SXTH Element mount in last night and I am super impressed. This has been one of the first mods I have done on every FWD car since the factory ones always feel sloppy. I have the daily durometer bushings which I think are perfect for stock power levels.

Install: No issues. A technician at the dealer I work for did it in a half hour.

NVH: Yes, the mount causes vibrations, and if you never driven a car with upgraded mounts just be aware that they will be there but will eventually settle down. They really are not bad at all. The vibrations are at a higher frequency which is not as annoying. I actually enjoy these added vibrations and stiffness. It adds a sportier element to the drive. You also get more engine noise transmitted through the body into the cabin, along with a little gearbox whine sometimes. It is louder but makes driving the car a **** of a lot more exciting.

Performance: Like night and day. No more sloppy take offs and shifts or wheel hop. I used to get notchy and sloppy shifts into third and fourth intermittently, and now it just slides into gear like butter. On launches and first to second shifts you now just get a little wheel spin and no wheel hop. Before the mount it sounded like the wheels were going to jump through the fenders. It is also much easier to start off normally (car is 6MT).

Overall: For ~$200 it is well worth it. The car was a little too soft before and this mount helps the car actually feel sport. You just have to decide for yourself if the vibrations will bother you. Plus SXTH Element was very helpful with any questions I had and their website is super easy to use.

 

[SXTH-Element]

I did not see much talk about the lower engine mount so I wanted to give my thoughts on it. I just put the SXTH Element mount in last night and I am super impressed. This has been one of the first mods I have done on every FWD car since the factory ones always feel sloppy. I have the daily durometer bushings which I think are perfect for stock power levels.

Install: No issues. A technician at the dealer I work for did it in a half hour.

NVH: Yes, the mount causes vibrations, and if you never driven a car with upgraded mounts just be aware that they will be there but will eventually settle down. They really are not bad at all. The vibrations are at a higher frequency which is not as annoying. I actually enjoy these added vibrations and stiffness. It adds a sportier element to the drive. You also get more engine noise transmitted through the body into the cabin, along with a little gearbox whine sometimes. It is louder but makes driving the car a **** of a lot more exciting.

Performance: Like night and day. No more sloppy take offs and shifts or wheel hop. I used to get notchy and sloppy shifts into third and fourth intermittently, and now it just slides into gear like butter. On launches and first to second shifts you now just get a little wheel spin and no wheel hop. Before the mount it sounded like the wheels were going to jump through the fenders. It is also much easier to start off normally (car is 6MT).

Overall: For ~$200 it is well worth it. The car was a little too soft before and this mount helps the car actually feel sport. You just have to decide for yourself if the vibrations will bother you. Plus SXTH Element was very helpful with any questions I had and their website is super easy to use.

Glad you like it! I'm going to make a pittle picture of the tachometer and color it to show where the vibrations occur. 90% of them are from take off to about 1500 rpm then it's all normal after that.
Idle isn't bad at all and even with the A/C its completely tolerable!

 

[R1600Turbo]

They really are not bad at all. The vibrations are at a higher frequency which is not as annoying. I actually enjoy these added vibrations and stiffness. It adds a sportier element to the drive.

This makes me wonder if I did something wrong on the install. Two days down and I feel like my car is going to rattle apart when I take off from a stop. I'm even thinking about taking it out after I hit the drag strip on Saturday night. I was expecting more vibrations, but it may be too much for me.

 

[SXTH-Element]

This makes me wonder if I did something wrong on the install. Two days down and I feel like my car is going to rattle apart when I take off from a stop. I'm even thinking about taking it out after I hit the drag strip on Saturday night. I was expecting more vibrations, but it may be too much for me.

That's the funny thing. You guys are probably feeling the exact same thing but your definition is different.

I'm assuming it's your job to NVH the piss out of all the cars and listen for problems and fix them. You're a little sensitive on the subject

The design is very "one-way" as it's almost impossible to do anything wrong. Some people just define what is "acceptable" differently than others.

Also ours has 2 bushings. Imagine if you only had 1

 

[lkaufmann19]

That's the funny thing. You guys are probably feeling the exact same thing but your definition is different.

I'm assuming it's your job to NVH the piss out of all the cars and listen for problems and fix them. You're a little sensitive on the subject

The design is very "one-way" as it's almost impossible to do anything wrong. Some people just define what is "acceptable" differently than others.

