Hi everyone! I just installed a WMW xbrace on my 2005 r52S. Install was easy, and no rubbing parts.

On idle, light accel and engine braking, everything is fine. However, if I accel hard, some part of the engine/exhaust rests against the (I think) brace and vibrates the chassis. If I lurch the engine forward, I can even get it to clunk against what I assume is the xbrace.

The car has 63000 miles, and I'm guessing all mounts/bushings are original, so there's a good chance something is just worn out and the engine is flopping around more than it should? Just a guess.

Any ideas?

 

That's a good guess, I'd look at a Vibratechnics upper and lower motor mount and you'd solve it. The engine really rocks around and especially on worn mounts.

 

Thank you for the quick response!

MORE INFO: Clunk also happens on incline when the car is in neutral, and the engine has no load. This makes me think it isn't actually the engine mounts. Could it be a worn/torn exhaust bracket perhaps? Something else?

 

Go back and re torque every nut and bolt you can find under your car. I had a mystery clunk too and it ended up being one of the bolts on my sway bar busing. Always try the easy and cheapest solutions first.

 

Ok checked under the car by yanking at stuff and checking for loose anything. Nothing feels out of the ordinary at rest. Exhaust is firm but movable.

Sharp accel/decel really flops the engine around anyway, so I'm almost positive this is the cat/ resonator pushing into the xbrace as the engine torques it down on acceleration. If I'm on an uphill, I barely have to torque the engine at all to get a good clunk against the new bracing.

AFAIK, if being on a slight incline causes that much of a difference, the mounts must be really shot. Maybe just the torque mount, but whatever, I'll just replace all three and see what that gets me.

 

Probably can't hurt to change the engine and tranny mounts. You could also coat the brace in chalk or something and see if it transfers to the exhaust. Then you will know where it is rubbing.

How do you like the brace? I have been considering one for my cabrio.

 

The chalk thing is smart! If it's still an issue after the new mounts I'll try it.

I think the xbrace is worth it. It cuts down on chassis flex enough that the suspension and mounts now feel like the obvious soft spots. Like any brace, no effect unless you hit some bumps, or hoon the car in turns. It'll make the mini noticeably more direct and easy to read mid-corner.

This plus a monster rear sway, and I can actually get this little car to rotate! Also fixed my buzzing dash

Coming from an older mitata, it feels a lot like what you get with a roll bar... albeit a thousand times easier to install.

 

i also had this "clunk" on acceleration after installing a similar brace. managed to get under the car some and look while i gave it good gas going onto some ramps and holding the ebrake. i could see the exhaust pushing down onto the brace.

mine exhaust would rest on the brace at wot, making the whole car vibrate!

ended up removing the brace for now :(
have new poly engine mounts for the tranny side im going to put in (one day :P ) hoping that will fix the issue.

 

Yup this is exactly what I have as well. I'll report back after the mounts are installed.

 

pls do! im missing my brace! really stiffens the car on turns.

what all mounts are you using / replacing? i have a new hydraulic motor mount (although i dont really think i need it, as i have an engine damper) and new poly mount for the other side of the engine.

not wanting to go poly all around due to idle vibrations, but have instead considered one of the "softer" inserts for the lower engine mount, like this: theyre like 25 bucks or something.
SPF2426K SuperPro Lower Rear Engine Mount Insert

 

I'm replacing stock torque, trans and engine mounts with the Vibra Technics set. From what i've read it's the one to get for street/dd use.

Not cheap at around 800 for the set, but I'd rather just install once and be done with it, rather than futz around with poly inserts and such.

 

Yes fixing the buzzing dash would be worth it right there. On mine it is the right A pillar trim that buzzes. Thanks for the review.
Is it possible to firm up the exhaust mounts to gain more clearance? I suppose it depends on where the contact is.

 

Ok, so I just had the engine mount, trans mount and torque link installed. It fixed it for all but the worst case scenarios (cranking the engine hard from an uphill stop still produces a bit of a clunk)

Loose exhaust mounts might be that last 10% I'll try that next and report back.

