UPDATE: Introductory pricing for the first 15 units will be $250. After those are sold, the price will go up to $280 per unit.
I'm hoping to have the rest of the CNC'd parts completed by middle to end of next week. I'm currently welding the cross member mounts together, and should have them done Mon or Tues of next week.
I've found a way to add a front transmission mount to the Sonic drivetrain. This additional mounting system is comprised of two parts, shown below.
Billet 6061 front trans mount
Cross member adapter with pinch plates.
Here is the MPFab front trans mount assembly installed.
I built this to combat the sloppiness of the 3 factory mounts without paying the penalty a lot you guys talk about when using the aftermarket rear, and side mount. Because of the twisting force or torque that's applied to the 3 engine mounts when accelerating, the engine tries to raise itself out of the engine bay. By adding an additional mount to the front of the transmission, it's much easier to counter this twisting force. If you want to effectively control the engine's movement in relation to the chassis, 4 mounts are better than 3. Chevy acknowledges this need for 4 opposing mounts with the 1.4L in the Cruze. It has a front trans mount along with welded "ears" on the cross member that "receive" the trans mount. A bolt goes through the whole assembly and this greatly enhances drivetrain stability.
I've had this mounting system in the car for about 6wks now. I'm absolutely sold that this product delivers the desired result(more direct connection between gas pedal and the application of power to the drive wheels) without the sacrifices often associates with stiffer engine mounts(increased NVH). The only time I get any vibration, it centers at 1,000 rpms. It occurs if I blip the throttle or lug the engine away from a stop, but before or after 1,000rpms it is very smooth. At full throttle and/or high rpms there is no perceivable difference in NVH as compared to the stock 3 mount system.
You will need to drill (3) holes in you cross member using the mount as a reference. The most accurate way to do this would be to bolt everything up, remove the radiator, and use the cross member mount's holes as a guide for the drill. That being said, I was able to do it from the bottom using the sandwich plates for reference. I need to point out that you could potentially screws things up doing it this way. I'm a super bada$$ drill liner upper(not really, got lucky), and the odds of anyone else being as lucky...I mean bada$$ as me are much lower. You can make that decision at the time of installation.
I plan to have a very detailed instruction guide that I will email with purchase.
Here are a couple videos comparing stock config vs MPFab upgrade. Notice how much movement has been stopped by the addition of this mounting system.
Stock:
MPFab Trans Mount testing: http://youtu.be/4TNS-qP88LY
Upgrade:
MPFab front trans mount testing: http://youtu.be/mmsJF7CdzpE
DOES NOT WORK WITH AUTOMATIC AT THIS TIME I intend to resolve this as quickly as possible. Sorry auto guys.
I'm hoping to have the rest of the CNC'd parts completed by middle to end of next week. I'm currently welding the cross member mounts together, and should have them done Mon or Tues of next week.
I've found a way to add a front transmission mount to the Sonic drivetrain. This additional mounting system is comprised of two parts, shown below.
Billet 6061 front trans mount
Cross member adapter with pinch plates.
Here is the MPFab front trans mount assembly installed.
I built this to combat the sloppiness of the 3 factory mounts without paying the penalty a lot you guys talk about when using the aftermarket rear, and side mount. Because of the twisting force or torque that's applied to the 3 engine mounts when accelerating, the engine tries to raise itself out of the engine bay. By adding an additional mount to the front of the transmission, it's much easier to counter this twisting force. If you want to effectively control the engine's movement in relation to the chassis, 4 mounts are better than 3. Chevy acknowledges this need for 4 opposing mounts with the 1.4L in the Cruze. It has a front trans mount along with welded "ears" on the cross member that "receive" the trans mount. A bolt goes through the whole assembly and this greatly enhances drivetrain stability.
I've had this mounting system in the car for about 6wks now. I'm absolutely sold that this product delivers the desired result(more direct connection between gas pedal and the application of power to the drive wheels) without the sacrifices often associates with stiffer engine mounts(increased NVH). The only time I get any vibration, it centers at 1,000 rpms. It occurs if I blip the throttle or lug the engine away from a stop, but before or after 1,000rpms it is very smooth. At full throttle and/or high rpms there is no perceivable difference in NVH as compared to the stock 3 mount system.
You will need to drill (3) holes in you cross member using the mount as a reference. The most accurate way to do this would be to bolt everything up, remove the radiator, and use the cross member mount's holes as a guide for the drill. That being said, I was able to do it from the bottom using the sandwich plates for reference. I need to point out that you could potentially screws things up doing it this way. I'm a super bada$$ drill liner upper(not really, got lucky), and the odds of anyone else being as lucky...I mean bada$$ as me are much lower. You can make that decision at the time of installation.
I plan to have a very detailed instruction guide that I will email with purchase.
Here are a couple videos comparing stock config vs MPFab upgrade. Notice how much movement has been stopped by the addition of this mounting system.
Stock:
MPFab Trans Mount testing: http://youtu.be/4TNS-qP88LY
Upgrade:
MPFab front trans mount testing: http://youtu.be/mmsJF7CdzpE
DOES NOT WORK WITH AUTOMATIC AT THIS TIME I intend to resolve this as quickly as possible. Sorry auto guys.
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