I cant seem to find a brand name that I have ever heard of. Wont do the 400 dollar prothane ones, nope.
93 Vette, LT1.
Thnx in advance.

 

If I had to pick from the ones available and didn't want the poly, I'd go with the pioneer ones. No first hand experience with the brand on motor mounts though.

 

I believe that the Pioneer brand is what NAPA does currently as their Balkamp product. I don't see a COO mentioned on the NAPA web.

 

That’s your choices. I went through this a year or two ago - pend on the Prothane or buy a no-name Autozone brand.

I debated it and decided that since I don’t intend on selling the car I didn’t mind the cost of the Prothanes as much and they will be good for the remaining life of the car. Without a fluid filled rubber there is really nothing to fail. They’re beautifully made, install easy and really firmed up the driveline feel without adding much, if any harshness. I didn’t detect a major difference in noise, it did seem slightly noisier at idle but nothing extreme. I actually had to wait a few months for Prothane to manufacture them, even though Jegs indicated in stock.

Or buy the cheap ones and be satisfied that you spent a whole lot less, even if they fail a lot sooner. I’ve bought those Autozone branded mounted for far less powerful v6 cars and they were utter garbage out of the box that had more compliance than the worn and broken mounts they replaced. I think they were Anchor brand. Trash.

 

When I did my LS swap, I just grabbed what I could find in stock.. I think they were Anchor brand, from Rock Auto. Then I did what I have been doing for 25 years: Filled all the gaps inside the mount full with 3M Windo-weld urethane. You end up with kind of a hybrid mount, part rubber, part poly. People have been doing this to strengthen/stiffen OEM mounts for a long time. The stuff isn't cheap, I think $15 or $20 a tube, but 1 tube is plenty and its in stock at most auto stores. This is windshield urethane. I wouldn't try it with something like caulk/rtv/silicone/etc.

You can see the stock mount that I pulled off, how it cracked (normal use, unmodified 1992 LT1 / Auto car, 85k miles), I assume because it can move/stretch in that direction, where there is a 1/4" gap between the rubber and the metal. So its more of a solid mount now. It still has some compliance, but the rubber isn't going to stretch upward from motor torque. I can't comment on this build if it significantly increased vibration (high compression, big cam stroker... it shakes..), but on my 71 GMC, I didn't feel any additional vibration after doing this. On that truck, the swap mounts sagged after 2 years, so I recentered the rubber and filled with the 3M. So I did get before and after on that one.

 

On Rock Auto, Westar have solid mounts and hydraulic. Not sure what the difference is..
I am not even sure what a hydraulic mount looks like internally, or if is a rubber mount filled with some fluid?
I know my wifes mercedes has hydraulic mounts, just never researched them as it is German, over engineered.

 

It had me wondering too. A quick google search revealed:
This is where hydraulic engine mounts come into their own – they can be highly tuned for optimum dampening of vibration, without allowing engine movement. ... While hydraulic engine mounts are very effective, they are more expensive and not as durable as solid rubber mounts, for example.

 

I have some of this at the house. It was recommended for gluing the lowering blocks onto the front leaf springs..

 

Thanks

I may wind up filling the stockers myself