 

sorry to say im a little dissapointed (not in you of course), just the outcome. was realling hoping those new mounts and inserts would have fixed the engine wanting to flex so much under stress.

you have any pics you can take of your setup? new mounts and exhaust? i will try and do the same when i can, but will be a few weeks. hoping to move soon, and i dont have anything car related with me until i get my new place with a garage.

 

Yeah I was dissapointed as well. I did a bit more research, and turns out there is a mounting point for the exhaust above the cross section of the xbrace. My guess now is that the engine mounts were so shot for so long that it might have bent, stretched, or snapped the exhaust mounts just above the brace.

On the bright side, these mounts are fantastic. Slightly stiffer than stock, and big improvement to engine response and shifting. Makes the whole experience of playing with the engine/trans feel much more direct. Big increase in fun factor 😁

I'll get under the car this weekend if possible and see what's up with that exhaust mount.

 

Oh and to be clear: yes the aftermarket engine mounts make a huge difference from the 60k mile stock mounts. It's just that in my particular case, the front exhaust mounts are apparently crap too.

 

Found a forum post on motoring alliance forum that describes the same issue.

TLDR version: there sometimes isn't enough clearance between the cat and the brace, especially during heavy acceleration. Solutions are:

- Replace the motor mounts if you haven't done so in a while
- adjust the exhaust hangar near the cat so it isn't drooping.
- add washers to the xbrace mounting points
- grind away the bit on the xbrace cross plate that is contacting the cat.

 

Whelp, I found the source of the problem:







This is with brand new engine, trans and torque mounts. Got under the car and inspected every mount on the exhaust, and everything is in great shape. I would need at least another inch of clearance... and i'm not about to put an inch of spacers on those chassis bolts just to make this work. Doesn't seem like everyone has this problem, but judging by the posts I've seen online, it's not rare either.

I'm going to contact WMW and see if I can get a return on the brace.

 

why an inch? Try 1 thick washer and give it a go. Also try adjusting the exhaust hanger a little. It doesn't look like you will need much adjustment.

 

there is NO front exhaust hanger... just middle and rear.

 

Ok, didn't realize everyone called the two hangars "middle" and "rear". Regardless, both were in great shape.

I'll need about an inch because the brace is leaning about 1/4 inch into the cat. On heavy accel on up hills, there's still a good half inch or so of movement downward due to engine torque, even with brand new, stiffer than oem mounts.

Add to that the fact that, because of the angled front mounting point, you can only spacer the rears without fit issues ( making 1 inch of spacer lower it only 1/2 inch at the point of contact) and there you have it.

The bummer is that, based on posts in this and other forums (see above) this doesn't appear to be an isolated problem. I really do want this thing to fit, as it does improve stiffness, but it's not going to happen in my case.

If the cross section of the brace moved rearward by a couple inches to clear the bulky cat, then that might be another option for WMW to consider for future braces.

 

Called up Way Motorworks to get their take on this. They're saying this is the first they've heard of the issue. They suggested that the upper rear exhaust hangar brackets might be shot, and that's causing the whole exhaust to sag.

Won't have the time to remove the exhaust any time soon, but I assume if that rear hangar is sagging, I'd see the exhaust tips sagging as well, right? Here's a pic of my exhaust tips. Do they seem unusually low?

 

UPDATE: Way Motor Works has been working through the issue and is sending a replacement bar to test as well. Big props to those guys for working through this!

I'll post when I've installed the replacement.

 

Annnd FIXED!

For anyone having the same problem:


1) The brace is fine; it's the the stock mounts that went bad.
2) Over time, the excess engine movement slowly stretched out the exhaust's flex joint, causing the cat to sit nearly two inches lower than when new.

So the fix is:

1) Replace the crap stock mounts
2) either replace the flex joint (more money), or just cut the downpipe back a bit and reweld (less money).

Here are pics of the stretched flex joint, reweld, and new clearance. BTW, big difference in stiffness. Get this brace already!

 

Reviving this old thread because I'm facing the same problem.The catalytic converter hits and vibrates against the X-Brace under heavy throttle load. I'm thinking the flex pipe may have stretched when the upper engine mount failed.

@surfacenormal Quick question about what you refer to the "crap stock mounts". Were you referring to the middle exhaust runner mounts, like this one?



Thanks