Replaced 996 engine mounts - wow! - Page 3 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

I had read a few times over the years about how new engine mounts on a 996 or 997 give a real improvement to the handling by better control of the engine weight during cornering. These discussions usually go on to discuss which replacement engine mount is the best with options including RS mounts or solid aftermarket ones. I don’t track my car and so have never explored the options in engine mounts. My 996 is now coming up to 20 years old and still had the original mounts (I think). This week I had my engine mounts replaced. Not wanting any increased harshness I went with standard Porsche 996 mounts. I wasn’t expecting very much of a difference just driving about normally on the street. I assumed the difference would only really be noticeable at higher speed cornering. How wrong could I be? The improvement is immediately obvious. The car is less unsettled by bumps and the throttle response feels tighter. Even the gear changes are smoother. I wish I had done this a lot sooner. So if any of you have the original mounts in your 996 then I can recommend replacing them, not cheap (especially for the standard Porsche mounts) but worth every penny.

Sounds good, I hear this is something that is often overlooked. Did your 996 have many miles before the change?

Just ticked over 100k miles. Treated it to the new mounts in celebration I replaced all the suspension only a couple of years ago. New springs, dampers, anti roll bars, top mounts, coffin arms, bushes etc. So all that side of things was already in good order.

I’ve been looking at doing this on my 2002 C4. Hartech said they were fine back in 2015 (only 10k miles ago!) but I think I’m going to get the gearbox whine sorted next year so feel like new engine and transmission mounts may be worth doing at the same time.

If you don’t mind could you pop up the costs parts & labour. Mine is prity well sorted but as you say these are often overlooked & I think it’s time to complete the circle

I purchased the RS engine mounts that many have used from Type 911. I think the kit was £125 + VAT.

I recently fitted RSS engine mounts to my GT3 and the difference was incredible!!

Ditto RSS mounts in a 996 C4S and the difference was remarkable, not just for the surprising lack of NVH. It's noticeable, coming from 60k mile OEM mounts, but certainly not harsh.

ringweekends said: Ditto RSS mounts in a 996 C4S and the difference was remarkable, not just for the surprising lack of NVH. It's noticeable, coming from 60k mile OEM mounts, but certainly not harsh. This job done on recent Auto Amateur YouTube channel vid if anyone is thinking of diy.

David W. said: ringweekends said: Ditto RSS mounts in a 996 C4S and the difference was remarkable, not just for the surprising lack of NVH. It's noticeable, coming from 60k mile OEM mounts, but certainly not harsh. This job done on recent Auto Amateur YouTube channel vid if anyone is thinking of diy. It's also about as simple a DIY as you're likely to get. If you can change brake pads you can change engine mounts on a 996/997.

I also put RSS in my 996 and the change was night and day - most impressive was the improvement in gear change. I made a how-to guide if anyone wants to attempt this themselves: https://youtu.be/1exyTcURbs8

I think my engine mounts are only 3 or 4 years old but the gearbox mount is original. I want to get that done.

The gearbox mount is theoretically a gearbox out job. There is a kit available to do it in the car, but it is about $300. https://agatools.com/products/aga-por-996-997-tmt I got some steel CHS offcuts from one of our suppliers to make up something similar, but as the gearbox is coming out soon will get it done conventionally. If anyone wants the CHS bits to make up a puller then let me know and I will post them.

Alternatively Powerflex do a gearbox mount insert which tightens it all up. I did the RSS mounts and the gearbox insert in an afternoon, with lots of tea.

ringweekends said: Alternatively Powerflex do a gearbox mount insert which tightens it all up. I did the RSS mounts and the gearbox insert in an afternoon, with lots of tea. I've seen some chat about the gearbox inserts where people talk about cutting off some of the side. Did you install yours whole or trim it down?

Can someone explain the technical reason why this change makes such a big difference to daily driving feel? Very curious!

LPAK said: Can someone explain the technical reason why this change makes such a big difference to daily driving feel? Very curious! One possible reason... the engine movements stay more in sync/phase with the body motions...so the damping of the whole vehicle is better. Cleaner responses. Imagine a loose football weighing 200kg in the boot of a normal car.

