I had suspected for a while that my engine mounts were past their best, and reading Jackels site confirmed that I had some of the symptoms that he describes.
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/993/RSmounts/993_rsmounts.html
It was a job I had intended to leave until the winter, however whilst having a general browse I came across a thread on the 996 forum about cheap, good quality mounts available from http://www.rockauto.com in the states. After exchanging emails with the company I ordered a pair of RS mounts from them for the grand total of £80.23 including tax and shipping, They took only 5 working days to arrive. I ordered all bolts, washers and nuts required from my OPC for £66.
This morning I set about fitting them following Jackels excellent how to guide, from opening the garage door to driving off on a test drive took me 3 hours and that included popping down to my local Halfords for a deep 18mm socket. My car is a pre vario C4, so my AC pipes go over the top of the engine and do not obstruct the nearside mount as in Jackels description, so changing the "difficult" near side mount was actually easier then the off side.
After fitting as soon as I started the car I could feel a very slight vibration but the gears selected so easily. I did 10 or so miles to get everything warmed up and then turned onto a nice quiet twisty B road that I know and let her stretch her legs. Everything felt much tighter and the car coped with the bumps and less than perfect surface so well I could have been in a different car. Gear changes appear to be more precise and slicker and even the clutch felt a bit lighter, I might be just imagining that.
Now I realise that these non OEM mounts may not be to the same quality as OEM parts, I guess only time will tell. But as Jackel suggests changing knackered engine mounts will give you far more benefit than fettling the suspention.
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/993/RSmounts/993_rsmounts.html
It was a job I had intended to leave until the winter, however whilst having a general browse I came across a thread on the 996 forum about cheap, good quality mounts available from http://www.rockauto.com in the states. After exchanging emails with the company I ordered a pair of RS mounts from them for the grand total of £80.23 including tax and shipping, They took only 5 working days to arrive. I ordered all bolts, washers and nuts required from my OPC for £66.
This morning I set about fitting them following Jackels excellent how to guide, from opening the garage door to driving off on a test drive took me 3 hours and that included popping down to my local Halfords for a deep 18mm socket. My car is a pre vario C4, so my AC pipes go over the top of the engine and do not obstruct the nearside mount as in Jackels description, so changing the "difficult" near side mount was actually easier then the off side.
After fitting as soon as I started the car I could feel a very slight vibration but the gears selected so easily. I did 10 or so miles to get everything warmed up and then turned onto a nice quiet twisty B road that I know and let her stretch her legs. Everything felt much tighter and the car coped with the bumps and less than perfect surface so well I could have been in a different car. Gear changes appear to be more precise and slicker and even the clutch felt a bit lighter, I might be just imagining that.
Now I realise that these non OEM mounts may not be to the same quality as OEM parts, I guess only time will tell. But as Jackel suggests changing knackered engine mounts will give you far more benefit than fettling the suspention.
