Putting Your Motor On Lock Down - Tech Article - Honda Tuning Magazine

Aftermarket motor mounts are nothing new. Some 10 years ago, the demand for bolt-in engine swap kits had several companies cranking out welded steel-plate units. Some fit better than others but they usually got the job done. As the market grew, manufacturers had to switch to billet mounts to speed up production. The new shiny aluminum mounts caught the eyes of the show scene and before long stock replacement mounts came out for people without swaps. But there's more to aftermarket mounts than looking good and enabling swaps. They have a performance function too.

The factory mounts do a good job at isolating the chassis from engine vibration. But hard driving can damage them over time. Typically, the rubber inserts will tear and the motor will begin to rock around within the steel casings of the mounts. The most common symptom of this movement is a car that bucks at low speed under partial throttle. But in older cars with shift rod linkages, it can get so bad that the car won't shift properly under lateral loads and will even kick itself out of gear. A set of aftermarket mounts with solid urethane bushings will significantly reduce engine movement and cure many of its ill effects.

Here we are installing a complete set of Innovative mounts on this EP3 Civic. Even though the car is still reasonably new, the additional power from a turbo system has already broken the factory rear mount. This relatively simple install will pretty much eliminate all under-hood movement by putting this K20 on lockdown.

If you're doing this in your garage or your friend's backyard, this is the part where you lay on the floor and hope your jack doesn't give out-just kidding, use jack stands. But if you're in a shop and have a hoist, then you're a lucky SOB and can do this standing up.