hoonee46

Just got this done yesterday with RX8 performance steel mounts - went very smooth, without surprises, thanks to the guide and tips here. Took about an hour.

Few notes:
- I used a medium sized ratchet / bigger breaker bar to break the fasteners loose, but due to clearance, ratcheting wrench was my preferred tool throughout.
- Definitely undo the 12mm holding brake line in place.
- I was unsure with the nylock, even after reading this thread - I just tightened them til 2 threads were showing and it was giving resistance as well. The mount was snug, slightly difficult to turn. With motor lowered, the left side nylock could be turned by hand which concerned me at first, but as long as it is tightened to spec and not loose, it looked ok.
- Key to setting the mounts in place was to lower the motor little by little, adjusting the mounts as stated in OP. I did reach for a crowbar once, but decided to jack it back up a bit to adjust easier by hand.

Impressions:
My old mounts were shot. No apparent damage or rips from the outside, but it wasn't even squishy, just a water balloon. My results are much more profound than upgrading from ok mounts.
Car became solid - from initial startup, idle, throttle response, steering response...

Vibrations
The starter seems to sound different - more solid and quick. Motor seems to startup faster as well.
I had lots of vibrations, especially in reverse, and it pretty much went away.
More of a low-tone vibration idle~2k, but this is a plus for me thus far. More of a connected-to-motor feeling and not 'something wrong' feeling. The little twitches and rumbles at idle are completely gone.
I have to learn to drive this car all over again - taking off from a stop, and every shift to each gear are very different.

Steering / Suspension feel
Definitely more responsive when turning, less slack in steering, less affected by uneven grounds, feels tight and stern. Some harshness when hitting sharp bumps or potholes, but overall more solid when going over more dull or round bumps. Very good balance here so far. As someone mentioned above, definitely putting power to the ground better.

All in all, very happy with this upgrade - easiest motor mount job I've done, dramatic improvements, negligible (some desirable) NVH, good price!

Thank you OP and all who chimed in!

gregs

iTrader: (7)

I just recently put the car up on jack stands to prepare for a upcoming smog check, while underneath the car I figured this would be a great time to post a update after more than a couple of years of boosted life. No apparent sign of wear or fatigue because of the heat generated with a turbo taking up the same area. Pretty satisfied with the results.

RX-Tuner

Great Gregs, thank you for the feedback, glad to hear you like them!

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

You might want to think about putting a larger washer over the top of the polyurethane . Mine kept sinking/dropping engine height after a year or so of continuous use until I did that.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

^^several years on mine and I haven't experienced that at all?

RX-Tuner

Hi Brett!

A daily driven turbo car is harder on the poly, glad to hear simply swapping in a larger washer did the trick, nice! I may look at a larger washer, it wouldn't hurt.

We actually offer a heat shield for the right mount now for turbo applications. Well we offer it to whoever wants one, that said, they seem to last quite a long time in 99% of the customers running them! Over the last 4 1/2 years we have been offering them I think we have replaced 4 poly bushing sets in total.

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

Have you done 80,000 (est) turbo kms on yours ?

The right hand side one was particularly bad . Dropped a good 5mm over time .
How I found this was that my midpipe kept dropping down onto the x-member and making a horrible rattle . I would put some spacers above the x-member and it would be fine for a few months then come back .

The big washer solved that.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

nope, but I doubt you do 9000 rpm clutch drops from a drag start either.

you're the first I heard it from, including turbo cars cranking out more than you on race slicks. Doesn't mean they aren't/won't have an issue, just the first time I have heard this.

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

Do you really do that ? No wonder you think the rx8 gearbox is made of glass .

Nadrealista

mine, from my previous S1, are still sitting in the box need to put them on my S2

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Never had a problem launching, 1st gear can take it like a champ. The main issue that took out every trans for me was slapping it into 2nd and eventually having all the teeth fatigue and tear off the countershaft. Never had another gear problem after installing the synchro saver (another RX8Performance part). Pretty sure it was mostly caused by the trans allowing the shifter to be over-pulled, which is easy to do when speed-shifting to 2nd. The last one that went has a binding bearing somewhere. Pretty sure that was caused by a co-driver riding the rev limiter at 10k heavily rather than shifting. Never had any bearing issues ever until the event she did that because she was too scared to shift due to the speed.

