I just had the entire set that WMW offers installed, and all I can say is these things rock.

There was quite a bit of NVH (I have the TSW engine damper too, this also adds a slight amount of NVH), at first, which was to be expected, but after a couple of hundred miles, it's settled down nicely. It doesn't feel like a full on track car at idle, but it's not as well mannered as a pure street car either--it's somewhere in between--and I really like the feel of it. I have a rear seat delete, so it may be a bit more pronounced.

The control arm/sway bar bushing combo has tightened up the suspension nicely--weight transfer is so much smoother, can't wait to get on the track monday. Shifting is a bit smoother too, but it's the suspension improvement (I have KW V2's) that's really impressive.

This is my "toy", it's only a daily driver when weather permits (I do try to drive it as much as possible though). Don't know if I'd swap out on a daily driver (although I probably would), but if this is your second car, IMHO it's well worth it.

 

Just ordered the yellow Lower Engine mount inserts too. In your opinion, would you think I should start with mounting the entire insert (top and bottom) first and see how it settles? Or start with just 1/2 of the insert?

(i'm NVH sensitive)

 

I would do just do one insert first.

 

Did, they worked out great (just 1/2 of the lower large engine mount) very very slight rumble of the steering wheel-- thinking about adding the other 1/2, after i ride around a bit more...

 

Great..BUT. Is there a performance difference?

 

I got best results with both lower large yellow Powerflex inserts PFF5-107 (I skipped the small purple ones PFF5-104)
and one upper large yellow insert PFF5-105 (skipped the small ones there, PFF5-104, too).
Best combination of reduction of movement and avoidance of extra NVH.

The front control arm bushings are really a must - do them the first time your oem ones fail.

 

Which ones do you like for the control arms? Powerflex, Mini Madness...

 

I couldn't leave well enough alone-- went ahead and put in the other bottom 1/2...

I can positively say that while it is a reasonable increase in NVH, I couldn't personally stand it. The buffeting at idle, and within 500rpm of idle really bothers me. In fact after a 30 min drive with the windows up, I experienced headaches from the buffeting.

Anyway, I'm going back to 1/2 of the large lower engine mount, and calling it a day. That was a decent experiment.

1/2 of the other one up for sale soon

 

For a little bit more money I think the BSH mount is better than just adding bushing inserts, especially since the rubber in my oem mount was all cracked up. Only had a little of 40K miles on it too.

My favorite mod on my car actually. My biggest disapointment with my R50 was how sloppy the shifting was. BSH mount fixed it.

 

Powerflex PFF5-101

Interestingly about the engine bushings, NVH increased putting in the two lower mount large bushing inserts,
but actually decreased to an ok level when I added the 1 top large bushing (but worse with both top bushings).
Must have cancelled out some of the vibrations with that combo.

 

I find it strange that so many people say their cars shift better after making these modifications. There is no linkage from the shifter to the transaxle on Minis- It's cable operated. I don't think anyone's lying but I don't understand how excessive engine movement would impact shift feel.

PS. I tried the Mini Madness lower bushings & removed them after starting the car due to crazy amounts of NVH when my car was new. A couple months later I filled the voids on the stock lower bushing with RTV silicone & baked in the oven. No interior rattles 5 years later & I watched my car make 225 WHP on the dyno recently with very little engine movement.

 

Thats interesting, but I think my head is going to explode because of all the possible combinations for poly bushings! My car has 49k on it, so I think its going to need upgrading soon. But on the other hand, NVH Is a deal breaker. I need my car to be a daily driver.

 

Now THAT is a creative solution. Pretty cool.

 

Seems to me that minimizing engine rocking would help the most with a cable operated shifter. The way I see it, with the engine rocking back and forth excessively would cause the cables to constantly slacken and tighten giving a sloppy and inconsistent feeling. If the engine is kept from rocking excessively then the cables stay at a proper constant tension. I don't know I could be wrong, but I felt a definite improvement. I even decided against installing my Helix short shift kit that I had and sold it because I was already so happy with the shifting improvement and didn't want to mess with it further.

 

My experience is that it's the clutch feel (not the actual shifting) that is different, and it's probably what most people are referring to. The difference is very noticeable. As you let out on the clutch, the power goes more immediately to the drivetrain instead of rocking the engine first. The engine rocking causes a kind of laggy response both going on and off the clutch. The damper makes the clutch feel more direct with the drivetrain.

 

That's what I notice, too.
Also, if you're in 1st gear and give the throttle a little goose at a low
speed, you get that engine rocking in the mounts kind of oscillation,
and the poly bushing inserts reduce and quicken that effect quite a bit.

 

So, the general solution here is to change one lower, and leave the upper alone? Or something different? I also have that upper fluid filled mount thats starting to leak. I see that TSW has a fix for that....worth it?

 

I put both yellow inserts in the bottom, one in the top, and didn't use the
small purple bushings and only notice a little bit more vibration at idle when
the a/c is on.

 

Do you, or anyone else, know anything about the TSW replacement brace?

 

I have a 2003 MC which has the older non-hydraulic stock mount, less prone to failure,
so I don't have any direct experience, but here are a couple of threads about
the TSW engine mount:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...tor-mount.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ine-mount.html

Looks like it's way more durable, but expect an increase in NVH.

 

I have been running the VIP engine damper now for a while and I have to say, it made a huge difference! I don't have any of the other inserts but the VIP accomplished a lot of the stabilization I was looking for, was easy to install (2004 and above!) and was relatively inexpensive. I recommend it to anyone!

 

What you are explaining has nothing to do with clutch feel. The clutch is hydraulic, so there is no mechanical connection between the pedal and the transmission, like there is with the shifter; which are cables.

I understand what you are explaining, which is the power is getting to the wheels much quicker because it is not rocking the engine before the wheels receive the power.

 

Maybe it wasn't the best choice of words. It has to do with the feeling of control and responsiveness. As you feel the clutch start to grab, the power doesn't transmit to the drivetrain initially because it is only rocking the engine.

 

Most people are on the verge of powershifting; in return, they jab the gas after letting the clutch out which makes it seem as if the shift is horrible. When applying these it removes that issue
; in turn, it seems as though the shifting has improved.

Post Script: First post by the way.