You really should replace the engine mounts in your MX-5

MX5 Miata Engine Mounts

Let’s just keep in mind here that the cars themselves are now over 30 years old, for the very oldest examples. Regardless of their use case, the engine mounts are going to be in need of attention if they’ve not been done before.  But what is the purpose of engine mounts, what’s all the fuss about?

In the case of the MX5, the engine is supported by a bolt each side connected to the subframe, a rubber block and then another bolt connecting to the engine. The rubber dampens vibration throughout the chassis while at the same time keeping the engine from moving about too much under stock power.

Over time this rubber deteriorates and due to the nature of how these are manufactured, they fairly pretty catastrophically with the whole mount shearing from the base. This means the engine isn’t really attached any more and is basically just free floating. The problem is made worse by the design of the MX5 drivetrain, you can think of it as the engine, gearbox and differential are all connected together and floating – joined at 4 points total, 2 for the engine and 2 for the differential.

As you apply the throttle the twist of the crankshaft wants to pull the engine to the right (intake side), which twists the whole drivetrain back to the differential, which now has the very hard job of keeping everything located. Jumping on and off the throttle with deteriorated or fully ruined mounts will make the gearbox move around, making it hard to put the car into gear as well as clonking the drivetrain back and forth – not the best experience when you’re trying to hoof it around cadwell park.

There are packages on the market that replace the Mazda OEM mounts with a stiffer version of the same design, in our experience, these don’t last long when you are pushing more than OEM power levels, for a car running forced induction – something more drastic is required.

We offer a variety of mounts that we’re happy to run on our own cars and as a bang for buck upgrade, engine mounts are hard to beat and they’re a favourite with the Formula G crowd – Take a look at Spencer’s how to guide below.

Recently Greg Peters did some reviews of the Innovative Mounts products, which are certainly top-tier items and found them to cope very well with his 400WHP EFR Powered E85 drinking monster without the engine rattling his fillings out, take a look at the video here;

 

If you’d like any advice on which mounts would be right for you, what hardness for example – do get in touch we’ll more than happily have a chat about your build and find the best solution for you.

 

 

One comment

  1. Any recommendations for the NC? How long would you expect the OEM to last?

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