Also ours has 2 bushings. Imagine if you only had 1

Exactly. In my opinion the vibrations and added engine noise are welcome and make the car more fun, but it may be a turn off for some. Only thing that annoys me is the mirror will shake and get fuzzy sometime but it's really not a big deal. After 2000rpm I do not feel anything except when lugging it in 6th which I try not to do anyway. The A/C actually makes it better for me because the idle settles at around 675 normally and that makes for vibrations. The A/C kicks up the idle a little and it doesn't feel bad. And I only have ~100 miles on it. In my experience it takes close to 1000 for it to break in and relax. I may even upgrade to the race bushings eventually depending on how these wear.

My Mazdaspeed3 had an mount that would make the steering wheel visibly shake up with the AC on and starting off would make the dash shake a ton. So yeah, I am used to this and appreciate how smooth this car is with the mount. I think a lot has to do with engine size. The Mazda is a 2.3 so those bigger cylinders will make it less balanced I'm sure. This little 1.6 is great!

 

[R1600Turbo]

That's the funny thing. You guys are probably feeling the exact same thing but your definition is different.

I'm assuming it's your job to NVH the piss out of all the cars and listen for problems and fix them. You're a little sensitive on the subject

The design is very "one-way" as it's almost impossible to do anything wrong. Some people just define what is "acceptable" differently than others.

Also ours has 2 bushings. Imagine if you only had 1

I still feel like those plastic spacers are making it worse. I was going to do an experiment and put something softer in there to see if anything changed. May do that, and if it's the same then who knows. I will say my job has ruined me, but I also didn't expect the street bushings to be like this.

 

[TheShaddix]

Ah, reading the initial review I was super interested in getting this. But if the vibrations are as bad as R1600 is describing, I know that, personally, I'd be annoyed since he's just as picky as me if not more.

Question for the vendor. Is there a way to make the same mount but with some sort of rubber gaskets where the bolts go to absorb some of the shock? This way you get most of the stiffness with just a bit of cushioning.

 

[R1600Turbo]

Ah, reading the initial review I was super interested in getting this. But if the vibrations are as bad as R1600 is describing, I know that, personally, I'd be annoyed since he's just as picky as me if not more.

Question for the vendor. Is there a way to make the same mount but with some sort of rubber gaskets where the bolts go to absorb some of the shock? This way you get most of the stiffness with just a bit of cushioning.

My thought was, the plastic spacers that are included (which Mark can correct me if I'm wrong) help keep the main part of the mount from moving side to side. But the way they interlock with the body of the mount makes me curious if they are preventing the bushing from even moving front to back. Essentially making it completely rigid. I'm no engineer like Mark, but that's the way I'm picturing it in my head.

 

[lkaufmann19]

Ah, reading the initial review I was super interested in getting this. But if the vibrations are as bad as R1600 is describing, I know that, personally, I'd be annoyed since he's just as picky as me if not more.

Question for the vendor. Is there a way to make the same mount but with some sort of rubber gaskets where the bolts go to absorb some of the shock? This way you get most of the stiffness with just a bit of cushioning.

I hear every little noise and feel every shudder, but I also am very mechanical and love the feeling of being connected to the car. The mount does such a great job of keeping everything together and feeling solid that I think it is well worth the noise and vibration. But again I'm biased because I enjoy it. I may not even bother with an exhaust because the raw engine noise sounds so awesome. I'll try and get a video of the cabin to help explain later.

 

[R1600Turbo]

...because the raw engine noise sounds so awesome.

I feel like I'm driving a Subaru now.

 

[TheShaddix]

You two have such different opinions of the same thing. One is in love with it, the other finds it annoying. Not sure whom to trust. I read about the raw engine feel and sound. That's the kinda stuff that makes you really connect with your car emotionally. More often than not, the cars people miss the most are usually the more raw and loud and uncomfortable ones and not the smooth and boring cruisers. But if it's too much vibration, that'll get annoying, especially with dct when it takes a few seconds to drop rpm to idle when you stop. I remember reading about Cobb engine mounts for my Fiesta, people were raving about those. It must be a huge difference vs stock.

 

[lkaufmann19]

I feel like I'm driving a Subaru now.

Haha!! It does kinda sound like that. You're right!

