Cadillac CTS-V - UMI solid motor mounts are shorter than stock???

Well....
I'm in the middle of a motor mount swap on my car and my buddy has it all torn apart. Headers off, everything undone and the motor up. The stock mounts were beyond bad and the header was tapping the steering shaft so i was in a hurry to get it taken care of. I have the UMI solid motor mounts (the red steel ones similar to RC51's design) and as he was putting them in, he realized they were much shorter dropping the motor between 1" to an 1 1/2" lower than stock height making the headers even more of a problem with clearing the steering shaft and bringing them much closer to the ground which means i'd prob be dragging them everywhere.

I obviously cant use these mounts anymore and they are brand new in the box. Anyone else using the UMI solid motor mounts?? Did y'all notice the motor dropped much lower than factory height when installed??

Im not going back with the factory garbage mounts so what other options do i have? I really want solid mounts but I need some that will keep the motor at factory height to avoid clearance issues!

I know i can go creative steel or UUC poly mounts but i keep hearing bad things about them melting, the bolts ripping out of the urethane, etc.

I dont want to have to do this every 20-30k miles. Not that i will have the car that long but i want to fix it with something permanent and sturdy. Car is stuck on the rack at my buddies shop so i need a replacement quick.

What do you guys suggest??

Here are the exact mounts i have....

http://www.umiperformance.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=266&products_id=607&zenid=a2spqb6v5ro73v65685thkpjt1

1-1.5" shorter is a pretty drastic difference. I'd be VERY surprised if they were that much different from OEM.

Those were my thoughts. He mocked them up without completely bolting them in and then put them side by side with the stock mounts and then called and said it looks like they are going to be much shorter than stock. He hasn't bolted them all the way in yet though so we might try that tonight.

I've been googling UMI mounts on CTS-V's and haven't read anything about them lowering the motor that much and i can see in some of the signatures that other guys running them also have long tube headers so they gotta work. I don't think there is an inch between the oil pan and that crossmember under there and if there is, thats about all the room between the two to spare so they cant drop it that low.

Just wanted to see if anyone else had issues upon install with them lowering the motor or having clearance issues with their headers?

I just had them installed in my car last weekend and the tech made no mention of them being significantly smaller in size. Granted I haven't looked closely, but my engine doesn't appear to sit any lower now than it did prior. I don't have headers right now so I can't comment on that though. I have the stock mounts in a box in my garage and I can measure them to see what the height is, but I don't have a measurement for the height of the UMI mounts.

First issue I have heard. My headers rubbed my stearing shaft with stock mounts, UUC mounts and would have with my RC51's if I had not clearanced them for the UUC's. I would just set them in and see what it looks like before I jumped to conclusions.

Thanks for the help guys! Been googling reviews on the mounts and haven't read anything negative about them. I'm going to give them a shot and see how they look once installed. I still have my stock mounts that came off the car so when i get down to the shop, I'll take a close look myself.

My 1 7/8 headers were rubbing the shaft with my stock mounts. Not 100% rub but tapping it as the motor would rock due to the cam and the bad stock mounts.

How can i make clearance for the headers if they are gonna rub with these mounts? Knock a dent in them to make more room? I've read that people have done that but i'd really prefer to not damage the headers if its not necessary.

That's about the only way.

Damn... These headers are too pretty to beat on... :(

I don't remember them being shorter, but looking back at my pictures when i did the install they may have been (although i don't know about 1-1.5"), (obviously the broken portion would sit well down into the mount with weight on it.)

Also a note for others, besides a little clunk you could not tell that both stock mounts looked like this until i took them out.

No headers so i can't help you there.

Looks like they might be a little shorter but it's hard to tell since the stock ones compress when installed.

Thanks for the pic man! We're just gonna give em a shot and see how the headers fit afterward. If I need to dent that outer tube just a tad to clear the steering shaft I will but I really hope we don't have to do that!

Update... My buddy got the mounts in. Headers will be installed tomorrow. If there are clearance issues, we're gonna try to shim the mounts up a tad if possible. Basically anything other than smashing my header tube for clearance. That will be last resort. Fingers crossed everything bolts up and clears!!

good luck man i hope it goes well for ya

Hunter just bolted on a my Pacesetters and UMI mounts...and the line up no problems!

Sweet! We didn't get a chance to mess with it this weekend but it'll be back together tomorrow I hope. He said there shouldn't be any issues looking at it now that the mounts are in so I'm hoping that's the case!

let us know how annoying the vibs are at idle..

I dont even care about vibrations. Lol The power this car puts down makes solid mounts more than necessary. Im not going to deal with the poly mounts melting or coming apart like ive seen people complain about. Id rather the car be nice and solid. A little vibration is expected considering the cam size...

I did an install using these mounts in an 06 ctsv. They were shorter. And I can see the difference in the engine height after the install. Didn't seem to affect its drivability/performance.

I really dont mind if its lower. I just dont want any clearance issues with the headers. As long as the headers clear... Im happy. lol

let us know how annoying the vibs are at idle..


The "annoyance" level of the vibrations is highly subjective.. Bottom line is, you go to a solid motor mount, you get more vibrations transmitted from the engine through the chassis.

Engine vibes are definitely more noticeable at idle, and also at various RPM ranges. I find the vibrations to be most "resonant" or strongest in the following RPM ranges; 650-700 if the idle dips, or if I'm too light on the gas from a stop, and also from between 2000 and 2250 RPMs.

You'll probably hear a couple new interior rattles after installing them.

Do the vibrations annoy me? Nope. Do I know other people who they would annoy the hell out of? Yup.

The vibrations cant be any worse than my what my busted stockers transmit.

well i have the CS mounts installed right now.. im pretty sure they are sagging ..

when the CS mounts were fresh, the headers had clearance. this fixed the rubbing on the steering shaft i was getting because of the busted stockers.. now im getting alittle interference turning right. nothing as bad as the stock MM but not right

Even if i dent the headers.. it still wont make a difference b/c they are DEI wrapped..

The vibrations cant be any worse than my what my busted stockers transmit.

They may not be "worse" per se, but they'll be "different". The vibrations you get from busted motor mounts are generally of a lower frequency and more "jerky" or have a "rocking" maybe clunking feel to them.

The vibrations you will feel with stiff solid mounts are higher frequency, more like a strong buzzing. Think more like a phone set to "vibrate" but multiply it by 10.

Vibrations are not my concern. I'll be happier knowing everything is solid and wont be clunking around up there anymore like it was with my busted stockers.

Looks like we will need to clearance the header afterall. Motor mounts did drop the motor a tad. The guys with headers that didn't have clearance issues are prob running 1-3/4. My 1-7/8 are a tight fit and I'll have to dent the header tube just a tad to make it work.