LPAK said: Can someone explain the technical reason why this change makes such a big difference to daily driving feel? Very curious! https://www.flickr.com/photos/36385666@N00/5035971... This was one of my mounts when I changes for RSS mounts earlier in the year. I changed them speculatively because the car felt unsettled over uneven roads, it was evidently the engine moving around

Kawasicki said: LPAK said: Can someone explain the technical reason why this change makes such a big difference to daily driving feel? Very curious! One possible reason... the engine movements stay more in sync/phase with the body motions...so the damping of the whole vehicle is better. Cleaner responses. Imagine a loose football weighing 200kg in the boot of a normal car. This

Thanks for the additional insight

In a full on racer you might want the engine to not move at all. So solid mounts. In a driving miss daisy road car you would want the opposite because engines vibrate and transmit noise and vibration into the cabin. So soft squidgy mounts please Henry. Everything in a car is a compromise. So we all want something in between those 2. But worn out engine mounts are just worn out engine mounts. Pottering around you would never notice. Throw the car around a bit and that big heavy lump will be swinging around and unsettling the car.

ATM said: ringweekends said: Alternatively Powerflex do a gearbox mount insert which tightens it all up. I did the RSS mounts and the gearbox insert in an afternoon, with lots of tea. I've seen some chat about the gearbox inserts where people talk about cutting off some of the side. Did you install yours whole or trim it down? The first revision was a suboptimal design that David very quickly changed. The insert I bought was the revised design - no trimming required.

ATM said: In a full on racer you might want the engine to not move at all. So solid mounts. In a driving miss daisy road car you would want the opposite because engines vibrate and transmit noise and vibration into the cabin. So soft squidgy mounts please Henry. Everything in a car is a compromise. So we all want something in between those 2. But worn out engine mounts are just worn out engine mounts. Pottering around you would never notice. Throw the car around a bit and that big heavy lump will be swinging around and unsettling the car. Is this something that is checked during a service? Or do you just get to a point close to 100k miles when you say to the specialist or OPC that you want new engine mounts?

LPAK said: ATM said: In a full on racer you might want the engine to not move at all. So solid mounts. In a driving miss daisy road car you would want the opposite because engines vibrate and transmit noise and vibration into the cabin. So soft squidgy mounts please Henry. Everything in a car is a compromise. So we all want something in between those 2. But worn out engine mounts are just worn out engine mounts. Pottering around you would never notice. Throw the car around a bit and that big heavy lump will be swinging around and unsettling the car. Is this something that is checked during a service? Or do you just get to a point close to 100k miles when you say to the specialist or OPC that you want new engine mounts? When you come on and off the power does the car shunt at all? Are the exhaust tips hanging low? If so the engine mounts are likely shot. Garages don't seem to check these very much for some reason. My fiancee's Boxster needs the mounts doing and it never gets bought up at the service. Will do it myself at some point.

Its not really a service item. They either fail or not. Depends on how the car is used, etc. If they start to go then you might see some fluid around them or, more relevant as stated above, exhaust tips dropping. I've had them on my to-do list for a few years, will likely do it at this year's service, this thread has me sold! Btw, you can try and source Corteco parts, which is the OEM manufacturer. For 997 pricing I have seen around £150 each. Therefore roughly a £400 job "all in" at a specialist.

shalmaneser said: When you come on and off the power does the car shunt at all? Are the exhaust tips hanging low? If so the engine mounts are likely shot. Garages don't seem to check these very much for some reason. My fiancee's Boxster needs the mounts doing and it never gets bought up at the service. Will do it myself at some point. Is the shunting very obvious? Like any reasonably powered car, there's a bit of shunting when letting off accelerating, but I haven't sat there wondering if it's a bit more than usual. Exhaust tips aren't hanging low. I'm wondering if I've just been living with it and not noticed it. I'd imagine if I asked the question to the garage, that the answer will likely be to replace them...

LPAK said: Is the shunting very obvious? Like any reasonably powered car, there's a bit of shunting when letting off accelerating, but I haven't sat there wondering if it's a bit more than usual. Exhaust tips aren't hanging low. I'm wondering if I've just been living with it and not noticed it. I'd imagine if I asked the question to the garage, that the answer will likely be to replace them... I get a bit of shunting and my engine mounts are quite shiny but the body bangs around a lot due to my rock hard - read ridiculous - suspension. I assumed little shunt was a feature of cable throttle.

