After some research online and in consultation with various tuners back in Singapore, I decided to upgrade my motor mounts to the Ralliart ones.
The garage I got this done at belongs to a friend and fellow Team Fruity member, and it took a total of 5 hours to get the old motor mounts removed, pressed out with a heavy press, and then had the new Ralliart ones installed.
Initial Impressions
The original rubber mounts were not only cracked (mine is a Dec 2005 Evo 8 MR RS), but had gone soft (though not as soft as the garage owner's 2002 Evo 7). Because of that, there was a lot of engine movement that caused power loss, but also made shifting at high rpms less accurate.
After the installation of the new mounts, the car certainly vibrates a whole lot more when idling and starting off. The vibrations that are usually absorbed by the stock bushings are now transmitted throughout the entire chassis.
Given that my car is an RS with no sound insulation anyway, this was no entirely unexpected, so moving on, I started driving the car.
And was completely blown away.
Shifting is completely CRISP, even better than (dare I say it) an S2000 (*gasp*). on full throttle, shifting at 7000 rpm, there is no hesitance for the engine to start pulling, and shifts engage even sharper than a bolt-action rifle. Every movement of the foot is IMMEDIATELY translated into forward movement, no pause, and everything just feels TIGHT.
For those of you running 6-speed gearboxes, upgrading your engine mounts will practically get you the same shifting precision as the 5-speed gearbox and cut out any vagueness or mushiness from the shifter.
Other benefits
Judging from how the engine and transmission are now relating to each other, I very much suspect that these mounts will actually prolong the durability of the clutch, the drivetrain and the engine. Why? With the stock mounts, under heavy engine load, the engine and drivetrain move out of alignment. When this happens, not only are you losing power, but the misalignment is (probably) not good in the long term for the parts that connect the engine to the drivetrain, and I suspect this will also prolong clutch life since the feel of the biting point is also significantly enhanced.
Alternatives
Research on the internet has revealed that there are engine mounts from Agency Power, Avid Racing and other vendors. Some Evo owners I know have tried these and found them to be too hardcore for daily use. The Ralliart ones came highly recommended as they do not rattle your interior to bits along with tooth fillings.
http://www.lancershop.com/customer/product.php?productid=872
http://evomoto.com/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=570&osCsid=579b81d1e12e53e31964c99b9b68fb18
http://www.stikiller.com/product.php?productid=16706&cat=244&page=1
http://www.stikiller.com/product.php?productid=16707&cat=244&page=1
Who is this mod for?
People who can bear with a bit more vibration coming into the cabin at idle, people who want to be to shift quickly at high rpms, people who want a PRECISE shifter feel, people who want to cut out the lag that comes as the result of engine movement under load. People who want better engine responsiveness.
Not bad for a mod that just cost AED1k.
ghoonk rating: 8.5/10
