damn, why didnt i think of such an elegant way of installing an IT legal stayrod to limit the engine movement during shifting and acceleration. im not sure if a damper like this is compeltely legal as a "stayrod" alone, but a simple turnbuckle should just as easily do the trick. all this time ive been thinking of how to modify the front engine mount to accomplish the same thing.

 

that's a great idea, i wonder how well it works?
-Scary

 

Any benefits in installing one???

 

I picked one up as it fell under the Street Prepared allowance of a "rod with spherical bearings" but now they allow for either stiffer engine mounts or the rod. I think I'll be going with engine mounts and selling the rod.

 

what kind of engine mounts do you have in mind?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damn, why didnt i think of such an elegant way of installing an IT legal stayrod to limit the engine movement during shifting and acceleration. im not sure if a damper like this is compeltely legal as a "stayrod" alone, but a simple turnbuckle should just as easily do the trick. all this time ive been thinking of how to modify the front engine mount to accomplish the same thing.

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yes this is a great idea but if you look closely this is installed on a RHD car and thus would probably be in the way of the BRAKE system....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by chad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
yes this is a great idea but if you look closely this is installed on a RHD car and thus would probably be in the way of the BRAKE system....</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was wondering about that too, and also thought that the longer the lateral mounting arm was, the more potential flex in it would be negating some purpose. If you did a mount like this but went straight back to the firewall area, it might be more stable.

But again the valid question, are you solving a problem that you don't really have? Does the car first have a motion issue that needs engine stabilization? I don't think a CRX with 4 engine/transmission mounts has the motion needing a brace in the first place. Function or bling?

 

ive replaced my front engine mount new, and it still rocks a lot. its pretty evident. in fact, if you look at the front engine mount, its DESIGNED to allow a lot of play to rock back and forth and allow some play so that engine vibrations are not carried to the chassis, for comfort and smoothness i suppose. everyone who has used the ES engine mount kits has noticed (complained) of the major increase in vibration during idle, but it makes the engine much more solid during shifting. however, this isnt legal in IT, although it is in HC. so, i think its safe to say, there is something for improvement in terms of driving performance.

but im kinda swaying (ah, i kill myself with my puns...) to the heim joint anchored to the front of the block to the front crossmember design better at this point, besides, im not sure if a "damper" is considered a "stay rod" according to the rules, which was my original question.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by reza. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what kind of engine mounts do you have in mind?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was thinking about Mugen mounts.

The problem with the J's thing is that it doesn't mount on LHD cars and it's too short to mount anywhere else. You could make one that fits better with just a rod and spherical bearings.

 

mugen mounts are technicially illegal in IT as well, but since they resemble stock so much, its one of the reasons they are allowed in HC because it hard to enforce, so they just let everyone do what they wish with it. (this was taken directly from RF)

 

also, i think if i was going to do some kind of progessive "damper" i would not be buying this specific device, instead buy something straight from an industrial supply that i could replace easily. no surprise i dont care much for the JDM bling, i just used this as an example. in my research ive also found some non fluid type dampers like basically a progressive bumpstop made of rubber specifically for this reason.

there are options, i just wanted to know other ppls opinions on this. what i dont like is damper actually is that it mounts to the head, which the head gasket doesnt need any extra stress, expecially a shear stress that i dont believe the headbolts and gasket was ever designed for. seems like a major failure mode. so i wouldnt design it as shown anyway if i decided to install something like this.

 

Hey Tyson...

Any way to get a pic or two of Nick's stayrod? I would like to see what the fastest WC guy came up with...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... like basically a progressive bumpstop made of rubber specifically for this reason.
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There is an interesting idea, a progressive bump stop like our shocks have. At KONI we have a number of different lengths and firmnesses. For a racecar, don't you think a hard mount would be prefered, ala solid motor mounts or engines as a stressed member? I can see on the street wanting to have some isolation like a damper or bumpstop to limit motion but not transfer all the harmonics to the chassis.

Several years ago I tried the Prothane engine mount inserts in my street ZC car (left, right and rear) and it shook the car so bad on the test drive that I couldn't see the dash guages. I took the left and right out and left the rear one in place now for 30,000+ miles and it is fine but does transmit a bit more to the chassis.

 

I've had something similar on my SR powered S13. It looked like a damper but when your opened it up, its actually a polyurethane bushing like in early suspension forks on mountain bikes (anyone remember RST?). I would really be surprised if the J's engine damper was actually filled with fluid. My guess is that that there *is* a bumpstop inside.

-Charlie