You could always just machine up some solid aluminium mounts :) I have a lathe! Haha.

Good stuff tho, and well done getting under there and fitting them personally :) I might look into something like this myself at some stage as I suspect mine are worn out

Today I removed the rear engine mount again and it took less than half the time of my first attempt. I realised that I could move the wrench in a totally different location (handle aimed upwards into the engine bay instead of rearwards and downwards) to undo the centre bolt through the mount, so I didn't have to touch the oil cooler at all this time. I wish I thought of that before, as it was quite easy this time around!
 
So now I have both the front and rear engine mounts sitting on the bench, with the engine supported by a jack to reduce stress on the left and right mounts in the meantime, so all I have to do is quickly reinstall the mounts with the Kirkosaurus inserts after they arrive.
 
After it's all done I'll go for a test drive to make sure I'm happy with the Kirkosaurus inserts before I commit to not using the R&T mounts.

Just read this whole thread from start to finish in one sitting. Learned a lot, thanks Rob! Amazing car - I envy the persistence and effort you've put into this build. I hope to be in your shoes one day (and financially too haha!)

Unbelievable power figures - I'm glad I read all of the thread so I could follow through and see what was making the power,etc and how everything came together. I'm still pretty new (especially to turbo engines) so I'm slowly figuring out how they work and why people do what mods and what it affects,etc. - I don't full understand how the W2A coolers work but I can see that it was definitely the right choice. Shame you had to do it twice though haha

Do you detail the car often? I see you went to a self service car wash earlier - the only reason I ask is because the paint on this car looks so good, I assumed you did. But every detailer knows to never use a self service car wash haha (not that I am one)

Hoonsy
Just read this whole thread from start to finish in one sitting. Learned a lot, thanks Rob! Amazing car - I envy the persistence and effort you've put into this build. I hope to be in your shoes one day (and financially too haha!)
Unbelievable power figures - I'm glad I read all of the thread so I could follow through and see what was making the power,etc and how everything came together. I'm still pretty new (especially to turbo engines) so I'm slowly figuring out how they work and why people do what mods and what it affects,etc.

Thanks for reading! It must've taken a while haha. I'm pleased that you learned a lot from this thread, because one of the reasons why I go into so much detail is for the benefit of others. Another reason is so I can look back and be reminded just how far the car has come since I've owned it.
 

Hoonsy
I don't full understand how the W2A coolers work but I can see that it was definitely the right choice. Shame you had to do it twice though haha

If I had listened to the advice of others on this forum, then I would've done it right the first time  but having said that, my power goal was lower the first time around, so I still would've changed the intercooler setup in some way the second time around no matter what.
BTW, if you have any specific questions about how A2W intercoolers work to help your understanding, just ask away.
 

Hoonsy
Do you detail the car often? I see you went to a self service car wash earlier - the only reason I ask is because the paint on this car looks so good, I assumed you did. But every detailer knows to never use a self service car wash haha (not that I am one)

The paint isn't perfect, but the overall condition is very good compared to an average car of the same age.
Admittedly I used those self service car wash places occasionally in the past, but now I always do it properly at home using the 2 bucket method as I should.
Unfortunately black cars are extremely difficult to keep clean. I still love them because they look amazing when they are clean, but they get visibly dirty again very quicklythis makes it hard to get motivated to wash the car each time knowing that it will be dirty again in no time.
I always try to put a positive spin on it though, because if the car starts getting dirty it means that I'm driving the car as often as I should.

Took me a fair while haha, but I was very very interested so I was happy to spend the time. 
As for the A2W intercoolers, I'm search them up and learn how they work - I generally rely on this YouTube guy by the name of Engineering Explained. That's the only source I can truly learn/understand the content from haha


Good to hear you put effort into cleaning the car now. Wish I did, I don't use the two bucket method due to laziness. And I can only ever wash my car in the sun (no shade unless I go to self service in which case, bye bye wax) so I feel like there's barely any point trying, always ends up with streaks, etc.  Wanted to do a full detail of my car incl. clay, cut, polish and wax but again, it has to be in the sun so I'm really doubtful it's worth it!

Engineering Explained is a great YouTube channel, I've been a subscriber for ages!

Today I finally had a chance to go for a (long and varied) drive to try out the Kirkosaurus urethane torque mount inserts. I love them!
 
If you don't know what they are, the Kirkosaurus "motor mount inserts" are pieces of moulded urethane which you push into both sides of the standard front and rear torque mounts. They fill in the voids around the rubber in the standard mounts, and firm up the mounts in general. Note that the left and right engine mounts remain unchanged, as they only hold the weight of the engine.
 
There's a subtle change in vibration through the chassis, particularly at idle as expected, but I don't find it annoying. If anything it makes me feel more connected with the car and the engine, in a good way. Some people may react more negatively though, especially in cars with less modifications.
 
The added firmness of the torque mounts has significantly improved the feel of the car in many ways, such as:
 
- When pulling away normally from traffic lights, it is much easier to pull away smoothly because the engine doesn't rock back and forth so much. Previously if I did a not-so-smooth take off, I always assumed that it was caused by me and the clutch, but in fact it was the torque mounts all along.
 
- If a gear change isn't quite perfect, I was expecting it to feel worse and more harsh due to the harder torque mount inserts, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that every gear change actually feels better now, because the engine isn't moving so much.
 
- When approaching the exit of a corner and getting back on the throttle, the entire car feels a little more stable because there is less weight transfer of the engine in the torque mounts.
 
- Of course there is also the benefit of improved throttle response. This is the main thing that people advertise and talk about, but I actually noticed all of the above improvements before I noticed this.
 
I had no idea just how much my worn torque mounts were having a negative effect on the feel of the car in so many ways! There were many things that I assumed were normal until I installed the urethane torque mount inserts. It's hard to say whether my standard engine mounts were worse than average or normal for their age (when not using all of the torque that my car has compared to stock). Upon visual inspection of my standard torque mounts, the rubber was still intact and attached at all corners, with some cracks which I never would've expected to allow as much movement as they did.

Great report Rob. I'm going to try filling the voids of the mounts on my ST205 with Polyurethane now, because I do get a bit of clutch shudder when I take off when cold. This may help. Polyurethane is awesome stuff.

That looks easy enough, and sounds like it makes an awesome improvement. I'll definitely give this a go in the future (waste on an N/A)

I found the same benefits Rob when I had them fitted to my SW20 a long time ago. When I later replaced the Kirk inserts with complete TRD mounts it was pretty much the same feeling as far as gear changes and throttle response etc. 
 
What are you doing with the R&T ones? Wanna sell em to me? Would be a nice upgrade for the small AW11 front and rear torque mounts currently holding the 3S.