[TonD]

Large as in, over a centimeter aka near half inch? That's what I seem to be having after installing Club Sport springs and Koni Sports.

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[JWahlsten]

I went out to look at mine this morning, and the gap is next to nothing with M030 struts installed. I'd say if you have a very large gap it's time to start looking for a replacement set...

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[tamathumper]

Mine have hardly any gap.

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[DaveN]

I'm probably at 5-6mm on the original mounts

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[BeBe]

This is related to one of my previous posts, but was also an experiment to see if I could learn a new skill (putting pictures in posts).



   

   



Are these early 968 mounts (944 mounts)? Would the later 968 mounts with the weights work on my car?

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[flash]

skill learned - congrats



those look like the early mounts. yes, the later ones will work.



your gap is definitely on the larger side, but not nearly as bad as i have seen them. when they get really bad, the metal disk also shifts toward the center of the car, off center of the rubber, as yours is just beginning to do.

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[TonD]

I think I'll deserve a small encouragement prize when I post the pictures of mine. It's horrible. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> I guess the new springs are helping to make it worse.

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[judge]

After reading this thread for the last few days i checked my car this evening and found an even gap on each side of about 5-6 mm, or about 1/4 inch. My car has only done 25000 miles and has Koni struts with stock [non M30] springs. I got to thinking about the issue and remembered I'd taken a shot of the last 968 made at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart last January. The car has only a few hundred kilometres on it. I have attached a shot of the engine bay. I couldn't figure how to attached a close up of the strut mounts, but if you can copy it and zoom in you will see that the gap between the rubber and the plate on this brand new car appears to be about 1/4 inch.



At the risk of committing a heresy it looks to me that a gap of about 1/4 inch is what it was designed to be. Don't get me wrong...I accept all of the above logic about stronger springs, wear and tear and so on, but it does seem that there is not much to worry about until the gap is either much greater than 1/4 inch or the plate or mounting is deformed.



My $0.02 <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/huh.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

















   

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[TonD]

I was there last January, too, but the bonnet was closed <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[tamathumper]

I don't believe it is mileage alone, but the inexorable pressure of the springs against a piece of rubber that causes the gap? I think I'd rather measure a brand new part on an old car with stock springs.



Interesting to see that museum car is missing the lower rubber hood support, on the passenger side, in the square hole of the front engine cover. Might be why the hood is up?

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[TonD]

Agreed, I don't think a the 100 miles are very relevant, given the fact it's still an almost 20 year old car.

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[judge]

The hood is up because I asked the attendant if I could take some shots of the engine bay. He obligingly went off and came back with the key...and voila. Interestingly he asked me not to take any shots of the VIN or engine numbers???

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[hk968]

I second that. Now, thinking about it, if there was no gap at all, there would also be no damping effect whatsover.



I checked mine - it is about the same gap, 1/4 inch or maybe a little more. I have the Koni shocks with the H&R springs. The car now has 100k miles on it, I will need to check if the previous owners replaced them (I think not).







[quote name='judge' timestamp='1336550690' post='126704']

After reading this thread for the last few days i checked my car this evening and found an even gap on each side of about 5-6 mm, or about 1/4 inch. My car has only done 25000 miles and has Koni struts with stock [non M30] springs. I got to thinking about the issue and remembered I'd taken a shot of the last 968 made at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart last January. The car has only a few hundred kilometres on it. I have attached a shot of the engine bay. I couldn't figure how to attached a close up of the strut mounts, but if you can copy it and zoom in you will see that the gap between the rubber and the plate on this brand new car appears to be about 1/4 inch.



At the risk of committing a heresy it looks to me that a gap of about 1/4 inch is what it was designed to be. Don't get me wrong...I accept all of the above logic about stronger springs, wear and tear and so on, but it does seem that there is not much to worry about until the gap is either much greater than 1/4 inch or the plate or mounting is deformed.



My $0.02 <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/huh.png" class="smilie" alt="" />



[/quote]

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[durtkillon]

Has anybody tried the KLA strut mounts? They seem to incorporate the spherical bearing, but do not have any rubber. The few reviews I've seen were positive, but were all 944 drivers. Any 968 testimonials? I think I also read that RS Barn is installing them as OEM replacements, which I consider to be an endorsement of sorts. For $250 a pair, they a seem like a viable alternative.



http://www.klaindustries.net/strtmnt/strtmnt.htm

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[durtkillon]

Here are two other spherical bearing alternatives.



http://9products.com/adac-gt-strut-mounts

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[flash]

i had the kla mounts in my car for a total of 10 minutes. absolutely hated them. the dash made all sorts of noise, and the jarring was horrible.



i just pulled a set of racer's edge mounts out of another car for the same reason.



these are NOT well suited to street cars. if you don't like noises, jarring, and rattling, these will make you crazy.

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[durtkillon]

Thanks Flash. That is the most straight forward review ever. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.png" class="smilie" alt="" /> I have no desire to add more NVH to my car.



Is it safe to assume that the any units that don't have rubber result in increased vibration?



Also, for my education, what is happening as the stock mounts wear? I presume the NVH will increase as the rubber loses it's elasticity and there will be some alignment issues that will crop up as a result of the deformity. It's been mentioned that a catastrophic fail could result in a dampener rod poking through the hood. Would one expect to see the car develop a negative camber as the top of the mount moves inboard?



Did we ever bottom out on how much gap there should be on a new pair of mounts?

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[flash]

it is safe to assume that any time you remove a rubber bushing, you get more transmittal of impact and vibration. it doesn't matter which one it is. they vary in amount and frequency, but they all do it. it depends on how much you can tolerate as to whether or not it works for you. for me, road bumps making my dash rattle was not acceptable.



the failure of the OEM mounts is essentially a "stretching" of the rubber underneath, which then cracks and separates. if ignored too long, it could sent your strut up into your hood. you really need to inspect these from the underside.



yes, you could see negative camber increase as they fail and move inboard.



as for gap limits, i have not actually measured them to see when they are bad, but i would say that if you have a10mm gap on the uphill side, you're due.

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[Bulti]

Should I replace my strut mounts? If so, how to do it?



Any insights or advice is greatly appreciated!

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[hot968]

I have the same gap on mine between the metal piece on top and the rubber on the bottom. I wondered if this is normal or if some thing needs attention

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