Best strut mount? - Aftermarket Product Review - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

mike_c · 01-11-2008, 12:09 AM

I've been looking at aftermarket strut mounts for a while. From personal experience or even an engineering standpoint, who offers the best strut mount? Spohn or J&M (also known as the Hotpart strut mount) Quality, performance and fitment wise. If you've tried any of these, please say how it worked out.

The Spohn mount:

Directly from their website:

"These fabricated steel upper strut mounts for the 1982-1992 F-Body feature a QA1 chrome moly spherical bearing with a Teflon®/Kevlar® self lubricating race. We have also built an extra 1/4" of negative camber adjustment into the mounts. The mounts feature CNC machined components and are precision welded. We even include stainless steel mounting nuts!

The mounts are 1" taller than stock to provide extra strut travel for lowered and non-lowered cars. A must for those looking to do some serious corner carving, and you can't beat the trick look they provide to your engine bay!

Specifications:

CNC cut 1/4" steel base plate
4" DOM steel tubing
CNC cut 3/16" steel top hat
CNC machined bearing mount tube - TIG welded
High quality QA1 chrome moly spherical bearing with a Teflon®/Kevlar® self lubricating race
Underside of strut mount includes a coil over spring mount as a std. feature.
Powder coated gloss black for a brilliant and durable finish"

The J&M mount:

Directly from Hawks:

"Needing to take control of your Camaro or Firebirds front suspension. Do it by using a set of J&M Products adjustable caster and camber plates. J&M plates replace the stock rubber strut mount bushings with a spherical bearing, allowing you full control of the suspension geometry. Whether you want your alignment set for track, street, or strip, these plates will allow you to fine tune your suspension so you can get the most out of your car. The bearing mounts are completely adjustable and are 100% Pulse Mig welded for the ultimate in strength, durability, and fit. They also feature a special chrome moly replaceable teflon lined spherical bearing for a noise free quality ride. Now coming with a LIFETIME WARRANTY from craftsmanship and defects. That is right if you are the original owner can bend the plates or wear out the bearings they will be fixed or replaced for free.

J&M Products plates include the following features:

LIFETIME GUARANTEE against bearing failure and main plate bending or breaking.
Slots for adjusting caster and camber independently.
Easy adjustment for Street and Race applications.
Replaceable highest strength chrome moly teflon-lined spherical bearings for noise free performance.
Powder coated for great looks and long lasting protection."

Factory mounts for reference:

How do the Spohn mounts offer more adjustability than the factory parts? They just look like stronger factory mounts. Not a bad thing, but I don't see how they offer more adustability. On the other hand, it's easy to see how the J&M mounts are more adustable than the original mounts. Spohn says it's mount provides an extra inch of strut travel for lowered cars. My car isn't lowered, and it probably never will be. Will this negatively affect handling? I'll be using Tokico Illumina struts. Are there any known compatability issues with either type of mount and these struts?

Thanks for the input,
Mike

customblackbird · 01-11-2008, 01:36 AM

these are good if u have lowered the car and are willing to put the $$ down to make it handle better, not to mention its better for the car. the adustability im not sure. maybe they meant they where built with the 1/4" neg camber adjustability already set... who knows. call them or email them.

the J&M mount shows alot more adjustability and looks more trick but idk if i trust those 4 lil bolts to hold the top adjustability.

u dont need these unless u have lowered the car bc lowering the car pushes the strut piston farther into the strut/shock bc the stance is lower and the rod is already farther down, this also limits the travel of the rod and easily can bottom out and destroy a new strut easily. this gives the strut rod/piston the extra inch of travel that u take away when lowering. both look like good peices but theres no need for yours if u havent lowered it. save ur money

steve's Z28 · 01-11-2008, 01:47 AM

I have the Spohn Strut Mounts on my 1991 Camaro Z28. So far I've had them for a year now with no noise issues. The only thing I remember the from J&M is that their strut mounts wouldn't fit on Bilstein struts, which I'm using on my car. My car is street/daily driver. I would call J&M directly to find out if it will work on you Tokico gas shocks. Their number is 805-239-1558. J&M offers a lifetime warranty on their product vs Spohn offering no warranty. But I chose Spohn because I was using Bilstein struts. The spohn strut mounts are taller than oem to allow for more strut travel and will accomodate a coil-over setup. The feel was like night and day my car feels really good with excellent steering response. Also installing the rear panhard bar and rear lower control made a difference too in handling. Hope this helps

krisb410 · 01-11-2008, 07:56 PM

I bought the Spohn mounts because they are made taller, to allow for more strut travel on lowered cars.

goomaan · 01-11-2008, 09:24 PM

I am all stock and need new Strut mounts where can I get a good buy on the Spohn mount?

