Noob Q: Egine mounts needed with R33 Xmember?

[Fiendish]

I have the R33 clip and will be using the X-member from it. The question is, will i still need conversion engine mounts to align the motor and transmission?

I don't want to cut away at the hood's skeleton and have the shifter misaligned.

I was told that the custom engine mounts are needed only when using the KA X-member, ad the R33 X-member doesnt need the mounts to fit properly.

Would be nice if this is the case and it ends up saving me $500 or so.

[dekand]

if you use the r33 x-member it wont be right... the only way to make it "right" is to get a kit and use the ka x-member

[rb250sx]

I will be using the R33 xmember with mounts made by STM. There are a few people on this board who had problems with STM, and i have had a few problems with them as well, but by the end of this week hopefully i will be able to let you know how the mounts work out. Im still trying to get an R33 xmember. Once i get the xmember i will post pictures and let you know how everything lines up with their mounts. So i belive the answer is yes, you can use the r33 xmember and have everything line up with custom mounts, but I am about to find out.

[xjon]

Yeah but that will still require Fiendish to spend some more money. And also, can he still get STM mounts if he wanted some?Seems like STM is out of the mounts contention.

But please post the pics on another thread going right now. People are trying to get pics of Mckinneys and N7R mounts to compare the two. Try to get measurements also of the engine space (front and top) and shifter location.

See: "who purchased nights or tophats mounts" by Project

[GTR Shop]

We use R33 mounts and X-Member.The shifter is ~1/2" futher back (whoop dedo) ann the bonnet frame is only just trimmed.

Why buy mounts etc when you have all the parts already!?!?!

[NISMO_RB25]

for me it wa worth the money to use the KA X-member and mckinney mounts. I made a small dent in the firewall, that took a whole 10 seconds and a small hammer. Everything else lines up and clears. The down pipe was a little low to the ground for my taste, so I cut it and had a friend weld it back together.

I figured by ordering a motorset and mounts, I spent the same as if I had ordered a clip to get the skyline x-member.

It is the decision everyone gets to make.

[Fiendish]

We use R33 mounts and X-Member.The shifter is ~1/2" futher back (whoop dedo) ann the bonnet frame is only just trimmed.

Why buy mounts etc when you have all the parts already!?!?!

Just wanted to make sure that i dont have to unneccesarily have to spend money on mounts. The $600 can go towards an Intake Manifold.

I definately dont want to cut the hood frame, and will need clearance for my Whiteline swaybars and also whatever STBs i put on next year.

What does trimming the bonnet frame entail exactly? How much was trimmed? Pics?

[gabossie]

If you use a foreward facing intake manifold, you don't need to trim the hood framing. It's the stock intake piping that prevents hood clearance. The advantage to buying mounts is to get the engine at least slightly further back and down in the chassis, giving a better distribution of the extra weight and lower center of gravity. Some people have also had sway bar clearance issues I believe with the R33 mounts and X-Member (please correct me if I'm having a brain fart), and that can be fixed by the custom mounts as well.

[dekand]

buying an intake manifold isn't exactly money better spent ... id rather have the engine sitting right ... and not cut the hood (which is ghetto) ... as well as all the other clearance issues resolved...

but thats just me an rb swap is cool in my book regardless of whats in it...

[Fiendish]

buying an intake manifold isn't exactly money better spent ... id rather have the engine sitting right ... and not cut the hood (which is ghetto) ... as well as all the other clearance issues resolved...

but thats just me an rb swap is cool in my book regardless of whats in it...

Yeah having the engine sitting properly is, in the long run, a better investment. Sigh. I guess i will just have to wait a little longer before the swap is complete.

And on a side not, i knew my thread would prevail over the drama caused in the "Tophat" one. And i still don't know which mounts to choose. :? All that fussing amounted to squat.

We need information from owners/customers who have actually done the swap themselves and have feedback. Not from the guys who made the mounts. Pics are always welcome.

[rb250sx]

well i believe i just found a xmember, so i should have pictures and measurements by next week of the STM mounts. As far as still being able to get the mounts, I talked to them a while ago and they are still apparently in business and producing mounts, but for some reason dont want to put their website back up yet. Supposedly they have another guy who used the mounts and things worked out fine for him, but I guess im the first person on this forum to get a final production set of mounts with holes drilled in them, so i will let you all know very soon.

[GTR Shop]

Whats 'properly'??Properly is in a R33!

You are building a custom car. PERIOD.Things just don't 100% bolt in.If you get a R33 cut, then useing the std subframe etc is logical.. why pay extra for mounts, and then have to bash the firewall to save trimming the bonnet frame? doen't seem right to me.. don't want to trim bonnet fram but happily ash the firewall!?!?!?

BTW, C33 sway bar fits perfectly on a RB subframe

[NISMO_RB25]

Yeah having the engine sitting properly is, in the long run, a better investment. Sigh. I guess i will just have to wait a little longer before the swap is complete.

And on a side not, i knew my thread would prevail over the drama caused in the "Tophat" one. And i still don't know which mounts to choose. :? All that fussing amounted to squat.

We need information from owners/customers who have actually done the swap themselves and have feedback. Not from the guys who made the mounts. Pics are always welcome.

You can look at my S13/RB25DET pics using Mckinney mounts in the members ride section. I will see if I can take some more pics this weekend.

[NISMO_RB25]

Whats 'properly'??Properly is in a R33!

You are building a custom car. PERIOD.Things just don't 100% bolt in.If you get a R33 cut, then useing the std subframe etc is logical.. why pay extra for mounts, and then have to bash the firewall to save trimming the bonnet frame? doen't seem right to me.. don't want to trim bonnet fram but happily ash the firewall!?!?!?

BTW, C33 sway bar fits perfectly on a RB subframe

Mainly, because the small dent you have to make is on the transmission tunnel, and you can't see it. I didn't even chip the paint when I made the dent. When I open the hood to show people the motor, I have never had anyone even realize that the dent wasn't part of the original mold of the firewall. They sure as hell would notice if I had to cut the hood bracing.

The mckinney mounts also solved the steering/downpipe issues.

This is all old news, and ultimately anyone doing the swap has to make choices. I made my choice and am very happy.

For some people mounts are the best option, for some people it is the skyline x-member.

Good luck to everyone making the swap!!