by "for Michigan" (formichigan)
Published 06/17/2017 at 14:37
by "for Michigan" (formichigan)
Published 06/17/2017 at 14:37
Tags: Mazda3
; Modification
STARS: 3
Been chasing this one since I bought the car almost two years ago. I installed the middle one, from the Focus Electric/ST, today. It replaced the filled stock mount on the left, which had replaced the JBR on the right about a year ago.
The JBR was barely better than a solid mount. Cabin vibration was so bad that the CD player would skip even on the most gentle of launches and cabin noise made conversation difficult at highway speeds. I put it in around Oct/Nov 2015 and it was gone as soon as Spring 2016 showed it face.
The stock mount is filled with polyurethane caulk in an attempt to stiffen it up a bit. It’s an old trick that backyard mechanics would use to stiffen up mounts on the old Protege. Made no noticeable difference over the pre-filled stock mount, but I had no money to replace it and it was livable, so it stuck around for a little over a year.
So far the Focus mount seems better than either. No noticeable NVH differences compared to the stock mount, but rev-matching and clutch engagement in general both seem to have improved. Definitely not as tight as the JBR, but my CD player works fine and I can have conversations with my passengers now, which is an acceptable trade-off.
Now to wait and see if it “breaks in” and softens up or if what I have is what I get.
"greasemonkey235097" (greasemonkey235097)
06/17/2017 at 15:00, STARS: 0
But which one did you install?
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/17/2017 at 16:01, STARS: 1
The middle one, from the Focus Electric/ST.
The first one I tried was the JBR on the right, which was barely better than a solid mount.
I replaced that with the stock mount on the left after I filled it with polyurethane caulk, which put me right back at square one.
So far the Focus mount seems like a better mount than either, but we’ll see how it holds up in the long term.
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
06/17/2017 at 16:03, STARS: 1
amazing how much new mounts can improve a car.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/17/2017 at 16:15, STARS: 2
And how much bad mounts can ruin a car. When I had that poly JBR mount in there, I hated driving my car. Everything rattled, the CD player would skip taking off from a light, and good luck holding a conversation on the highway.
"Kailand09" (kailand09)
06/17/2017 at 17:11, STARS: 0
I don’t have huge issue with ST mounts though can imagine it can be improved. That said, it seems like every ST owner bitches about them
"gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
06/17/2017 at 17:18, STARS: 1
a friend put in poly mounts. it was like the whole car was on one of those sleezy vibrating beds.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/17/2017 at 17:21, STARS: 1
About the early mounts? Or the updated ones? Because from what I’ve read, the 12-13 ST had a garbage RTM, a bunch of owners swapped their’s out for the E-Focus mount, and Ford followed suit by making the E-Focus part standard on 14+ STs.
The original ST mount looks pretty much what I would imagine my Mazda3's mount would look like if it were made from extruded aluminum instead of pressed steel. The E-Focus/late-ST mount looks a lot like many of the aftermarket mounts available for the Mazda3/Speed3/ST.
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/17/2017 at 17:26, STARS: 0
The JBR was even supposed to be one of the less “hard core” options out there. My takeaway was that I’m never doing poly engine mounts on anything ever. I’d probably still try poly suspension bushings, but this experience has made me skeptical of those, too.
"ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
06/17/2017 at 19:37, STARS: 0
I put poly mounts in my old MX6 when I did the KLZE swap. I too decided that I wouldn’t do poly mounts in a street car again.
"Kailand09" (kailand09)
06/20/2017 at 19:19, STARS: 0
Honestly it’s all of them people are replacing. My guess is the original was an issue, it became the cool mod to do, and now people change it even though they haven’t a clue if there’s any difference
"for Michigan" (formichigan)
06/20/2017 at 20:32, STARS: 0
Got it. That seems fairly common among people who modify 3s, too. To the point where you get people asking about aftermarket left-side mounts even though no one makes them because they’re unnecessary.
"Kailand09" (kailand09)
06/21/2017 at 07:51, STARS: 0
Lol! Yeah. I have a 14 ST and haven’t found any issue with my mount.
I might be a bit of a stickler with mods I find tasteful but it seems like a lot of things people mod on cars like ours is just useless