Thanks
G

hotpart · 01-11-2008, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve's Z28

I have the Spohn Strut Mounts on my 1991 Camaro Z28. So far I've had them for a year now with no noise issues. The only thing I remember the from J&M is that their strut mounts wouldn't fit on Bilstein struts, which I'm using on my car. My car is street/daily driver. I would call J&M directly to find out if it will work on you Tokico gas shocks. Their number is 805-239-1558. J&M offers a lifetime warranty on their product vs Spohn offering no warranty. But I chose Spohn because I was using Bilstein struts. The spohn strut mounts are taller than oem to allow for more strut travel and will accomodate a coil-over setup. The feel was like night and day my car feels really good with excellent steering response. Also installing the rear panhard bar and rear lower control made a difference too in handling. Hope this helps

The J&M mounts work with any strut including the bilstein.

Quote:

Originally Posted by customblackbird

the J&M mount shows alot more adjustability and looks more trick but idk if i trust those 4 lil bolts to hold the top adjustability.

Those four little screws are the same size that the factory uses to hold down the whole camber plate assembly to keep it from moving and they are only using 3 of them. There is a difference because we also use 180,000 psi bolts instead of grade 10.9 which are only 150,000 bolts. We have never had one move on a street car or the race cars that use our plates.

JamesC · 01-11-2008, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by goomaan

I am all stock and need new Strut mounts where can I get a good buy on the Spohn mount?

From Spohn's website?

JamesC

racing geek · 01-13-2008, 12:42 AM

I plan on putting some koni yellows on my car and replacing the strut mounts and springs. I'm torn between Spohn and J&M. I like the fact that Spohn offers the extra inch to compinsate for lowered cars but I also like the fact that J&M is willing to give a lifetime warrenty. If someone could find out what benefit the 1/4" of negative camber gives/means that would be great. I guess so far I'm leaning toward J&M just because of the warrenty.

TPI TERR · 01-13-2008, 01:55 AM

Thought i would add some input, I was concerned with daily drive use and ride quality,here's some info and great points...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobItzaboy

Thats a loaded question and I'll explain why.
Ride quality is in the eyes of the beholder. You want soft Cadillac forgiving ride then keep your older worn out factory strut mounts because that old worn rubber will absorb some of the initial bump impact undampered and give a bit more feely until the rubber flexes to a point where the strut begins to damper.

Handling wise and performance? It takes out all the undampered slop that causes the chassis to bounce freely in a tad bit of up and down no mans land of rubber bushing defection. Your tires can travel up and down as much as 1 full inch undampered if those factory mounts are than worn. Replacing them with solid mounts and then bouncing on the fender of the same car will make it much more firm.

Now as for taking out thhe basket ball dribble after a bump? Yes that does help eliminate this undampered travel and smooth the car back to a settled chassis quicker. Its a give and take opinion.

My question is, does the added 1 inch travel of Pshon's units compensate for better comfort/ride quality vs. the dampening/absorbing effect the OEM?rubber mounts have?

RU-QWIK · 01-14-2008, 11:55 PM

I have J&M's on my Camaro ( Thank you Brian !! ) He used my car to do the mock up for prototyping these things. He has since revised them and they are even better than the old version I have... The version I have is far better than factory, so the newer, shown above, will assure you a great part!

If it matters, I am running Koni red struts on the front...

Jason

EGG · 01-15-2008, 09:22 AM

I have the J&M strut mounts, but yet to go on the car. Might be a job for this weekend, so I'll post how it goes if I get onto it.

TheScaryOne · 01-15-2008, 11:45 AM

If I remember Dean is running the Spohn mounts currently, and is switching over to the J&M ones. He pokes around here once in a while, and will probably comment. I think he mentioned something about it in another thread. Lemme look.

Edit: Found the thread.

Linky: http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/su...rut-mount.html (Spohn upper strut mount, yes I searched)

goomaan · 01-18-2008, 09:35 PM

Ok you guys I am sold and went with the J&Ms. I will post as soon as I get them in.

