Motor Plate and Engine Placement
Often, we get asked to mount a engine and transmission on motor plates. We thought we would make this post to answer some questions and why it is time consuming but very important to the performance of the car.
Mounting a engine on plates does take time. No doubt about that.
The engine is not just set on the original k-member and plates get welded where it sits.
The motor is strategically placed for the proper weight distribution, crank center line height, and drivetrain angle for the type of racing you do, or want to do. Which requires us to plate the frame or subframe and make custom mounts for the plates. Usually around steering components and headers.
Next question we ask, is If the motor will be centered or not. Most drivetrains are offset to the passenger side 3/4 to 1.5 inches. If your going to a center pinion rear end housing we can set the engine in the center, if not, we will offset the drivetrain to match the rear end housing. This imaginary line that is ran down the center of the drivetrain needs to stay inline. Any variance can cause issues.
Yes you will need a new trans crossmember. You may have enough adjustabilitly to use your existing mount. Most of the time a new one will need to be made.
Yes, the tunnel may need clearanced. With the tunnel being offset with the stock drivetrain, means that if we center the drivetrain to the car, you may run into clearance issues on the driver side with the shifter cable or bellhousing. This is dependent on the type of car and drivetrain used. Driveshaft clearance can come into play also.
Motor plates help keep cylinder distortion to a minimum. As there is no engine mount pulling on the middle cylinders. Motor plates are very rigid and absorb less power which in turn allows the car to put that power to the ground.
There is a lot that goes into mounting a motor and transmission on plates. Which is why it is a time consuming job. But can make a huge difference on how the car acts at the track and can be the difference between struggling with a setup or making clean passes.
Mounting a engine on plates does take time. No doubt about that.
The engine is not just set on the original k-member and plates get welded where it sits.
The motor is strategically placed for the proper weight distribution, crank center line height, and drivetrain angle for the type of racing you do, or want to do. Which requires us to plate the frame or subframe and make custom mounts for the plates. Usually around steering components and headers.
Next question we ask, is If the motor will be centered or not. Most drivetrains are offset to the passenger side 3/4 to 1.5 inches. If your going to a center pinion rear end housing we can set the engine in the center, if not, we will offset the drivetrain to match the rear end housing. This imaginary line that is ran down the center of the drivetrain needs to stay inline. Any variance can cause issues.
Yes you will need a new trans crossmember. You may have enough adjustabilitly to use your existing mount. Most of the time a new one will need to be made.
Yes, the tunnel may need clearanced. With the tunnel being offset with the stock drivetrain, means that if we center the drivetrain to the car, you may run into clearance issues on the driver side with the shifter cable or bellhousing. This is dependent on the type of car and drivetrain used. Driveshaft clearance can come into play also.
Motor plates help keep cylinder distortion to a minimum. As there is no engine mount pulling on the middle cylinders. Motor plates are very rigid and absorb less power which in turn allows the car to put that power to the ground.
There is a lot that goes into mounting a motor and transmission on plates. Which is why it is a time consuming job. But can make a huge difference on how the car acts at the track and can be the difference between struggling with a setup or making clean passes.
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