The front subframe is going to dropped and I am going to replace the mounts. Any input on what the best mounts are? Solid, poly, rubber, or a combination? The car currently has rubber mounts all around. As I recall, the car performed admirably on the freeway with this setup with no weird buzzing.
I've always just used stock replacement on the front subframe.
I'm in the same boat as you. My car is an '82, and it still has the original mounts that were made of what used to be rubber...
I decided to get solid front mounts, based on this video (0:55):
That said, I haven't installed them yet and can't speak to how they work.
I installed poly mounts on my car. The original rubber ones were shot and had mostly disintegrated. I chose poly as an alternative that will hopefully last longer than rubber., while still providing some cushioning.
I like the rubber ones, I haven't driven a solid mount car back to back to see if there really is an improvement in handling, but I can't imagine the need for it frankly - my cars all handle like the proverbial go kart.
My thinking is they put them in there for a reason (the rubber ones) and there's also a reason they went away from the solid mounted subframe in the early cars.
Bottom line, I use the OEM rubber mounts.
The only time I ever used poly was on my new MINI, and it vibrated like a bitch, so I changed them right back to OEM rubber.
All useful input. I know the Mini was originally designed for solid mounts and that is how the cars came for years. Sometime around 1976 they switched all the mounts to rubber. Kieth Cavers was a proponent of changing the top shock mount to poly and leaving the rest as rubber. The front solid mounts sometimes cause cracks around the chassis pick up points. MiniSpares now offers a poly-aluminum combination top mount. Plenty of options to experiment with. If I remember right, the front and rear mounts can be changed pretty easily with the engine in the car. Changing the top mounts means dropping the entire subframe.
No, you don't have to drop the subframe to change the top rubbers, just take the long bolt out and it might come out, worst case, just remove the front bolt and loosen the rear mount on one side, that should give you enough clearance.....
I'm pretty sure Bruce did his this way.
I was going to suggest the same thing.
Yes, that's way I did when Mark helped me. Since I use the poly ones which require a little lithium white grease that help them slide into place easier. If you go with rubber mounts I suppose you could use just a little bit of silicone grease (aka dielectric grease) the same way of needed.
I just talked to Jack at Seven Mini Parts and his opinion was that the rubber mounts we significantly quieter than the solid mounts and the difference in steering/handling was not much. So with Steveston Motors, Kieth Calvers, Seven Mini, and the people on this board we have pretty good cross pollination of ideas.
Yep, almost back to square one! Paralyzed by choices..... ::) 8.gif
Quote from: carockwell on January 27, 2021, 02:46:05 PM
I just talked to Jack at Seven Mini Parts and his opinion was that the rubber mounts we significantly quieter than the solid mounts and the difference in steering/handling was not much. So with Steveston Motors, Kieth Calvers, Seven Mini, and the people on this board we have pretty good cross pollination of ideas.
Poly mounts didn't have any supporters?
I'm replacing the poly tower mounts on my car with rubber ones from Classic Minis Japan. The poly mounts I installed 6 years ago are splitting on the edge, I don't think it's affecting anything but I didn't find any improvement from them.
I have a full set of new solid mounts I'd sell cheap if you're interested.
I use solid mounts on the front 'teardrops', solid on the towers and genuine rubber mounts at the toe-board to help reduce vibrations.
I've heard that using rubber mounts at the toe-board also helps reduce the likelihood that the toeboard develops a crack.