Apex Eight

A few weeks ago, I was browsing eBay for a new set of polyurethane motor mounts and a transmission mount for my S13 and came across a set made by a company called Ronin Engineering. A few Google searches yielded very little information on them, so I started a thread here (http://zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=604037) asking if anyone knew anything about them. The thread ended up generating very little discussion, as you can see. I was not going to give up though, as these mounts had really struck my interest given that their design incorporates isolated studs that do not run through the entire body of the mounts which, in theory, reduces the amount of vibration. They were also being offered a what I believed to be a fair price, so I decided to contact the eBay vendor that was selling them and asked for more information.

You can see my original message on the bottom and their reply on top here:



After this swift reply, I was pretty much sold on getting a set for my S13. I had been running stock mounts filled with polyurethane and while they were a slight upgrade in performance compared to plain old stock mounts, the minimal performance gains did not outweigh the subsequent vibrations, for me.

As luck would have it, Ronin Engineering saw the thread that I posted on here and offered to send me a set of their mounts in exchange for an honest review! I gladly accepted and here we are now. I would like to point out that I am in no way afifliated with Ronin Engineering; I'm just a broke college student that it trying to build a solid S13 and got lucky. I value the truth and honesty, so I wouldn't sing praise for a product that I thought was ineffective and/or unsafe for the sake of making a quick buck.

With all of that out of the way, onto the actual review!

Once I received the mounts, I thoroughly inspected them and was overall pleased with their build. They seem to have quality studs and lock nuts. The steel plat of transmission mount felt really sturdy. Everything fit without a problem.

I pretty much covered all of the technical aspects of the mounts with that screenshot from the-boost-outlet, but according to Roning Engineering's website (http://www.ronin-engineering.com/240...smission-mount), they have durometer or hardness factor of 80A. I don't know if that's considered relatively hard, soft, or what, but I'm quite happy with the way they perform. I think the transmission mount made the biggest difference in that my shifter hardly moves at all allowing for much more solid, aggressive shifts. The engine doesn't feel like it moves that much, but they do not cause harsh vibrations until you get into the upper RPM range past around 3,000 - 3,500 RPM, which is good because for just regular driving around town you'll be staying under that range most of the time. Honestly, under 3,000 RPM the vibrations are minimal for polyurethane mounts. This came as a big relief because my old mounts vibrated pretty bad right at 2,500 RPM which is exactly 50 MPH in 5th gear which got annoying pretty fast. You do feel the engine move a bit during on and off throttle situations, but I believe this is the price you pay for a dailyable set of mounts that won't rattle your car apart. Basically, I view them as a solid compromise between performance and comfort. There are certainly other mounts that I'm sure would perform better, but for a daily/weekend warrior, I am very happy to recommend these.

Pictures:









Overall, I am very happy with these mounts and am really glad to ditch my old mounts. I feel as though they have built a solid foundation for my car to move forward on (my S13 is relatively stock). Big thanks to Ronin Engineering for this opportunity as well as the-boost-outlet for their assistance.

I'd be glad to answer any questions you guys have.

Thanks for reading!