Hmmmm maybe now I will go for new struts tooo... WHy can't one thing not lead to another arggggggggggggggggg

stage20 · 01-19-2008, 02:45 PM

ive seen where PA racing is also selling a set of mounts as well.
they are decently priced, but ive seen some pics..... welds are not up to par with what id want on my car. not saying his welds wont hold, they just arent show quality.

i chose the spohn versions based on his coilover kit.
dont think you can go wrong either way. quality pieces.

SLP_GTA · 01-19-2008, 04:17 PM

why does the J&Ms use spacers where the spohns mount flat like the stockers??

racing geek · 01-19-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLP_GTA

why does the J&Ms use spacers where the spohns mount flat like the stockers??

Maybe that is their way of raising it up so it can be like the 1in taller than stock Spohn mounts.

//<86TA>\\ · 01-19-2008, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLP_GTA

why does the J&Ms use spacers where the spohns mount flat like the stockers??

the old style J+M plates use the spacers cause they are made out of a piece of flat plate. the new ones, along with the spohn pieces, have a raised cylinder in the center to accommodate the shock and raise the mount to the required height

krisb410 · 01-20-2008, 06:36 PM

But the Spohn mounts are about 1 inch taller. Just to point out details

hotpart · 01-20-2008, 11:45 PM

I have never seen a Spohn piece other than photos. I am going to point out to look at the location of the bearings. The way that Spohns bearing is mounted it reduces the amount of travel gained by raising it. The bearing and bearing housing will take up space (aprox. 1 inch give or take). Again I do not know the dimension of theirs so this is just an observation.

krisb410 · 01-21-2008, 12:59 PM

How would it reduce travel by raising the bearing an inch or so. I would think it would increase the travel, especially when you lower the car with lowering springs. I would think if you lower the car about an inch with springs, that the taller Spohn strut mount would give you that inch of travel back. Please explain, am I missing something?

hotpart · 01-21-2008, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krisb410

How would it reduce travel by raising the bearing an inch or so. I would think it would increase the travel, especially when you lower the car with lowering springs. I would think if you lower the car about an inch with springs, that the taller Spohn strut mount would give you that inch of travel back. Please explain, am I missing something?

What I am saying is to look at the how the bearing is placed on the Spohn mounts in relation to ours. Theirs is mounted underneath the top bearing plate which will reduce the clearance of the strut to bearing by the amount of their bearing housing length. Ours is mounted above our top caster mounting plate so you do not loose the clearance gained by making the main tube longer. You will not gain any bump travel with either plate when you lower your car if you do not trim your bumpstop. Hope this makes sense.

I H8 WWD · 01-21-2008, 02:07 PM

I kind of skimmed through this topic but read most so if I mention something already dicussed or answered please just post the answer..thank you.

Okay, I was looking to do a coil-over for my camaro as it will be drift/ daily driver. Thing is I wanted spohn as they have the coil-over setup, thats bolt in and no need of mods, now could I get these coil-overs (which use QA1 crap I guess) and match them to hotpart's mounts?

Also since hotpart say QA1 is crap, what coil-overs would you recommend to get to help me with my drifting possibilities?

Also, does the hotpart's mounts provide the extra 1" or not or some sort of extra travel. I WILL be lowering my car on coil-overs (and racecraft 2" drop spindles) as soon as i find out which CO's are best. Thanks for all info.

stage20 · 01-21-2008, 07:27 PM

here lots of good things about hypercoils, but all drag oriented. im not sure they offer stiff springs or not. never checked into the higher rates.
you dont need the spohn kit if you know how to work with steel plate(or know someone) spohns plates are really nice. im sure its not failsafe, even with the bracing, but its better than nothing. strut tower brace is a must as well if you are roadracing it.
you can get all the coilover specific parts or kit off afcos website.
summit stocks most of it too, but the price is near the same.
depends on who ships it faster i guess.
buy all the hard parts from afco, then source springs elsewhere.

krisb410 · 01-22-2008, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hotpart

What I am saying is to look at the how the bearing is placed on the Spohn mounts in relation to ours. Theirs is mounted underneath the top bearing plate which will reduce the clearance of the strut to bearing by the amount of their bearing housing length. Ours is mounted above our top caster mounting plate so you do not loose the clearance gained by making the main tube longer. You will not gain any bump travel with either plate when you lower your car if you do not trim your bumpstop. Hope this makes sense.

I realize that the bearing is mounted underneath, but it's a lot taller than your product, so I would think that if Spohn states that increases their product increases travel by 1 inch, that the mount is 1 inch taller + the width of the bearing, therefore, still allowing the extra inch of travel. Would it help if I measured the overall height of it so you have a comparison?