For those of you with high mileage Audis, you know that a common issue with our cars is leaking/failing motor mounts. I can’t tell you exactly when my motor mounts began leaking, but I could definitely tell that they were shot. I could feel it every time I drove as there was a lot of drivetrain slop, the shifting wasn’t smooth, and the handling and power delivery of my car had just degraded overall. Under daily driving conditions, OEM mounts should probably last longer and there is no problem with replacing them with new ones if the existing ones are in bad shape. However, my car is mildly modded and has seen its fair share of autocrossing events, and is also driven pretty hard, daily. So, I wanted something that will last longer and be appropriate for my application. With approximately 141,XXX miles on my B7 A4, I decided to replace my motor and snub mounts for the first time with the following replacement units:
http://store.blackforestindustries.c...b5coreenm.html (Stage 1)
http://store.blackforestindustries.c...aub5vwpap.html
First Impressions:
Upon unboxing of the motor mounts, it was immediately apparent that a lot of engineering went into them as these were among the highest quality manufactured parts I have even seen. Everything BFI says about them on their website is indeed accurate. After installing the mounts, the difference could be felt day and night. The car felt very tight and the power delivery was very smooth. There was no drivetrain shock under shifting or hard acceleration, and no slop when coming to hard stops. I would even go as far as to say that the car instantly felt faster because there was a lesser loss of horsepower from the motor to the wheels. My AWE catback also sounded deeper and throatier.
One of the main purposes of mounts is to absorb the vibrations of the motor so that they are not felt in the cabin. In comparison to the OEM engine and snub mounts that I had before, there is considerably more noise, vibrations, and harshness (NVH) that can be felt inside the cabin with the mounts from BFI. Upon initial start-up (and probably a cold-start too) and idle the NVH are really pronounced, but they lessen under load (when driving). If you slow down to a stall, it feels like there is an earthquake happening inside your car. I’m not sure if these excessive vibrations are attributed to the motor mounts or the snub mount. It may be worthwhile to mention that the hardness of the bushings in the motor mounts are 65a durometer and that of the snub mount is 75a durometer. Considering where these hardnesses fall on this scale: http://www.plasticsintl.com/polyhardness.htm, a 75a durometer hardness snub mount might not be appropriate if you want to retain that OEM luxury car feel, but may be ideal for a motorsport application. Since my car is a daily driver, I would be interested in a snub mount that is as effective, but is made of a softer material. Unfortunately, I could not find the hardness information for the Apikol, APR, and 034motorsport snub mounts on their respective websites, so if anybody has that information it would be greatly appreciated. Prior to purchasing the mounts, I called BFI about the NVH, and they said it was to be expected and may lessen as the mounts are broken in, so I’m going to put some miles on them and update later.
I’d like to thank BFI for being incredibly helpful in answering my questions, and providing me with real high quality parts. I’d also like to thank Pat, JR, Mark, and the rest of the team at RedLineSpeedWorx in Washington, NJ who did all the work on my car.
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Originally Posted by Jeevan
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