Vibra-technics Engine Mount Destroyed

[Redd]

About a month back I noticed some vibrations at idle which I wrongly attributed to the Powerflex exhaust mounts. Had the car hoisted up for rear suspension refresh and the mech noticed that my right side Vibra-technics engine mount was destroyed. The rubber has split and torn away from the mount. Mounts were installed in Oct 2019 and has only had 9k kms (5.6k miles) since then. Left side mount looked fine.

Has anyone else seen this before? My stock mounts lasted 45k kms before they collapsed.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by Redd

About a month back I noticed some vibrations at idle which I wrongly attributed to the Powerflex exhaust mounts. Had the car hoisted up for rear suspension refresh and the mech noticed that my right side Vibra-technics engine mount was destroyed. The rubber has split and torn away from the mount. Mounts were installed in Oct 2019 and has only had 9k kms (5.6k miles) since then. Left side mount looked fine.

Has anyone else seen this before? My stock mounts lasted 45k kms before they collapsed.

Wow! That’s no good. Vibra technics appear bullet proof. Since it happened to one side, could it have been over torque? I had an issue with the drive side lock nut getting loose and causing a sound that closely resembled rod knock. No issue since I tighten everything down.

Please post a picture when your remove it. It looks similar to the OEM failure.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by Bubbles

Wow! That’s no good. Vibra technics appear bullet proof. Since it happened to one side, could it have been over torque? I had an issue with the drive side lock nut getting loose and causing a sound that closely resembled rod knock. No issue since I tighten everything down.

Please post a picture when your remove it. It looks similar to the OEM failure.

It was installed by a BMW specialist who's installed dozens of engine mounts so he knows what he's doing. If over torque is a potential cause of failure VT shd have let their buyers know. Will definitely post pics once they are out of the car. Waiting for my new Powerflex mounts to get here.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by Redd

It was installed by a BMW specialist who's installed dozens of engine mounts so he knows what he's doing. If over torque is a potential cause of failure VT shd have let their buyers know. Will definitely post pics once they are out of the car. Waiting for my new Powerflex mounts to get here.

Very interested since I had a lock nut back out on the driver’s side enough to cause a lot of vibration. It’s possible I missed the the proper torque spec on it (because it’s very tight back there) the first time. I used two torque wrenches when I went back in.

[BanjoPaterson]

Interested in following this. I've VT mounts and figured they looked bulletproof. I've got a DCT oil change coming up next week, so I'll ask my mechanic to have a look.

[Redd]

I've emailed both VT US and UK and no one has gotten back to me yet after a couple days. A bit disappointed with them.

I've gone ahead and ordered new Powerflex engine mounts. Their rep replied my emails same day and told me about their lifetime warranty. Will post pics when I get the VT mounts out.

[pbonsalb]

I recall that VT promised replaceable internals when they first came to market, but later stopped offering the replacement parts. I use Corteco mounts.

[amrazM]

Not sure about those powerflex mounts you're ordering as everyone has a different level of what they consider to be tolerable nvh.

[Redd]

Will report back after I get them installed.

[roastbeef]

I'll have to take a look at mine. I've been experiencing some vibes, but I have been taking the car apart...

[DrFerry]

It's been my experience that engine mount damage can occur due to the violence of launch control, and depending on the surface it is being used upon. High grip surfaces and tires, combined with launch control at the higher RPM launch settings, can wreak havoc on OEM engine mounts. Perhaps the OP's situation is different, but I just installed Vibra-Technics street compound engine mounts on my own car, so after seeing this I'll be watching them carefully and not using launch control. I just thought I'd share my own experience in case it's relevant for the OP.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by Redd

I've emailed both VT US and UK and no one has gotten back to me yet after a couple days. A bit disappointed with them.

I've gone ahead and ordered new Powerflex engine mounts. Their rep replied my emails same day and told me about their lifetime warranty. Will post pics when I get the VT mounts out.

Please let us know what VT says. Thanks.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by DrFerry

It's been my experience that engine mount damage can occur due to the violence of launch control, and depending on the surface it is being used upon. High grip surfaces and tires, combined with launch control at the higher RPM launch settings, can wreak havoc on OEM engine mounts. Perhaps the OP's situation is different, but I just installed Vibra-Technics street compound engine mounts on my own car, so after seeing this I'll be watching them carefully and not using launch control. I just thought I'd share my own experience in case it's relevant for the OP.