Apologies for being really stupid but if someone has recently done this could you drop the URL for what I should be ordering, looking for the softer OEM option over the semi or solid version but trying to avoid Porsche prices. Thanks.

I’ve just bought some RSS engine mounts plus the Powerflex gearbox inserts to hand to my local indy in 6 weeks time when the cars goes in for it’s annual service and MoT. I’m a bit nervous it’s going to make the car horrendous but if it’s ok on a motorway cruise then I’ll be happy with whatever it’s like elsewhere. I gather from this thread and elsewhere they will settle down a little in time anyway.

do I need to order anything else other than this? https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... thanks

jonny996 said: do I need to order anything else other than this? https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... thanks https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432e-84fd-bdccf2206766.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/de867ca1-377e-432e-84fd-bdccf2206766/Products/9792 You need to buy this as it includes the fixings

shalmaneser said: https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... You need to buy this as it includes the fixings Cheers, ordered.

Wow, really is the perfect word to describe the change in ride feel. If gone from original mounts on 10 year old continental tyres to new semi solid mounts on new Goodyear eagles & it’s like a brand new car.

Hi All, Interesting thread. Thinking of doing the same on a 996 turbo. Assume these will work? https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... Surprised how cheap they are compared to the aftermarket ones on Design911 - they're all around the 300 quid mark.

jonny996 said: Wow, really is the perfect word to describe the change in ride feel. If gone from original mounts on 10 year old continental tyres to new semi solid mounts on new Goodyear eagles & it’s like a brand new car. Glad to hear it worked for you too

Very happy it worked out!

Onetrackmind said: Hi All, Interesting thread. Thinking of doing the same on a 996 turbo. Assume these will work? https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... Surprised how cheap they are compared to the aftermarket ones on Design911 - they're all around the 300 quid mark. Indy I use done mine with those that I supplied & he was impressed with the kit

m444ttb said: I’ve just bought some RSS engine mounts plus the Powerflex gearbox inserts to hand to my local indy in 6 weeks time when the cars goes in for it’s annual service and MoT. I’m a bit nervous it’s going to make the car horrendous but if it’s ok on a motorway cruise then I’ll be happy with whatever it’s like elsewhere. I gather from this thread and elsewhere they will settle down a little in time anyway. A little update. I had the RSS mounts for installed when the car was serviced last week. I decided not to fit the Powerflex gearbox insert as I wanted to have some idea, if it was awful, which part was responsible. I have to say beyond a bit more vibration at idle and when passing through c.1,100rpm it’s very little different in a bad way. The only other time I notice more feedback through the car is lifting off at higher RPM and drifting back down through the gear. On a second drive it seems quieter too so perhaps they have settled in a little. Quicker than I’d anticipated if so. The lack of movement from the engine is noticeable on both acceleration and deceleration, but also to some extent when changing direction. My previous experience of harder engine mounts was my wife having some GrpN mounts installed on her 106 GTi a decade ago. Other than just vibrating through the entire car all of the time it also seemed to amplify the boom from the PeugeotSport exhaust (itself made worse by the motorsport cat compared to de-cat). It was quite unpleasant on a long trip whereas my car will be just as before when the exhaust valves are closed.

I fitted the RSS Mounts and echo what others have said. The notchy 2nd gear was eliminated and the whole car drove different. No discernible increase in NVH over and above what you would want from a 911, my PSE also seemed to rev out a lot crisper and seemed to be slightly raspier ? My Wife noticed this so it must be a thing as she doesn’t miss a trick ! I fitted the standard 964 RS mounts to a 964 Turbo about 5 years ago and couldn’t tell any difference what so ever, maybe the ones that were on weren’t as saggy or possibly were the RS mounts?

Thread revival! I'm keen to get this done for my 4S, and have finger poised over 'add to basket' for the type911 kit linked above. However, I'm a bit worried about opening a can of worms with the exhaust tip alignment; they are fine now, if a bit low, and the fastenings look crusty so I suspect a world of pain would await if I need to adjust them. Can anyone advise how much higher the tips might sit with new engine mounts, assuming the existing 22 yr old ones are shot?

