absorber mounts

anyone who has saga iswara and had changed to adjustable coilovers will understand how it feels having your absorber top mount bush to go bust in under 6 months... that is only on normal careful driving... if u drive around like a maniac, it will not even last 4 months...



unlike other more popular chassis-based cars, saga iswara strut towers design does not allow the use of camber plates or pillowball mounts... well, at least its not plug and play without and drilling works done to the chassis... the only choice so far is actually no choice but to change the mounts more regularly... this wouldnt be an issue because this involves removal of the whole coilover assembly... which means readjusting the camber angle is compulsory...



i took initiative and headed down to the local warehouse if i can find any polyurethane block which i can machine it to be exact fitment of the original mounts... little that i know, polyurethane material in larger block form can be rather expensive... due to some budget constrain and machining difficulties, i opt for a smaller diameter bush... and this is what i came out with...



comparison with original mount...



first trial fitment... the mounts are slightly thick although i machined it to the exact same height with original ones... after installed, the top metal plate was scratching against my strut tower as i turn my steering... had it removed and lathe it shorter by 2cm... it fits snugly now...



after installation and alignment, i took a quick test drive round the neighbourhood... had a couple of high speed hard braking, no wavy or unsettle feelings... going over bumpy roads feels slightly stiffer compare to brand new oem rubber bush... high speed cruise is also stable...

the downside is, only one or two issue... first, it creates some knocking sound whenever i accelerate or brakes... second, turning any corner more than 90 degrees (U-turn for example) will also emit knocking sound... which is weird because it only emits sound from the right side... suspect the mounts freeplay to be the fault of it because it is not a tight fit into the D-shaped strut tower... currently still using it as i'm still working on the design of it to get the best cost-efficient design... hopefully... cross-fingers light bulb will appear in my brain soon...

solid engine mounts

engine mounts are the thing that holds your engine and gearbox in place... most cars have 3 to 4 engine mounts... and most if not all original factory engine mounts are made of hollow rubber which allows certain degree of flex in order to absorb any vibration generated by the engine... this is crucial because any slight vibration from the engine will be transferred to the chassis and u will experience tremor inside the car...



so, why solid engine mounts??... many did not know that whenever we step on the pedal, the engine rocks about on its platform.. this is due to the torque exerted from the engine to the wheels to get the car moving.. this rocking movement will somehow reduces the engine respond and eagerness to go.. rocking left/right or front/back will also damage the hollow engine mounts in long term...

solid engine mounts can be made of many material... race cars will go for solid nylon or teflon while most enthusiast will opt for slightly less solid polyurethane mounts... another step less hardcore ones will be solid rubber engine mounts... these engine mounts have similar material with original mount, minus the hollow part which minimizes free play...

tadaa... here are my new engine mounts... i only changed the front and back engine mount which locates at the cross member... both of this mounts will receive most of the rocking sensation from the engine as all horizontally mounted engine (most FF vehicle) will rock front and back vigorously...



installation was rather easy as well... instead of change one at a time, it is best to loosen both bolts holding the engine to the mounts and drop the whole cross member... this is because changing one mounts at a time will have difficulty aligning the engine to the mounts to slot on the bolt... tight space will also be another factor as your long spanner and sprockets will not have enough room to maneuver...

comparison between solid mounts and original mounts...



and check out my torn engine mounts...





difference after installing them... dashboard vibrates even more vigorous at slight drop in the revs... have to keep them at 1000rpm and above... i think i made my car worse... haha...