Vibra Technics then Rogue Engineering Any Improvement?

[StickMon]

Looks like I stirred up a hornet's nest on M3forum.
Colin is in there and I'm "the guy with the Z4 who melted the mount or whatever..."

[Beedub]

Originally Posted by bignosejim

Is there a way to send VT our mounts to have rebuilt? They have distributors in the US I believe. It could be sent there for rebuilding to avoid the extra expenses. You would think that they could their US distributors a "jig" to rebuild them. Better yet they could do an exchange program to get you a set while you wait for yours to be rebuilt. I'm going to be very disappointed in the long run I believe. Really sucks when a company with a great product won't stand behind it.

VT should get in on this discussion.

We were all led to believe that these mounts weren't "one and done" type of mounts.

excellent product but i agree.... each major retailer needs to have a jig, no way can you sell a product on this USP and not back that up when the time comes for rebuilds, the product is totally rebuildable and they need to offer the inserts. simple as that really.

phil evens stated they planned on making a proper rebuild kit for the mounts so this could be done at home, so it can be done ;-)

[SaltyNC]

Originally Posted by StickMon

Looks like I stirred up a hornet's nest on M3forum.
Colin is in there and I'm "the guy with the Z4 who melted the mount or whatever..."

Stickmon,

Hopefully Colin (Interlagos08) will come through with a good solution. It's also good to know we have the US dist for VT on a forum. Please keep us posted on how it goes. Funny how misinformation gets spread i.e. the melting mounts. Reminds me of that game we played as kids where you repeat a phrase by whispering it in the ear of a kid next to you and by the time it completes the circle, it bears hardly any resemblance to the original phrase.

And no worries about my original thread. I don't worry crap like that. In the real world, conversations naturally branch out.

Salty

[XMetal]

Originally Posted by StickMon

Looks like I stirred up a hornet's nest on M3forum.
Colin is in there and I'm "the guy with the Z4 who melted the mount or whatever..."

Looks like "Colin" is local to us too in So Cal. Who know, you may be able to "drop by" his shop (if there is one) and have him do the swap for you? I'll be able to drop by if you need anything from them as I'm only a stone throw away from Lake Forest. Very optimistic now as I didn't even realized there's a US rep/distributor for VT - It's very odd that VT themself didn't even mention anything about getting in touch with one of their US reps

[Varinn]

Guys, I met Colin yesterday. I happened to be down from Canada for vacation in LA and was doing a day trip out his direction (There is a shop that I met him at, though it's a bit complicated a situation the place was super cool with old racecars, bikes, etc). I'm not afraid of a diy repair and 50k miles is a long enough timeframe in my books so I figured I'd try them. We chatted a bit and he mentioned that VT is just really tough to get ahold of, recommended grabbing a spare set of inserts to keep on the shelf for the day that the rebuild comes round.

I grabbed a set of the mounts from him, he's a good enough dude and I'm sure he'd try and help if someone had issues. He did stress that VT can be a pain so that's still a no go for ease of aquisition if you're in a pinch. I'll give it a shot, one more for the books at least!

I'll be grabbing a better heat shield before I install mine in the car.

Note: typed on a cell phone, ignore the grammar.

[inTgr8r]

Varinn can Colin get the inserts?

[Varinn]

Seems like he can but it's not quick. Same issues with retreiving inventory as the full mounts. I recommend you call or email him and ask, he seemed to be a good guy trying to sell a product that's hard to stock.

I'm going to order my spare inserts in a month or so, put them in a bin for later.

[inTgr8r]

I wonder if Colin would do a GB on these?

[SaltyNC]

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

I wonder if Colin would do a GB on these?

That would be great.

Salty

[David70]

Maybe I don't have all of the facts but some are hoping for group buy on replacement parts when there has been a report of one failing out of all that have been produced (and after 2.5 years) and no one has actually rebuilt one yet or knows what the parts cost (basically what does a group buy mean if you don't know the original price)?

[SaltyNC]

Originally Posted by David70

Maybe I don't have all of the facts but some are hoping for group buy on replacement parts when there has been a report of one failing out of all that have been produced (and after 2.5 years) and no one has actually rebuilt one yet?

David,

I think many of us are planning on keeping these cars for the long haul. Some of us are collecting spare parts for common failures and spare parts for items that have a known service life, to have on hand for years down the line.

We don't know if VT will be around forever, and since we know the rubber deteriorates over time and heat accelerates the deterioration, it would be great to buy the inserts and have them on hand when the time comes for them to be replaced. The mounts are well made and obviously will be perfect for 100's of thousands of miles, but the inserts we know won't last as long as the surround. So, sure, I'd like to get a good deal on buying the inserts. My car will probably clock up 100K miles 10 years from now. Am I going to be able to call up VT and ask for that insert in 2026 when it fails or stops performing well? Maybe, but probably not.

