Well, it's been awhile since I had this installed by Ingalls so I have had quite a bit of time to think it over and use it. My car was the test vehicle that was used to make the kit that Ingalls now offers. I believe it works for Both the MS3 and the standard 3 but, as always, confirm before you buy. Should also note that I have no other supporting mods such as tranny mounts, engine mounts or inserts...my car has a CAI....that's it
On to the review
Quality
I have not had an engine damper before but have known a couple people that used them and can report that the quality and materials are excellent on Ingalls. The brackets are very sturdy and quite thick and the damper itself is very nicely designed. New studs/bolts are also provided for the engine mount bracket to ensure a safe amount of thread is available for the bracket...this was a big plus in my book as I have seen kits that re-use the stock hardware. The bracket clears the AC lines just fine and there are no problems with binding anywhere.
Installation
was easy...they did it for me
Can't comment but from the looks it doesn't seem to be very difficult.
Performance
In terms of performance-only results, this thing rocks...or prevents it. It's tough to think of a better way to keep your engine from rocking back and forth in this car. Your choices are limited to some sort of mount or a damper. The Ingalls design (and likely the other brands) uses a single bracket on the engine to mount a damper to a bracket on the strut tower. It's a simple setup but it works great. Immediately after receiving my car back, I could no longer feel the "rocking" sensation when accelerating and also noticed that my shifting seemed improved. The damper is adjustable and allows you to choose how much you want to limit the engine from moving...you may say "no movement at all" but there is more to the story when making those changes, but that's for below. Adjustments are simple and are done via a nut on the back of the device. It's good to have that option as an engine mount is sort of a "all-or-none" solution when you put it on the car. With the damper, you can either adjust it for a road trip or a day at the track. You can even remove the damper from the brackets in under a minute if you like. Overall I can find no downsides or disappointments to the performance of the damper...it's a great upgrade.
NVH... Noise, Vibrations and Harshness
First off, I have not ever had a motor mount on this car so I cannot comment or compare. I have had mounts on other cars and experienced various levels of vibrations that they cause...normally at idle with or without AC.
-In terms of the engine damper causing Vibration, I can say that there is little to none. If you set the damper fairly mildly you will notice no increased vibration at all. However, if you set it so your engine is "one with your strut tower" then the vibrations will certainly appear. But again, the plus side is that it is adjustable. Nobody will likely care about some comfort-issues when you are ripping down or around a track.
-Harshness is tough to say...it's 100% dependent on your own opinion. Mine would be that, overall, it's a little harsh. On a level of 1-10 (1 being stock, 10 being you have stripped your MS3 of all comfort items to shave time off because "you live your life 1/4 mile at a time") it is probably a 2-3 depending on where you have it set at.
-Noise. I left this for last because it's the only thing you will most certainly notice if your car is otherwise stock...and it's expected. When you mount a metal object from your engine to your strut-tower, you can expect some noise to be transferred to your cabin. With that said, the noise was not as bad as I expected. At idle, you notice no change (assuming the more mild settings). At around 3-4K rpm you will definitely notice more motor noise being sent into the cabin...if you stereo is off and you have the windows up. If you are carrying a conversation or have your stereo at least moderately loud, or loud enough to cover the road noise then you will notice no change. I would associate the increased noise to something like having header(s) installed on a NA car. The noise you hear isn't too bad either. You will hear a slight ticking noise (injectors) and then a pleasing growling as your RPM's grow. Whether this is a plus or minus for the damper is up to you. As stated before, the noise increases with the vibrations if you set it to harder setting.
Overall I really like the damper. It's a simple product with great results that also allows you to adjust your NVH and performance. One of the key things I would like to emphasize about this damper, over a mount, is that ability to either remove it completely in under a minute or adjust it to reduce noise/vibes for road trips or times when you want that "stock" feeling. It's really a win/win product in keeping your engine from moving.
Pics were from Ingalls...don't mind my dirty engine.
On to the review
Quality
I have not had an engine damper before but have known a couple people that used them and can report that the quality and materials are excellent on Ingalls. The brackets are very sturdy and quite thick and the damper itself is very nicely designed. New studs/bolts are also provided for the engine mount bracket to ensure a safe amount of thread is available for the bracket...this was a big plus in my book as I have seen kits that re-use the stock hardware. The bracket clears the AC lines just fine and there are no problems with binding anywhere.
Installation
was easy...they did it for me
Can't comment but from the looks it doesn't seem to be very difficult.
Performance
In terms of performance-only results, this thing rocks...or prevents it. It's tough to think of a better way to keep your engine from rocking back and forth in this car. Your choices are limited to some sort of mount or a damper. The Ingalls design (and likely the other brands) uses a single bracket on the engine to mount a damper to a bracket on the strut tower. It's a simple setup but it works great. Immediately after receiving my car back, I could no longer feel the "rocking" sensation when accelerating and also noticed that my shifting seemed improved. The damper is adjustable and allows you to choose how much you want to limit the engine from moving...you may say "no movement at all" but there is more to the story when making those changes, but that's for below. Adjustments are simple and are done via a nut on the back of the device. It's good to have that option as an engine mount is sort of a "all-or-none" solution when you put it on the car. With the damper, you can either adjust it for a road trip or a day at the track. You can even remove the damper from the brackets in under a minute if you like. Overall I can find no downsides or disappointments to the performance of the damper...it's a great upgrade.
NVH... Noise, Vibrations and Harshness
First off, I have not ever had a motor mount on this car so I cannot comment or compare. I have had mounts on other cars and experienced various levels of vibrations that they cause...normally at idle with or without AC.
-In terms of the engine damper causing Vibration, I can say that there is little to none. If you set the damper fairly mildly you will notice no increased vibration at all. However, if you set it so your engine is "one with your strut tower" then the vibrations will certainly appear. But again, the plus side is that it is adjustable. Nobody will likely care about some comfort-issues when you are ripping down or around a track.
-Harshness is tough to say...it's 100% dependent on your own opinion. Mine would be that, overall, it's a little harsh. On a level of 1-10 (1 being stock, 10 being you have stripped your MS3 of all comfort items to shave time off because "you live your life 1/4 mile at a time") it is probably a 2-3 depending on where you have it set at.
-Noise. I left this for last because it's the only thing you will most certainly notice if your car is otherwise stock...and it's expected. When you mount a metal object from your engine to your strut-tower, you can expect some noise to be transferred to your cabin. With that said, the noise was not as bad as I expected. At idle, you notice no change (assuming the more mild settings). At around 3-4K rpm you will definitely notice more motor noise being sent into the cabin...if you stereo is off and you have the windows up. If you are carrying a conversation or have your stereo at least moderately loud, or loud enough to cover the road noise then you will notice no change. I would associate the increased noise to something like having header(s) installed on a NA car. The noise you hear isn't too bad either. You will hear a slight ticking noise (injectors) and then a pleasing growling as your RPM's grow. Whether this is a plus or minus for the damper is up to you. As stated before, the noise increases with the vibrations if you set it to harder setting.
Overall I really like the damper. It's a simple product with great results that also allows you to adjust your NVH and performance. One of the key things I would like to emphasize about this damper, over a mount, is that ability to either remove it completely in under a minute or adjust it to reduce noise/vibes for road trips or times when you want that "stock" feeling. It's really a win/win product in keeping your engine from moving.
Pics were from Ingalls...don't mind my dirty engine.