You two have such different opinions of the same thing. One is in love with it, the other finds it annoying. Not sure whom to trust. I read about the raw engine feel and sound. That's the kinda stuff that makes you really connect with your car emotionally. More often than not, the cars people miss the most are usually the more raw and loud and uncomfortable ones and not the smooth and boring cruisers. But if it's too much vibration, that'll get annoying, especially with dct when it takes a few seconds to drop rpm to idle when you stop. I remember reading about Cobb engine mounts for my Fiesta, people were raving about those. It must be a huge difference vs stock.

It really is a big difference versus stock. But you may be right about the DCT issues since you're not in full control of the revs. I think it's worth it. And if you don't like it I'm sure you can find a member who would buy it second hand!

 

[R1600Turbo]

And if you don't like it I'm sure you can find a member who would buy it second hand!

I already had an offer. lol

 

[lkaufmann19]

Found a nice closed course so figured I would take a video of a pull. The sound of course isn't too clear... iPhone 6... but car is running great!

 

[AdamBeker]

I do hear a bit of Subaru in that! Weird haha

 

[SXTH-Element]

My thought was, the plastic spacers that are included (which Mark can correct me if I'm wrong) help keep the main part of the mount from moving side to side. But the way they interlock with the body of the mount makes me curious if they are preventing the bushing from even moving front to back. Essentially making it completely rigid. I'm no engineer like Mark, but that's the way I'm picturing it in my head.

When you have some free time, take out the plastic inserts and tell me if you feel a difference. I personally could not tell before/after.
If you can, I can make you a custom set that will position the bushing housings but won't lock into anywhere that might touch the bushing.

The mount rides in the bushings via the steel inserts that are press fit into the bushings.
For the plastic inserts to transfer force, they too would have to be press fit on to the steel sleeves. The bracket on the trans is squeezed on to the steel sleeve via the nut/bolt and that connection rides around in the bushings.

There is a small amount of space between the inner diameter of the plastic and the outer diameter of the steel sleeve.
Any extra vibration would come from force transfer from the plastic contacting the steel sleeve via their diameters touching. This would only happen under acceleration instances.

The diameter difference isn't very much. This is by design for two reasons:

1. deflection of the bushings is calculated via force placed on them by the torque movement of the engine, stiffness of the bushing, and the amount of bushing there is to compress. Bushing deflection was calculated to be less than that of the gap.
2. The gap was minimized to give a cleaner, more fitted look

I've attached a screenshot of the CAD model to show.

The bushings could deflect a little more if the urethane stiffness fell outside the assumed material properties.
I made a +/- 5% assumption on the urethane pours and calculated deflection on the softest end of the tolerance.

Now I'm not a urethane manufacturer but I'm sure there is always the possibility of a pour curing outside of its specified durometer for whatever reason.

It wouldn't be a big deal to make the plastic spacers have a larger hole to create more space if necessary.

 

[Voodoo Idol]

Man, I just installed mine yesterday and:

I'm in mutha frickin' love! Totally transforms the car! I wasn't expecting this much of a difference, but it's real. Yeah, there are some vibrations if you're trying to accelerate in too low of a gear for your RPMs, but you really shouldn't be doing that anyway - I obviously can't speak for the DCT here. But, jesus... every shift feels exponentially more aggressive and solid. Turns a sleeping beast into a hungry monster.

Highly recommended mod.

 

[lkaufmann19]

Man, I just installed mine yesterday and:

I'm in mutha frickin' love! Totally transforms the car! I wasn't expecting this much of a difference, but it's real. Yeah, there are some vibrations if you're trying to accelerate in too low of a gear for your RPMs, but you really shouldn't be doing that anyway - I obviously can't speak for the DCT here. But, jesus... every shift feels exponentially more aggressive and solid. Turns a sleeping beast into a hungry monster.

Highly recommended mod.

Glad you share my passion for this mod! Acceleration feels stronger and quicker too. It exceeded my expectations by a mile.

 

[MagicPie]

Thanks all for the review, the mount wasn't really a consideration, but now I'll likely get one, once they come back in stock

 

[R1600Turbo]

When you have some free time, take out the plastic inserts and tell me if you feel a difference.

I'll give that a shot. If no change, I guess this just isn't for me. I have had cars in the past with mount inserts that weren't bad so I may just go that route.