In the case of StickMon, he needs one now, and he's having a hard time getting it, so I think we're all thinking correctly when we want to have an opportunity to stock up on some inserts while they are being manufactured.

Added: I think we're less concerned about a group buy discount and this group buy is more about availability.

Salty

[StickMon]

I decided I don't have enough facts either, so I've gone radio silent with VT for now, while Phil and Colin sort their story.
I ordered the BimmerWorld mounts, hoping to do a swap this weekend, because while we're trying to sort this, my motor's falling out, and I have places to go, things to do, people to be, spacecraft to track.
Unfortunately the mounts won't be here until Monday, so I'll miss this weekend.
Won't get to do the swap until 03/04.

Before I make any more fuss about it, I want to learn more:
1) There's an off chance Lang broke the mount. I noticed the increased vibe after I got the car back from the rod bearing job.
I doubt it, but if they did, there should be tell-tale signs that they "missed" when reattaching the front end.
2) Just how hard is it to disassemble/reassemble the VT mount?
3) How crispy-crunchy is the rubber in the mount that failed?
4) How to make a better heat shield? I have the Kevlar. Having trouble finding that seemingly better heat shield.
5) Are the BimmerWorld mounts 5mm taller than stock? Somebody on M3Forum warned me about that, but I thought the same about the VT, and figured it was because my stock mounts were squished.
6) Just how bad is the nhv of he BimmerWorld mounts? I may be a poor judge, since I think the drone of my RE cans is glorious, and the ride of my ContiSportContact 5 SSRs isn't half bad.

Stay tuned.

[Beedub]

the VT mounts would be very easy to take apart but apparently they need the be held in a special jig for the bolts to be removed, so i think we should build a small portable rig to allow us to the change the inserts ourselves, then this really would be the perfect mount.

i have the stiffer Competition mounts and I'm experiencing no issues, mine although have done low miles have seen LOTS of track use since they've been installed, probably around 15 sessions in total.

FWIW the euro hot side doesnt even really HAVE a heat shield compared to the US cars, just a small disc that mounts on the top side, so maybe the catted headers are excellerating things?

[StickMon]

Could be.
My headers also melted the wire and connector to my A/C clutch (I have an old thread around here where I beefed that up.)
Keep in mind also that I spend most of my miles going 15 mph in one of the hottest, driest places in the country.
This puppy runs hot!

We'll know more when I get it out and see just how hard it is to get apart.

Maybe I'll find that I'm wrong, but they're like freakin' M4 screws.
How hard can they be to get out? Maybe they put aviation LocTite on them?

[inTgr8r]

It could be that the insert is under compression and the threads may rip out on the last couple of bolts.

[StickMon]

Good call!!
I'll wear safety glasses and be ready to duck.

If it's not slack after a few turns, I'm sure I can clamp it together.

Thanks!

[WickedNy]

Any definitive answer if the Bimmerworld ones are in fact a little taller?

[StickMon]

All (well, some) will be revealed, but the BW mounts are still on a truck.
They should be here Monday, and installed on Saturday.
I'll measure the exact height, but I didn't measure the exact height of the VT mounts before I installed them.
Now the VTs are probably squished.
Maybe we can start a definitive thread on motor mount dimensions.
I'll carefully measure the BW, if anybody has a fresh set of VT or OEM, they can add those.

[bosstones]

Originally Posted by StickMon

All (well, some) will be revealed, but the BW mounts are still on a truck.
They should be here Monday, and installed on Saturday.
I'll measure the exact height, but I didn't measure the exact height of the VT mounts before I installed them.
Now the VTs are probably squished.
Maybe we can start a definitive thread on motor mount dimensions.
I'll carefully measure the BW, if anybody has a fresh set of VT or OEM, they can add those.

I have a set that have been sitting idle on my shelf for about a year since I have not yet had time to replace them due to work travel. I'll take a pic a little later and post it up. Are talking caliper-type measurements?

[Varinn]

I can grab measurements with my calipers tonight, for anyone that is interested.

[inTgr8r]

Not sure if I miss remember or not, but are the VTs not 5mm shorter than OE?

[StickMon]

Originally Posted by Varinn

I can grab measurements with my calipers tonight, for anyone that is interested.

Very interested.
I'll grab measurements of the BW with my calipers when they come in next week.
I'll start a "Definitive motor mount height" thread.

Originally Posted by inTgr8r

Not sure if I miss remember or not, but are the VTs not 5mm shorter than OE?

And there's why.
When I put the VTs on they were longer than the stock mounts that came off, but no telling how squished the stock ones were.

I'll of course measure the VTs that come off.
It'll be interesting to compare initial versus "final" height.