I installed solid aluminum engine mounts in my Turbo a few days ago. I absolutely love the way they transformed the car. There's a little more vibration through the seat, and not much more noise transferred. The car feels a lot tighter together; it's just amazing in the turns..

My friend (TT Chris) asked a local shop that specialize in Porsches and Porsche Cup cars about the solid engine mounts. The technician there told him solid engine mounts while work great to improve the car's handling but they put so much stress on the chassis. And he has seen a few examples where chassis was cracked from all the stress using solid engine mounts. He's very reputable and he's the crew chief at a local racing team that races gt3 cup cars.

I emailed a vendor that has been selling solid engine mounts for years. They have not seen any failure or report of failure related to the engine mounts.

I did some search on rennlist, there are some reports of cracked engine carrier from using solid engine mounts from 993 and 964 guys, nothing from the watercooled boys though.

This still worries me and It's a shame if I have to swap them out because I absolutely love them. Maybe WEVO semi-solid with a little rubber is a good alternative?
Have you guys seen such problems related to solid engine mounts? What do you guys think ?

Thanks in advance!

 

Never heard of problems per se but it makes sense that you 'may' do some damage over time. The extent of that damage is anyones guess.

 

What is the differenmce between a Cup car chassis and a 997 chassis? It's exactly the same chassis. You just need to change the transmission mount also.

 

I'd say the difference is a Cup chassis is under significantly more stress for a short period of time, then retired. I actually think this is a fair concern. I suspect the reason the AC guys are experiencing problems is because of heat. If that's the case, 997 might have the same problem, just further down the line. I'm also interested to see if the semi stiff mounts will offer similar stiffness while giving when they need to?

 

Thanks a lot guys! I talked to a couple more people, nobody has a solid answer. Its up to me if I want to risk it. I may have to switch to wevo semi-solid mounts soon, some rubber is better than no rubber in this case I hope.

 

Take the risk! No problem at all! Chassis can take it easily.

 

i don't see the chassis cracking at all.

 

This sounds great. My stock turbo can feels somewhat soft and almost loose at times. What was the cost of install?

 

Thanks guys! It's very easy to install. take out the Y pipe and air box and use a jack to support the engine.
2 bolts up top and 1 big at bottom per side. I did it myself in about 45 minutes.

 

Does it handle corners better?

 

Yes. The rear feels a lot tighter in turns especially higher speed corners. I absolutely love them.

 

You should also check out crazyf1driver's thread in 996tt forum on the very same engine mounts.

 

unless youre going to keep the car for over a decade, i wouldnt even think twice. keep the solid mounts you have now and enjoy.

 

Peakpower,
Thanks for the help!　do you think the WEVO mounts will be ok?

 

The Wevo mounts do have SOME give and that can't be bad. Realistically they do contribute to ride harshness. I am re-thinking whether they were a coherent street car decision for my needs.