First off - thank you Tom and Scot for setting this up. If it weren't for you my mount would still be wasting space in the garage... haha
Like very few on here, I was skeptical of the renowned rear motor mount upgrade the 14-15 MY owners seemed to project onto the forum crowd. "engine banging against firewall" and 'vague shifting feel' was not how I'd describe the driving experience of my later MY16 build car, even under hard throttle, and occasional launch. I did not for the longest time get the sense the rmm was the weak point of the car. The suspension, wheels, headlights, were maybe to name a few. BUT when the temps went up this summer and I broke 30k on the dash, I began to notice more engine movement going into, and out of hard corners more than I had previously recalled. There were no missed gears. No banging noises. Just the perceivable sense that the engine is moving when the car is being pushed closer to its limit. Accelerating out of a dig became like pulling on a rubber band attached between your clutch pedal and gear knob.
So, thanks to everyone on this forum (special shout out to Ron!) and the folks at cpe, along came the rmm.
Jump to day 1 with the mount. We finish the install and scot starts my car. Standing a few feet away I can *see* the vibrations let alone hear them at idle. I remember thinking "what did I get myself into" and "is this what they were all talking about" barrel through my mind. Oh well this is my life now, or so I thought.
Here are my impressions.
First 50 miles: Vibrations at idle apparent. Not severe enough to rattle but enough to make the steering wheel shake. You could pretty much 'feel' the engine hum just by resting your hands on the wheel. Not a fan of the steering wheel shake stock so this was off putting from the get go. The vibrations through the cabin are unpleasant enough to make you think the car is going to shake itself to pieces. The intensity explodes when you first blip the throttle and even more so when you shift into gear. One thing you'll notice though, is that once you're in gear the vibrations disappear. Driving above the 1700 rpm point is serene. (Its just that little window between 700-1700 rpm that smacks you right in the face and if you bog down the engine you will really know
). Once you are past it, things are golden. smooth. clean. crisp. velvety. a relief. Shifting feels more mechanical and direct, with no nvh penalty. The level of improvement is appreciable to say the least. The car may feel faster and like its more eager to rev out. Not sure if the stock mount had some mechanical loss, but the cpe does a better job of redirecting it elsewhere that is for sure. The cabin/steering wheel is dis favorably one. The drive-train optimistically is two. Overall a really mixed bag.
First 200 miles: the 'shift feel' is nice but getting up to speed, more specifically operating the friction zone through first and second gear, is less than welcoming. Idling when cold is worse than idling once up to temp. Low speed gear changes abrasive. You begin to learn how to cope with it though. By blimping the throttle a little more than you're used to, and feeding the gas as you clutch out above 2000 rpm helps to keep you out of that 700-1700 rpm window to keep vibrations down to a minimal. You avoid the A/C if you can because it nearly doubles the vibration at idle, but drops down to 20% additional when when shifting. You may ask yourself, IS THIS ALL WORTH IT?
First 1000 miles: All you want to do is go out and play. IT FEELS LIKE YOU'RE DRIVING A RACECAR. Revving the engine out is so much fun. Like Honda vtec fun, in all the good ways.
1000 miles and beyond: The vibrations now down to a minimal that its a non-issue. Every once in a cold start or when you crank on the A/C the car will remind you its there, but overall, a classic example of when the benefits outweigh the costs. You may even consider to throw on a set of upper motor mounts one day.
![[idea]](/images/smilies/icon_smile_idea.gif "Idea! [idea]")
