Motor Mount Options?

[Andy Bettencourt]

I feel for you too. If my car had 'weak' motor mounts, you can bet I would be taking advantage of the stayrod allowance.

[mbuskuhl]

James,

Your sig says ITE. It's my understanding there are no national rules for ITE but are rather division/region specific. What does your division/region have in place forITE rules?

In the SOWDIV, ours are pretty basic and listed below. As such, I can do pretty much whatever I want to my ITE car, including non OEM motor mounts. We have MX-5 cup cars that run ITE, some NASA GTS cars and a few others.We just have to meet minimum safety specs and have a maximum engine displacement.

Just a thought.

Improved Touring E (ITE) Cars eligible for ITE are production based cars with fenders and doors that are not currently eligible for any other SCCA club racing class. Cars entered in ITE must meet minimum safety standards of the 2008 GCR and Improved Touring Category Specifications, ITCS, including all items in Section 9.1.3, ITCS. Suitability of any car for ITE is subject to the approval of the Chief Steward and Chief Scrutineer.
The maximum engine displacement for normally aspirated cars is 3,500 cc. Turbo-Charging or Super-Charging is allowed with a maximum displacement of 2,500 cc. Rotary engines are limited to two (2) rotors.

[Gary L]

Hmmm... going off on a tangent here, not because I really care, but because I'm just ornery. I'm deducing that you folks must be interpreting the phrase "...including all items in Section 9.1.3, ITCS" in your ITE ruleset, to mean just the safety standards? That's kinda the way it's written. If that's the case, what's to keep you from running something that resembles, for instance, a 3500 cc powered Daytona Prototype car in ITE? With a showroom stock roll cage and no fuel cell, BTW.

If that's not the case (and you must meet more than just the safety portions of 9.1.3), how do you get around the infamous IIDSYCYC caveat that's part of the ITCS and install non-OEM motor mounts?

[mbuskuhl]

If that's the case, what's to keep you from running something that resembles, for instance, a 3500 cc powered Daytona Prototype car in ITE? With a showroom stock roll cage and no fuel cell, BTW.

Here's what stops it... "Suitability of any car for ITE is subject to the approval of the Chief Steward and Chief Scrutineer."

....and the fact that who in their right mind would run an expensive prototype car in ITE with all us? BTW, it would have to have a fuel cell, I don't think they have "gas tanks"....maybe you could put a Honda Accord tank in it for fun ?

I'm just saying, ITE rules are loose, at least in the SOWDIV - just meet safety standards and maximum displacement - that's the way the rule is interpreted and enforced. I understand it's called ITO/ITU in other parts of the country? If James is running ITE, and depending on his divisions rule set, he may be able to solve the motor mount issue real easily.

[Z3_GoCar]

There are several reasons why I started out in ITE, but it's not really where I want to be. When I purchased this car ITR was still in the works, the motor is running a TECII standalone, and I still need a real steel hood. Reasons I want out is we have some very built ITE cars here. Joe Hall has a 300zx which is a closet GT car. We also have a WC Roush Mustang that shows up sometimes and even blows Joe away. It runs a custom double a-arm rear suspension with lever shocks, like it was pulled from a formula antlantic. No, I'd rather live with the limits than go even more wild.

James

[Z3_GoCar]

I just receved the new mounts. I ordered the motor mounts from Bimmerworld, listed as e-36 M3 stock mounts as we share the same part number. There's not any pat number on the mount, but it is listed at about half the price in real-oem, so I'll save the money.

The transmission mounts I ordered from Bavarian Autosport. The part number is on these mounts. Also, they're so soft that I can squeeze them between my thumb and fore fingers and compress them 1/16" I bet if I yanked one them I could rip it in two. It's no wonder it failed like it did and I'm suprised I didn't rip them during an off course excursion.

James

[GKR_17]

Are those OEM parts from Bavarian? From my experience they've been using a lot more aftermarket junk lately, and for that reason I've started limiting what I buy there.

[Z3_GoCar]

Thanks for the tip Grafton, I'll check them out, but they do look like oem and there's a part number molded on them.

James