Hey yall looking for input on if i need the wishbone addition on the TSW motor mount. I recently purchased the VIP engine damper and was curious if i truly need the wishbone on the later version of the TSW motor mount. Or should i just get the later model for the motor mount (without the wishbone)? technically the wishbone is kinda doing the same thing as the engine damper so was curious on what yall think.

 

For 05-06 you need the wishbone. The engine damper only fits with the stock mount. From what I've heard, the TSW mount is pretty close to a solid mount...so keep that in mind if you're ordering one. I've heard that the Vibra Technics "fast road" mount is a good combination of engine damping and performance...I can't give a personal testimonial on the VT mount until mid-next week when I install it.

 

alright great i didnt know it wouldn't fit. also never heard of VT upper engine mount so thanks for that heads up. And the VT upper engine mount will fit with the engine damper?

 

As far as I know the damper only works with the stock mount. If you can deal with the vibrations from a solid poly mount you should get the TSW mount, since it will probably outlast the rest of the car. The VT mount is the most expensive one out there, but everyone that has one can't stop praising it. I believe Colin Greene on this forum can supply you with a VT mount if you're interested in them. Don't make the mistake of ordering it straight from Vibra Technics like I did, unless you want to pay a little bit more and wait longer for it to be shipped from the UK.

Here's what my VT mount looks like (obviously not installed yet). You could probably find some installed pictures on this forum or through Google.

 

I emailed them and im curious, what is so special about VT's motor mount? and guess im staying with the stock motor mount since i have the VIP Engine Damper already.

 

Well my OEM mount had failed before I bought my R53...which had 43k on the clock when I bought it. I've heard of OEM mounts failing earlier than that as well...so I didn't want to get another OEM mount that was going to inevitably fail before the car even hit 100k miles. The only two aftermarket mounts I know of are the TSW mount and the VT mount. I was planning on ordering the TSW mount until I started researching it and found out that many people were unhappy with the level of vibration this mount transfers to the chassis. The VT has rubber dampening, as opposed to the fluid filled OEM mount (who at BMW thought that was a good idea?). The TSW mount is solid polyurethane, which is stiffer than rubber...therefore in terms of damping, the VT mount falls right in the middle, and according to the testimonials I've read the VT mount isolates the engine vibrations better than the TSW mount, but still allows the engine to put the power down much better than stock.

If your OEM mount hasn't failed, I don't see any reason why you'd need to buy an aftermarket mount.

 

okay that is the info i was looking for (what kind of mount type: rubber). Ya their website is brief about the mount and doesnt tell alot. do you have an email address for Colin Greene. Wanna see if it is possible to have both VT and VIP engine damper

 

No, unfortunately I don't. You could PM him on here. I honestly don't see a point in having the damper if you're using an aftermarket mount.

 

Well I already bought the damper, and want a mount that wouldn't end up failing (because i think mine is leaking a bit now with 26k miles). But if im stuck with just using the stock engine mount then im stuck. Thanks for the input, very helpful

 

If there's oil under the factory mount, its leaking. And I know how you feel about not wanting to end up wasting the money on the damper, but if it doesn't work you could sell it to minimize your losses...

 

true but i dont wanna drop 300 for something that "might" work, not to mention wont get all the money back on resale. way of the world i suppose

 

I personally really like my TSW upper mount, it is on my 2006 r53 jcw. I mean the difference is huge..I can see how some people don't like it. You go from driving a plush bmw coupe like feel on the inside of the car..where it is so dead quite that you can only hear the supercharger... .. But with a TSW or a similir racing performance mount, you will FEEL the engine you will HEAR the engine . You have to look at it this way..why would you buy a race quality engine mount if you dont want it to not feel like one..

I find the TSW gives me a too much vibs only at around 2500 rpm.. But then again how often am I at 2500 rpm?.. i don't stay there long if your on the peddle or your around 3k+ rpm it feels great, and it is amazingly smooth.. ( at least for me) above 5k rpm.

with a non- race mount thats what your looking at. Better feeling idle to 4k..with a performance mount your looking at better feel 3k-red line..plus the performance numbers of torque..whatever they may or may not be on a dyno.. who knows. But it does help in some way get the power down..and not let it disappear in the engine rock.