Engine mounts

[Ralf]

With the new engine mount rule out for 2012, what are your plans? What available options have you looked at or already bought and why?

[S2_ITBVW]

Well, the mounts have to be in the stock position and maintain the stock orientation of the engine and can't be rigid . . .

So, we are going to use stock mounts with Delrin bushings. That's about as close to rigid as you can get and keeps everything where it belongs.

Thoughts on this simple, not very innovative, but legal solution . . .?

DE

[Knestis]

I'm going to continue to use my stay rod.

But those of you who do go for new mounts, what are you going to do with your stayrod allowance? Seems like an interesting opportunity to build an additional chassis reinforcement into the front end.

K

[GTIspirit]

Are the VW mounts really that fragile and prone to self-destruction under racing as some people said in their support for this allowance?

For the Mk2 vehicles there is a poly insert available which is similar to this:
http://www.rapidparts.com/prod/22502...ns-Mount-A1/49
I have the original style horizontal bolt front engine mount, which is NLA, but maybe I can find a poly insert, or make my own urethane mount now that this is legal.

[Knestis]

The "my engine mounts break all the time" argument was a red herring from the outset. This was a typical "racing cars have cool aftermarket parts" deals from start to finish.

K

[shwah]

I plan to make new mounts, with a goal of dropping 5 pounds off the front axle. Basically exactly what we built for my buddies FProd car.

Once that and other projects are taken care of, I like the idea of using the stay rod allowance to stiffen the K-frame.

I still don't get the rule, and I lobbied against it because it does not solve any issue that was not already correctable before. However, if the allowance is there to drop front axle weight and stiffen the chassis, I'll try to take advantage of it.

[S2_ITBVW]

Everytime I begin to think I'm starting to understand what I'm doing I realize that I have no idea what's going on . . .

Sigh.

[JeffYoung]

I disagree with that. I think a large portion of the support for the rule came from folks who were routinely replacing engine mounts (count me among them) and saw allowing aftermarket mounts or Window Weld as a much simpler solution than a fabricated stay rod.

Dave, your delrin mounts are legal.

The "my engine mounts break all the time" argument was a red herring from the outset. This was a typical "racing cars have cool aftermarket parts" deals from start to finish.

K

[Ralf]

Delrin is also something I have been looking at.
So since engine relocation can't be done, does anybody know if the stock front (early style) and passenger rear mounts are centered or offset?

[Sandro]

The "my engine mounts break all the time" argument was a red herring from the outset. This was a typical "racing cars have cool aftermarket parts" deals from start to finish.

K

Ask anyone with a MkI how many times they have replaced the lower/rear tranny mount. I used to buy them a couple at a time. Glad those days are over.

[Knestis]

Ask anyone with a [whatever] how many times they have replaced [whatever breaks or wears out too fast on that whatever].

Some cars DO have weaknesses but "it breaks a lot" is *not* sufficient argument for a new allowance in the ITCS.

K