PT-P Kicker mount review
 

I recently installed PTP's kicker mount, I was a bit weary of the claims since there wasn't that many impressions posted. I usually wait for more people's reviews and impressions before buying a product, but since there didn't seem to be anymore coming after bnoon and bioevolve's threads - so I went ahead and took a gamble.

So without further ado, here's my review - hope it's helpful to some.


The piece itself looks very well made and solid. Clean welds, all necessary components included in the box. There are no instructions included - they just point you to Eazy's How-to thread in their section. I wasn't able to follow his preload directions because I couldn't "push the engine forward" - so I installed the mount with no preload.

A few comments about the installation: you will need 15mm and 19mm wrenches if I recall correctly. It's easier to use a wrench to bolt the plate to the block than trying to use a bunch of different extensions and wobble joints on a ratchet wrench. My friend was pissed off that he had to drill a hole for the tiny 3rd bolt since it does not appear to do anything - but John says it's a grade 8 bolt good up to 12,000psi. I figured he would not put it there if it wasn't necessary, so I made him drill it anyway to his chagrin. Also the spacers on the heim joint bolt were on either side of the heim joint when it was shipped to me - when I lined up the joint to the plate, it was very close to the passenger side so I put both spacers on the drivers side - there was no way I would have been able to fit a spacer on the passenger side of the joint.


Does it cure torque steer?
No, it does not. It does seem to help it somehow though, even though I've gotten used to the torque steer. I primitively tested this the Top Gear style - by completely letting go of the steering wheel and going WOT in 2nd and 3rd gears. Half the time it will go straight and half the time I will get torque steer (it even pulled to the RIGHT once - I was under the impression that it should always pull left since our left transaxle is shorter). That said, when I do this with my hands on the wheel I feel like I do not have to combat the torque steer as much and it's more natural.

Does it cure wheel hop?
Not entirely, I am running 255 RE-01Rs and I'm still able to get a little hop in 2nd gear. It does feel like the car is much more planted and like I am getting more power to the ground for sure. So as PTP claims it does fix most of your wheel hop. It also looks like he's going to go through with the traction bars - so perhaps with those and this mount your wheel hop will be gone for good.

I was hoping this would also cure the motor movement I get when I'm in 2nd gear and let off the gas suddenly. Unfortunately it still is very jarring and I still feel the motor "bouncing" back and forth a little right after I let off the gas. Perhaps only side/transmission mounts can cure this?

How bad are the vibes?
With no preload, I can't feel any additional vibes at idle. I do feel a little more during deceleration. I've only driven about 200 miles so far on it though, and I hear that they get less with break in.


Would I recommend this?
Yes, it really does make the car feel more planted and stable under acceleration. While it doesn't cure torque steer or wheel hop, it does seem to help with both. I can't wait to have upgraded transmission and passenger side mounts to further stiffen up the engine.

Any opinions about noise transfer from the engine/drivetrain to the passenger cabin with that dempener connected? With more preload, it would no doubt be more constant, unless they figured out a way to buffer out the noise, along with the vibration.

Also, since it has a heim joint, does it "clunk" at all when initially going the opposite direction from normal, ie. when you drop it into reverse and give it some serious gas?

I had a torque dampener for a while on my Neon SRT-4 and the TD worked fine, but the noise it transferred drove me crazy and it always clunked when I first gassed it in reverse since the heim joint peg would shift to the opposing direction.

Reference like for the kicker mount: http://www.pt-performance.com/showPr...&cID=5&pID=245

I don't notice any increase in noise from the engine/drivetrain BUT I sound dampened my entire car (minus roof and firewall) with layers of butyl dampener and closed cell foam (raam mat and ensolite) so YMMV.

Also I already have the "weight-transfer clunk/click", but the mount hasn't made it any better or worse.

did u get 2 pieces of metal that seem to have no place to go? i have had mine for a couple months now but never installed it. i will tomm/friday while im swaping my slave cylinder.

no, i used every part that was included in the box. i'm not sure what you're referring to?

