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STAGE II Motor Mounts
After tackling my Turn2 Stage II VR6 motor mounts on my stock GLX for about 1.5 hours, there in and secure! First,
the installation was really easy and outlined perfrectly through Turn2USA.com's website; I very impressed with their customer service. I was worried about jacking up the motor to gain access to
the rear passenger mount, but went slow and got it replaced. The biggest struggle was the rear 8mm hex bolt for the
rear mount; struggled with that sucker for about 30mins!
After installation, I took it out (like with VW modificiations) and let me tell you... I've been missing out for so long
not installing these things! WOW! The powertrain feels very snug, and the shifts are crisp, full of responce and
non-abiguous. There was a concern of vibration during idle, but in my GLX there was none added. At idle, it felt
like nothing had been replaced... that all changed when the green light flashed and the clutch was dropped; great power
transfer and feeling! WHOO HOO!
Some downsides are that torque steer becomes more of iminant and a factor and some slight wheel spin since the engine doesn't
want to rotate in the engine bay as much now. Since I have pretty fading tires, I'm willing to bet that with new rubber,
the wheels won't spin much at all.
- Installation Time: 6
- (had user trouble with rear hex bolt)
- Learning Experience: 7.5
- (good, did everything at home with basic tools)
- Performance: 8.5
- (wanting the rest for Stage IV)
- Bang-for-the-Buck: 10
- (found cheap for slightly used)
- Overall Rating: 9
Honestly, if you feel that your VR is not able to slap down the power with the modifications you have, highly recommend
these. It really does make a world of difference.
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STAGE IV Motor Mounts
Ok, after drving around with Stage II for the past month, I finally got around and updated to Stage IV. Again,
installation took some time to do since I was catious (as always), and solid outlined directions from Turn2USA.com's website. But, unlike Stage II, I ran into fitment problems with the lower rear two mount inserts. The height
on them were too tall and had to shave off at least an 1/8" to get the brass cover to bolt back on. Even with a vice,
I struggled with it and it set me back on some time.
While the full rear mount was out, I also shaved off 1/2" inch from the upper rear mount due to the motor sitting at an
angle that I didn't like... I read that other owners have had that problem too, and followed suit with shorting it as well.
Currently, after installation, the motor sits really level once again. The upper front mount was pretty much a
cake-walk; no problems to report upon getting it in.
After bolting everything down and cleaning up, I took it out. Right from start up, I could tell the engine was now
fully bolted down to the frame. I did read that some owners did not like the 'harsh' vibration... I feel they made their
claims out of proportion. At idle, it's just a very slight buzz, letting you know the car is running just fine (with
a healthy idle).
The shifts are extremely crisp and clean; not problems finiding gears when shifting from 5th to 3rd when taking some spirited
cornering. The only major downside is that right above idle @ around 900 RPMs, the car has a very noticable shimmy and
roll-offs of 1st gear are slightly chattering. After that, there's no other issues; all through the powerband it feels
awesome! I hope the chatter demises after the mounts seat and butter-up just a tad after a few hundred miles of driving.
Again, slightly more torque steer, but overall happy on the modification.
- Installation Time: 4
- (had to modify mounts to fit)
- Learning Experience: 6
- Performance: 8
- Bang-for-the-Buck: 10
- (found cheap for new in box)
- Overall Rating: 7.5
If you're ever wanting to install mounts, and looking for a very steardy powertrain, buy the Stage IV mounts in one set.
I did like Stage II and now Stage IV, but doing the installation literally twice was not as enjoyable as I thought.
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