Never launched the car in my life. No trackdays during the time I've had the VT mounts either. At most 2-3 hill runs and that's it. My stock mounts survived several trackdays in the 28k miles I had them.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

I'll have to take a look at mine. I've been experiencing some vibes, but I have been taking the car apart...

Originally Posted by Redd

Never launched the car in my life. No trackdays during the time I've had the VT mounts either. At most 2-3 hill runs and that's it. My stock mounts survived several trackdays in the 28k miles I had them.

Vibra Techs are suppose to be low/no maintenance item.

Anomalies happen. After 15 second search on the internet, I found some failure chatter on forums. The rubber seems like it has dry rot
Not my pictures.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by Bubbles

Vibra Techs are supposed to be a low/no maintenance item. Anomalies happen. After 15 second search on the internet, I found some failure chatter on forums. The rubber seems like it has dry rot
Not my pictures.

Good find. VT make E9X engine mounts with two different compounds. The 360M and the 362MX. One for road and one for track etc. I wonder if one compound is worse than the other, or perhaps both are suspect?

https://www.vibra-technics.com/bmw/e909293_m3_only

[Redd]

Thanks for the pics. The top one looks exactly like how mine has failed. Wish I had done more research before spending money on them earlier. With failure at such low mileage and such poor customer service from VT, not sure why anyone would consider them moving forward.

[Scrippy]

Appreciate the post as I was looking at these. Customer service is paramount and the lack of it speaks volumes. Think I'll pass on VT.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by DrFerry

Good find. VT make E9X engine mounts with two different compounds. The 360M and the 362MX. One for road and one for track etc. I wonder if one compound is worse than the other, or perhaps both are suspect?

https://www.vibra-technics.com/bmw/e909293_m3_only

Originally Posted by Redd

Thanks for the pics. The top one looks exactly like how mine has failed. Wish I had done more research before spending money on them earlier. With failure at such low mileage and such poor customer service from VT, not sure why anyone would consider them moving forward.

I starting to hear the rod knock rattle sound that was caused by the driver side engine mount. Putting on the lift tomorrow to see if the nut backed out again. If it did the mounts may come out. Not interested in dealing with this every 1000k miles.

[Redd]

If it's just the nut backing out, why not loctite it? That will prevent vibration loosening.

[Bubbles]

Originally Posted by Redd

If it's just the nut backing out, why not loctite it? That will prevent vibration loosening.

I used a new lock nut, didn’t expect the need for threadlock as well. It’s backing out for a reason maybe a fit issue.

I’m feeling lazy today but I’ll update. Here are a few more pics (not mine)

[PandaM3]

Now I’m curious about this since I have these mounts but haven’t had a chance to get the headers hot at the track yet since installing them. Most aggressive I have done so far was an afternoon in the local canyons.

Is there anyone that makes a heat shield for these? I’d custom one myself but don’t have the know how to custom one and install myself... so it would have to be a ready made shield that a shop can install without them customizing or making themselves either.

I was curious about heat from the header when I had mine installed, but the tech said it was not needed. Now that I think about it I wonder how many vibratechnic mount’s he’s installed. I think most of what he installs are the harder rubber race compounds like bimmerworld.

[DrFerry]

Originally Posted by PandaM3

Now I’m curious about this since I have these mounts but haven’t had a chance to get the headers hot at the track yet since installing them. Most aggressive I have done so far was an afternoon in the local canyons.

Is there anyone that makes a heat shield for these? I’d custom one myself but don’t have the know how to custom one and install myself... so it would have to be a ready made shield that a shop can install without them customizing or making themselves either.

I was curious about heat from the header when I had mine installed, but the tech said it was not needed. Now that I think about it I wonder how many vibratechnic mount’s he’s installed. I think most of what he installs are the harder rubber race compounds like bimmerworld.

We could also try heat wrapping the headers - which has a heat scavenging effect too - rather than fabricating a heat shield..
.