Dog bones and engine mounts

**genebaby** · 23-11-2024, 12:29 PM

Doing some research in preparation for a Galano tune with stage 2 mods.

I'm thinking of getting some kind of dog bone upgrad and possibly engine and transmission mounts?

I don't often floor it, just want to know things are good in those key areas should I need to, so you don't get that "the engine has fallen out of the car" feeling, which is possible even on stock power.

Daily use and comfort are still required and it seems this is possible to some extent, just wondering who has done what and what is recommended.

Thanks

**petemac110** · 24-11-2024, 01:31 PM

I recently replaced the 85K old engine transmission mounts on my B8 Passat (same MQB chassis as the Mk7) with OEM-equivalent replacements, and also fitted a Powerflex "diesel" 65 shore poly dogbone insert which is their most flexible version. The yellow coloured insert is what most people would use.

The new engine mounts helped to make the engine and gearbox feel a bit less decoupled from the chassis, and the original items were noticeably worn and floppy. However. the star of the show is the Powerflex insert. You do get little bit of NVH during clutch take-up when reversing, and occasionally during normal driving, but it has removed all the slop inherent in factory MQB cars. I'm happy with a slight NVH trade-off given that the driveline actually feels bolted to the car, rather than attached via rubber bands!

My car has stage 1 ECU and TCU tunes, along with a throttle controller. It's a snappy little package and it highlighted the weaknesses in the factory setup.

Very, very happy indeed.

The engine and DSG mounts took about 2.5 hours from go to whoa, and the powerflex insert took less than 10 minutes to actually install, with more time taken to get the car up on ramps!

Dog bones and engine mounts-462550790_1028824102329647_913756263544208140_n-jpg

**Anarki2010** · 01-12-2024, 05:11 PM

I also went with the red Powerflex in my GTI and was happy with the results. It completely eliminated the wheel hop i was getting with no noticable increase in NVH. After going stage 1 tcu/ecu my engine mounts were shagged and i replaced them with 034 street density. It definately felt more firm/planted afterwards however it did increase NVH at idle and reverse which now annoys me after comparing to how smooth my wifes Tiguan R is. If i was doing it again i'd still go the red powerflex but either just go with fresh OEM mounts or try the BFI mounts.

**genebaby** · 01-12-2024, 06:34 PM

Thanks guys, the Powerflex sounds great, and I will definitely go with that. I'll source one to have ready when the time comes. My car is a 2020, is that enough to know which version of the mount I'll need without looking?

I "think" my engine mounts are ok, just about to hit 40K of pretty easy driving.

Maybe the BFI stage 1 is a good idea, to go with the extra power, but be good on NVH?

**Lucas_R** · 02-12-2024, 09:17 AM

I had the 034 Motorsports aluminium dog bone insert in my Mk7 GTI and was very happy with it. I experimented with multiple poly dog bone mounts when I had my Mk6 R and GTI several years back and didnt like them - they were always too stiff (even the softest ones) and had horrible NVH tradeoff's (when idling and even worse with the a/c on). Another negative about the poly inserts is that you literally cannot remove them without destroying them - so if you don't like it then it goes into the bin in several pieces.

So when I started modifying the Mk7 I didn't even consider a poly mount - I was only looking at the alloy ones.

The alloy ones can be removed if you decide you dont like it, and they do a great job of stiffening up the mount to reduce engine movement and axle tramp (wheel hop) with the front wheels. When my Mk7 GTI broke traction it was smooth and there was no axle tramp.

Not sure if your GTI has the LSD, but if not, you will find it quite frustrating to drive with stage 2 power with the standard open diff. My GTI was the Performance version with the LSD / bigger brakes etc and the LSD really is necessary at those power levels, especially in gears 1-2-3 when the car can brake traction.

**petemac110** · 02-12-2024, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by genebaby

My car is a 2020, is that enough to know which version of the mount I'll need without looking?

You'll need to check - there are variations in dogbones within the same year models.

The easiest option without jacking up your car is to set your phone to video recording mode, and slide it underneath the car on a piece of carboard or similar.

**genebaby** · 02-12-2024, 02:44 PM

Originally Posted by Lucas_R

I had the 034 Motorsports aluminium dog bone insert in my Mk7 GTI and was very happy with it. I experimented with multiple poly dog bone mounts when I had my Mk6 R and GTI several years back and didnt like them - they were always too stiff (even the softest ones) and had horrible NVH tradeoff's (when idling and even worse with the a/c on). Another negative about the poly inserts is that you literally cannot remove them without destroying them - so if you don't like it then it goes into the bin in several pieces.

So when I started modifying the Mk7 I didn't even consider a poly mount - I was only looking at the alloy ones.

The alloy ones can be removed if you decide you dont like it, and they do a great job of stiffening up the mount to reduce engine movement and axle tramp (wheel hop) with the front wheels. When my Mk7 GTI broke traction it was smooth and there was no axle tramp.

Not sure if your GTI has the LSD, but if not, you will find it quite frustrating to drive with stage 2 power with the standard open diff. My GTI was the Performance version with the LSD / bigger brakes etc and the LSD really is necessary at those power levels, especially in gears 1-2-3 when the car can brake traction.

The NVH wasn't crazy with a metal insert? I can imagine it would work, but with a lot more NVH.

**genebaby** · 02-12-2024, 02:45 PM

Originally Posted by petemac110

You'll need to check - there are variations in dogbones within the same year models.

The easiest option without jacking up your car is to set your phone to video recording mode, and slide it underneath the car on a piece of carboard or similar.

Thanks, good idea on the video trick.

**Lucas_R** · 03-12-2024, 08:36 AM

Originally Posted by genebaby

The NVH wasn't crazy with a metal insert? I can imagine it would work, but with a lot more NVH.

Not at all - no noticeable NVH changes (and im very sensitive to NVH as I hate it). This is the one I had. 034Motorsport Billet Aluminium MQB Dogbone Mount Insert Version 1 '-' VW Mk7 Audi 8V | AutoInstruct

In my opinion it was better than any of the poly inserts I had used when I had my Mk6 Golf's. But, if you do decide to get the poly insert, id recommend the softest version they have (mentioned by petemac110 in his post above).