Miata Engine Mounts

The Mazdaspeed Motorsports mounts seems to be back ordered everywhere for the foreseeable future. Are there any good alternatives? Has anyone used the I.L. Motorsports mounts?

Do you have a Mazda Motorsports account?

Nevermind, they are back ordered through there as well.

EvanB wrote: Do you have a Mazda Motorsports account?

I'm pretty sure I'm ineligible for one. Thanks for checking for me though. Best as I can determine, there is a production issue and no one even has an ETA on them. I can't wait indefinitely for them, but I'd really rather upgrade now while it's convenient.

Why would you be ineligible? Do you do any autocross with it?

It's only been autocrossed once. When I've autocrossed, it's been almost entirely in other people's cars. I'm also going to miss almost every event this year; so I won't be eligible any time soon.

Correct, Mazda Motorsports is out of motor mounts and thus so is everyone else who sells them.

Keep in mind that they're not necessarily an upgrade. They ARE going to add more NVH to the car. I have a hardtop on my street Miata, and I ended up pulling the stiffer mounts off the car because of the amount of noise. Not pleasant. A set of new stock mounts may be all you need.

General consensus I've heard is that the IL mounts are MazdaComp mounts repackaged. I've never held a set in my hands but every pic I've seen looks identical to the set of MazdaComp mounts I had put in. That said, the reason I've never seen a set is that everybody I know signs up for Mazda Motorsports and gets them at a discount. It takes two autocross results a year, and it's free. If you can (even if you end up buying mounts now without it) sign up for later.

If you don't mind a harsher mount there are a few alternatives out there. Goodwin racing makes a seriously beefy unit, but it isn't cheap. There are a couple vendors (I know RoadsterTuner and MMR) out there selling poly mounts with a through-bolt that some people swear by. I bought a set a while back before I had a chance to see one up close and decided I didn't like the single-bolt design (doesn't seem like it would be able to deflect much at all) before going with the MazdaComp mounts. If you're interested in a set I can see if I still have the pair I bought, but I wouldn't recommend them if the car is seeing significant use away from the track. I don't know of any that offer a significant improvement over the stock mounts and are reasonable streetable, though. What kind of use does the car see?

Keith wrote: Correct, Mazda Motorsports is out of motor mounts and thus so is everyone else who sells them. Keep in mind that they're not necessarily an upgrade. They ARE going to add more NVH to the car. I have a hardtop on my street Miata, and I ended up pulling the stiffer mounts off the car because of the amount of noise. Not pleasant. A set of new stock mounts may be all you need.

Fair enough. New stock mounts have to be an improvement over one that was generally tired looking and one that was broken anyway.

There's also AWR mounts if you don't enjoy your fillings being IN your teeth.

That being said, they DO make a quality product, and i have their mounts on two of my cars.

I will warn against parts-store OEM-grade replacements. The bolts they use in those can't be tightened to spec without snapping. They're incredibly poorly made. That was a serious disappointment. I got my money back, but since I needed to get back on the road in a hurry, my only choice was to get a used mount from a Miata salvage guy nearby. Replacing a broken 20-year-old mount with a less-bad 20-year-old mount.

Surprise: I realized this morning that the used mount is broken now too. Shame OEM/Mazdacomp isn't available. I'm looking for replacements.

Has anybody tried one of these urethane ones? http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-97-Mazda-Miata-MX5-Solid-Polyurethane-Urethane-Motor-Engine-Mounts-1-8-1-6-/110737416175?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c876dfef&vxp=mtr#ht_1217wt_1160

Megan Racing also makes a set, which look more like OEM. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEGAN-ENGINE-MOTOR-MOUNT-MIATA-MX-5-90-97-NA6C-NA8C-/230545452571?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35ad946e1b&vxp=mtr#ht_3066wt_1160

I'm tempted to buy the latter.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: There's also AWR mounts if you don't enjoy your fillings being IN your teeth. That being said, they DO make a quality product, and i have their mounts on two of my cars.