But on to a more modified class now with the S2 trans, ultra light flywheel/mini-clutch, and 4.77 gear so am not expecting too many issues being NA. The high rpms allowed me to use the OE flywheel energy to launch the car out of the hole, but required a lot of patience to not jam the throttle down until the right moment to hook up and go. It always netted me the best 60 foot launch times. The new setup will require more finesse off the line.

dmengel

Nice write up. Saved me a ton of time and headache.

RX-Tuner

Just wanted to chime in and let RX-8 forum members know there is a discount code for our mounts in our vendor subforum area at the top of the main page.


https://www.rx8club.com/rx8performance-218/motor-mount-discount-259166/

Legot

iTrader: (1)

Can anyone comment on these compared to the BHR mounts (in terms of feel or wear)? I'm a little weary of the rx8preformance guy, but if there's no huge difference and everyone is liking them I'm not in a place where I can financially justify the additional $125.

wolfe128

I bought some rx8performance motor mounts today with the help of Scott. Got great service by him and got my mounts shipped same day! As for customer service A++ super fast response! I will be receiving them in 2 days and will install once i get them! For the price and after doing research on bhr I'm happy to say i got rx8performance ones! Bhr were alt more expensive, and rx8performance really won me over with customer service anyways! MAybe if you were track racing the car and wanted to have the ability to switch the bushings to stiffer ones the bhr might be worth the price but unless your going to be swapping bushings for on the track/on the street i don't see why to buy bhr.

RX-Tuner

Hi Guys, we are currently offering this discount on our stainless steel mounts as well as our light weight aluminum versions!

These are in stock and ready to ship, simply key in the discount code at checkout for the discount!

ambermello

Just found out my mounts are cracked and reading through the forum I am going to get the rx8 performance mounts but can't decide between aluminum or the steel. I know the steel is going to last longer and aluminum is usually just for show (which I don't care about) but I heard steel could possibly damge the engine if you get into wreck due to how sturdy it is. I have also been told not to get polyurthrane for mounts since its so stiff and could shake things "loose". So I was just hoping to hear your guys's opinions on which one you guys would perfer for an 05 AT. Thanks! and awesome DIY

NewSV

I want to replace the engine mounts on my RX8 but Serie II
Can somebody point me out where to put the jack to lift the engine from the picture below ?
View image: rx8 where hold up

Should I remove the metal plate in the front and push over the oil pan ?

I can create a thread in Serie II forum if this is not the right place to ask.
Thank you.

Chrishoky

iTrader: (9)

This is just what I did from some advice from other forum members when I installed my mounts. Get a 2 x 4 piece of wood and run it length wise along the oil pan (from wheel to wheel). Use the 2 x 4 to distribute load across the oil pan and jack in the center of the pan on the piece of wood. Worked for me no problems.

slash128

Just noticed this. I was having the same issue and wound up doing the same thing. Might be a good idea to add to the mounts... Still loving mine

maxchao

iTrader: (2)

Installed two new OEM mounts yesterday thinking it would fix my drivetrain lash problem but it didn't make any difference. I guess there are other things going on or it's just the way this car is.

Just for curiosity, is there another mount in the back? There has to be at least 3 mounting points right?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

There are 2 mounts in the rear above the differential. The power plant frame ties the drive train together so that's all the mounting points

If the power plant frame isn't adjusted properly it can cause noises...might be worth a look at the rear bushings and the adjustment.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

You might need to adjust the power plant frame (search). I'm not sure what you mean by lash but the stock mounts work just fine.

maxchao

iTrader: (2)

"Power Plant Frame". Interesting. Let me search that.

By lash I mean powertrain stutter/bouncing during throttle on/off transition. The most apparent way I've found to reproduce this symptom is to coast (no throttle) in 3rd gear to around 2k rpm then punch the throttle all the way. The drivetrain would "bounce" back and forth until it finally settles into smooth acceleration.

Actually "jerk" is probably a better word than bounce. Anyway this post seems to describe the same issue:
https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-te...le-tip-254973/

I guess it's just normal of this car. :S

R3Dream

Anyone have the "Torque Specifications" for this install? Seems like it would be an important one given all the vibrations, etc.
Or should I just guesstimate somewhere between 50-75 FT/LBs?