15/09/2026
As ever, we like to prove everything we do rather than just make claims (no 'trust me bro' here), and today we did a little test on our prototype uprated engine mounts for all Mk3 MR2s that will soon be available.
The factory front and rear engine mount bushes on a Mk3 MR2 are insanely soft, even for the factory engine and it's low torque, they are far too soft for maximum performance- Hence why S2 Lotus Elise/Exige, which use the same engines/bushes consider uprating them a must-do thing if you drive your car for performance reasons.
Overly soft bushes lose you performance and also create reliability issues- Suspension wear, transmission wear, and even bending of the side engine mounts (which should never need uprating if the front and rear mounts are doing their job!).
The common upgrade is void fill inserts to fill the huge gaps (which you can partly see in this video) in the factory bushes. They're ok, but for a rear mount on a 1.8T swapped one, which creates far more torque than a 1ZZ/2ZZ, they're not really enough in our eyes.
On the opposite end of the scale there are some absolutely rock hard aftermarket offerings that are overkill and make the car vibrate like hell.
But we offer what we consider a great middle ground- Uprated bushes, front and rear, which are far harder, but not rock solid, to fit in the factory mount (£80 each). For most users, just the rear alone is fine. If you want more, front and rear. The side mounts have no reason to be uprated if the front and rear are doing their job.
This video however shows a quick test on a prototype of our new stainless steel rear engine mounts, which fit all MR2s that use the standard Toyota mounting bushes like our 1.8T kits do. We will have a version for the front too, and an even stiffer rear one for race use, but this video is just using our rear 'street' version and all factory front and side mounts.
The first part of the video is with all 4 factory mounts, and the amount of engine movement on acceleration is insane, and this is a 'stock' 1.8T swap car, factory engine/turbo/injectors. Even moving about slowly, not even accelerating, the engine moves around!
The second part is with the 'street' uprated rear mount fitted. Soft enough that it doesn't cause vibration, but as the video shows, massively reduces engine movement even with a factory front mount still fitted.
Punchier power delivery as the torque is going to the tyres rather than being wasted rotating the engine and transmission, and no more twisted engine mounts or damaged suspension or transmission due to wheel hop etc.
Enough words though- The video says more than any words can.
(And yes, the camera angle makes the car look very low- It’s actually factory height and miles from the floor lol)