I looked at those. Then I looked out the window and saw the lack of a roll cage and presence license plates. The intention is to move the car slowly away from stock and get into HPDEs with it. For now it needs to be something that people can use to get somewhere if none of the other cars are available.

Alan,

Buy the Megans, pay for expedited shipping, and tell me how the quality looks in person?

Just found this high-res photo of the Megan Racing mounts. They claim a 70A equivalent hardness on their mounts. From this photo, they look better than the crap ones I got from CarQuest.

Alan Cesar wrote: Just found this high-res photo of the Megan Racing mounts. [bThey claim a 70A equivalent hardness] on their mounts. From this photo, they look better than the crap ones I got from CarQuest.

Any idea as to how that compares to stock?

The eBay urethane mounts looks somewhat similar to the RoadsterTuner ones I rejected. A single bolt going through a chunk of poly seems like an awful design to me. The OEM (and MazdaComp, IL, and from the looks of it Megan) mounts have two independent threaded sections that extend into the rubber. If the mount wants to squish, it can deflect a bit. If the mounts wants to pull apart, it can deflect a bit. If you've got a threaded bolt going through the poly it seems like the thing can't deflect at all without the threads giving way.

MG Bryan wrote:

Alan Cesar wrote: Just found this high-res photo of the Megan Racing mounts. [bThey claim a 70A equivalent hardness] on their mounts. From this photo, they look better than the crap ones I got from CarQuest.

Any idea as to how that compares to stock?

Similar to stock, but I'm going from memory. I intend to find out.

The IL Motorsport mounts are not repackaged Mazda Motorsport units. I have held each in my hands and there are differences. Yes, they look very much alike. But, umm, that's not surprising given that they're bolt-in replacements. I think everyone who decides to make motor mounts starts by making a mold of the stock parts and goes from there.

Do not go with poly mounts if it is not a dedicated track car. They're nasty. We tried some on our NC and decided not to sell them. The car was awful. BTW, Goodwin is likely reselling AWR parts, that's one of his major suppliers.

Brandon at FM says he has a pair of used Mazda Motorsport mounts in his garage at home. $50. Drop him a line at brandon@flyinmiata.com.

Keith wrote: The IL Motorsport mounts are not repackaged Mazda Motorsport units. I have held each in my hands and there are differences. Yes, they look very much alike. But, umm, that's not surprising given that they're bolt-in replacements. I think everyone who decides to make motor mounts starts by making a mold of the stock parts and goes from there. Do not go with poly mounts if it is not a dedicated track car. They're nasty. We tried some on our NC and decided not to sell them. The car was awful. BTW, Goodwin is likely reselling AWR parts, that's one of his major suppliers. Brandon at FM says he has a pair of used Mazda Motorsport mounts in his garage at home. $50. Drop him a line at brandon@flyinmiata.com.

Good to know about the IL mounts. Any impressions about how different they were? Stiffer/softer material, etc?

If you ignore Keith and want poly, a couple of minutes on McMaster Carr and you can build your own cheap.

bearda - we haven't actually had the chance to test them in a car. IL claims 40% stiffer durometer, which is the same as the Mazda Motorsport parts.

Why are the poly mounts so bad in the Miata? Is the engine just that buzzy?

I realize it was an I6, but poly mounts in the E30 vs worn stock ones didn't make a difference to NVH............when I added the poly trans mounts, that was a different story.

z31maniac wrote: Why are the poly mounts so bad in the Miata? Is the engine just that buzzy? I realize it was an I6, but poly mounts in the E30 vs worn stock ones didn't make a difference to NVH............when I added the poly trans mounts, that was a different story.

I personally don't think they are... but everyone has different levels of tolerance.

I run high duro AWR mounts in the MX6, i daily drive it, it's NOT a smooth engine by any stretch of the imagination, and it's fine. You don't notice it after a day or two.

I know i noticed the engine movement more than the vibrations, that's for sure.

Maybe it has to do with the design of the mounts. Transverse engines have much different mount designs than longitudinal. Straight sixes are the smoothest engine design this side of a V12.

But the poly mounts in our NC really were nasty. Nobody here liked them. The poly mounts in the V8s aren't as bad.