Robertb said: Thread revival! I'm keen to get this done for my 4S, and have finger poised over 'add to basket' for the type911 kit linked above. However, I'm a bit worried about opening a can of worms with the exhaust tip alignment; they are fine now, if a bit low, and the fastenings look crusty so I suspect a world of pain would await if I need to adjust them. Can anyone advise how much higher the tips might sit with new engine mounts, assuming the existing 22 yr old ones are shot? OEM are expensive, at least for the 997 they are at circa £700 for the pair, but they’ll be the best. There are others - I have Lemforder on mine, but while the difference was night and day compared to old mounts, it introduced added NVH, which I don’t like. Lots of choice out there and they’re easy to fit.

Robertb said: Thread revival! I'm keen to get this done for my 4S, and have finger poised over 'add to basket' for the type911 kit linked above. However, I'm a bit worried about opening a can of worms with the exhaust tip alignment; they are fine now, if a bit low, and the fastenings look crusty so I suspect a world of pain would await if I need to adjust them. Can anyone advise how much higher the tips might sit with new engine mounts, assuming the existing 22 yr old ones are shot? As others have said they're easy to fit and unlikely to make your tips too high, or too close to your bumper, the only caveat being that the tips might currently be set too high to cater for any drop in your existing mounts. Before purchase, assuming you're fitting them yourself, you might want to get under the car and see if the large nuts come free? I was advised to spray releasing fluid onto the nuts, every few days, prior to attempting to remove them. If you have a 997 gen 2 you'll need an ETorx bit, I forget the size, and I think these suffer less from rust as the thread is slightly better protected. A mate had issue with the two 8mm bolts that hold the mount, in the engine compartment, as one of them snapped. I fitted OEM and I didn't notice any real difference so can only my old mounts were OK.

Its a 996 C4S... hopefully the bolts should be OK as the engine was dropped to fit a new AOS a while back but thanks for the tip, will give the fasteners a good soak in penetrating oil beforehand. There is a couple of cm clearance at least.... ample space to get my fingers in to polish the tips.

Don't be so lazy. Post a pic of your current tip situation.

shalmaneser said: https://type911shop.co.uk/epages/de867ca1-377e-432... You need to buy this as it includes the fixings I bought some of these and fitted them to mine. Then before I was done I decided the engine was too high so I had to remove and refit with some spacer washers. These went in between the mount and the engine to allow it to sit a bit lower. Look how tight the exhaust is here to the bumper. This is without the added spacers. I wasn't so concerned about the tips but the throttle body was pressing up onto the roof of the engine bay.

ATM said: I bought some of these and fitted them to mine. Then before I was done I decided the engine was too high so I had to remove and refit with some spacer washers. These went in between the mount and the engine to allow it to sit a bit lower. Look how tight the exhaust is here to the bumper. This is without the added spacers. I wasn't so concerned about the tips but the throttle body was pressing up onto the roof of the engine bay. I have these but they don’t appear to have changed the height over OEM for me.

barryrs said: I have these but they don’t appear to have changed the height over OEM for me. I think I did it wrong. I wasn't sure which washers to use where. Once I reconfigured they looked better.

I’m surprised nothing came with the kit and I had google the sequence for fitting them

ATM said: Don't be so lazy. Post a pic of your current tip situation. Excellent idea! https://postimg.cc/cr5LhJjs Sorry struggling to embed the pic. Edited by Robertb on Thursday 22 May 15:26

Robertb said: Excellent idea! https://postimg.cc/cr5LhJjs Sorry struggling to embed the pic. Edited by Robertb on Thursday 22 May 15:26 Hit button Share Then the button to copy guff next to where it says Hotlink for forums: And you should get this which you can just paste as is - reply to my post to see the secret code....

Ha! Thanks. I did try borrowing someone else's code, but must have missed out some crucial bit.

Robertb said: Ha! Thanks. I did try borrowing someone else's code, but must have missed out some crucial bit. Ok You don't need to know the code Postimg.cc website will give it to you by just clicking the right buttons

Unusual colour, got more pictures

jonny996 said: Unusual colour, got more pictures Just common or garden Seal grey… Edited by Robertb on Thursday 22 May 23:55