Replacement engine mounts for ATOM 3.

[flying phil]

My north American Atom 3 came, originally, with rubber engine mounts. The car was advertised as much smoother than the ATOM 2 because of said mounts. These factory mounts were brilliant for the first 100 miles, then failed spectacularly. The factory sent out polyurethane replacements that then turned my "3" into a "2". 14 years later, the results have come home to roost. Various fatigue issues are starting to surface, and this all seems very avoidable.
Do UK Atom 3 owners run rubber mounts, or did you have the same issues? TMI still only offers the polyurethane and dosen't seem particularly interested in finding a better solution. I'm happy to research suppliers myself but also need the engine mount specs.

[plip1953]

Some work is being done on 4s to try to overcome premature wear of the OE predominantly rubber mounts. Basically this entails the addition of a pair of lateral struts that each incorporate a damper unit. Testing thus far has been very encouraging, especially as it seems to provide a reduction in the amount of flex that the OE mount is subjected to, but at the same time does not appear to add any harshness.

The company behind this project is Corten-Miller in the UK. I'm afraid I have no real idea if something similar might work on earlier cars. It attaches to the engine in the same location as the OE engine mount bracket and at the other end utilises the existing mount point for a bolt on roll hoop.

Engine support with damper in situ.jpeg (60.4 KiB) Viewed 2172 times

[flying phil]

This is good information. Do you know if the orginal rubber mounts are still available from Ariel UK? TMI in Virginia apparently doesn't stock them any more for the '3'. I'm going to do some research to see if there's something 'in between' the rubber and the polyurethane.

[texevora]

Can you elaborate on the fatigue issues that you're seeing/experiencing?

[flying phil]

Effectively...they tore. The engine lash forces turned out to be beyound the design spec of the OEM rubber mounts. Others are trying a lateral brace to take some of the load without much additional vibration coming into the car. Not sure how it's working out...?