So do you have stock side mounts? Which RMM do you have?
Thanks for the review. I've been on the fence over this for awhile.

weird. i know i typed that out, maybe it didn't make it in the copy and paste.

stock motor mounts, cpe 75 duro.

i was waiting for cp-e's mounts, but i just picked up some su motor mounts and will probably sell them when cp-e's finally come out. i did the same with my v1 SU rear motor mount and was happy with the change.

thanks for the review man, im thinking of getting one. As for saying the word dampener, the correct term is damper, although i must admit that i used to say it as well before i started researching suspension components. A damper is something used to absorb or get rid of unwanted movement or vibration, a dampener is something that makes something else wet.

Examples: PTP's kicker mount sure is a great damper! I used my finger as a dampener last night while I was raw doggin some randoms.

i used dampener correctly, i was not referring to the mount.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dampener
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dampener (scroll down)

eidt: after doing more research, a damper is like the things that mute keyboard strings (or your fingers muting guitar strings) or other mechanical things when referring to sound/music.

i hereby stand corrected and bow before your superior google abilities

This review makes me damp, therefore it is a dampener.

so my car got broken into and parts of my stereo were stolen so i've been driving around sans music.

there is a vibration that goes through the passenger side on decel. it's not terrible but it's audible and you can feel it through the passenger seat when there's no one sitting in it.

Thanks for the review.

nice to get 100% confirmation of what i was saying all along. a mount cant cure tq steer.

Leave the bolts going into the block loose (only turn them in a few threads) until all other bolts are installed and torqued down. As you tighten the 3 block mounting bolts, this will preload the mount. Experiment to find your own prefered balance of vibes vs traction/etc.

Agreed. Box end ratchet wrenches are your friend.

That small bolt triangulates the mount and moves the leverage on the mount to the "center" of the mounting plate rather than right at the rear two bolt attachment points. Very important for the survival of the mount.

Did you perhaps tighten the bolts down prior to putting those spacers in place? There should have been enough slop when starting the bolts loosely to get the spacer on either side as designed.

Preload will take care of 99% of this, at least it did for me.

If you do adjust preload like I stated above, be sure to experiement a little bit. Too much = more vibes with little gain in traction/engine movement, not enough preload and hop/et al returns.

The only time I get TQ steer is on expansion joints or bad pavement cracks, otherwise it's gone, which is a good change from previous. Sounds like the OP didn't adjust in any preload perhaps???

I experimented with mine for preload, from as hard of preload as I could set, out to none with engine centered under rest, with 2 midway points in between... and found my own sweet spot somewhere in the middle. I've got 245/45/17's RE01R's and they are bouncy mofo's compared to the stock tires. With the stock tires and TRZ mount and stiffened side mounts I had almost no hop. Once I mounted the RE01R's with that setup, it was BAAAAAAAAAAD, which is what lead me to buy this PTP Kicker mount in the first place. I even went so far as to sell the TRZ Delrin mount and got a softer Medieval rear mount and went waaaaaaay down in vibes combined with the PTP Kicker, while going waaaaaaaaay up in traction and minimizing engine movement overall. No pops/clicks here at all either.

also the box wrenches with the flexible head ratcheting ends make it much, much easier. my friend didn't have these but when i had to pull the plate off the block to install the fumoto oil valve, i was able to get the bolts off really quickly with those.

http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/wr...beautyshot.jpg


i wasn't going to try preloading because i got a lot of increased vibes after installing the SU side and transmission mounts. i think these have settled down though, so the next time i'm under there i might try it out and check the spacers. after adding the side/tranny mounts my wheel hop is pretty much gone, i'll have to do some more hard pulls more to see but i was doing some logs the other day and experienced no hop. i still get a little engine movement still when letting off the gas suddenly in 1st-2nd, but it is greatly reduced. i guess i will have to preload and see.


in regards to the re-01r's what do you mean by bouncy? i'm running 255/35-18's.

bumping this thread for some further opinions as to whether it also helps make gear shifts better?