Ingalls D17 Engine Torque Damper

Hey kiddies, so after all the bad luck with the car I was able to install the Ingalls engine damper I got from BattleEndless a couple of weeks ago. I paid just over two bills for it, sounds pretty expensive considering it's a tiny shock on a pair of brackets, right? I thought so too, but I read a few reviews on www.7thgencivic.com and those who have it love it, so I figured it was worth a try.

I followed the instructions inside the package for the engine damper, they were pretty adequate. However Ingalls makes this damper for the DX/LX Civics, which don't have ABS, and on top of that anyone with a manual tranny would have to relocate the clutch fluid reservoir too! Such a pain! But then I found someone who had installed it on his ABS-equipped manual-tranny car, and guess what, it fits with some finagling, you'll see in the attached pics.

The bracket that bolts on to the strut tower bolts is pretty beefy, you'll notice by its thickness that if you have stock struts and a strut bar the 14mm nuts that would go on the strut bolts might not fit. I have a Megan coilover setup however, and the bolts are plenty long. I placed a couple of stainless steel washers on the bolts that held the Neuspeed strut bar but didn't mount to the Ingalls bracket, in order to keep the bar at its intended mounting position, if displaced higher by around 1/4". This is where install took the longest, as finessing the Neuspeed bar onto the car again (no swivel points!!!) is made even harder once the Ingalls mount is installed. The bracket that mounts above the driver's side engine mount is equally thick, but easier to install, just loosen a nut at a time then install the Ingalls nuts and washers.

Once the brackets were mounted, I also had a hard time mounting the actual damper. Again, this kit was designed for cars NOT equipped with ABS, and as such I had to do a lot of maneuvering with wrenches and ratchet drivers just to get this sucker tightened. I had to drive for a day with the strut-side damper mount loose until I could get to Canadian Tire and grab a long 5/8" wrench. During that time I ended up breaking a rubber washer on the strut side, I'll have to replace it but there don't seem to be any ill effect right now.

And now of course for the true test - driving experience. Once I got this damper installed, the effects were immediately noticable. Shifting into first gear and easing off the clutch with some throttle I felt the whole car vibrating, as opposed to feeling the engine rocking back and forth as it started. This was due to the engine being VERY restricted in motion now, and makes up for the very mushy stock engine mounts. Every shift feels super-solid, and there is NO wheel hop. I repeat, NO wheel hop. I expected a little bump as I dropped the clutch and stomped the accelerator, but all she did was spin her front tires. I can actually start from 2nd gear and instead of the chattering, stuttering, rumbling start given from the engine and transmission, I got a smooth vibration through the car for a second but then she would get up to speed without complaint. Even accelerating quickly from moderate rpm's or downshifting on the highway were given improved feel. The effect is that your connection to the engine feels beyond direct, it actually feels like the engine is on solid mounts. I have to admit, it's a little addictive. I don't think I can actually live without this item. Shifting and acceleration are smoother, if not faster or easier.

Drawbacks? Well, this is what might keep many people from buying this damper. First, the vibrations. On the highway vibration is more than tolerable, and in fact could even be insignificant if you have a loud humming exhaust and intake. However, at idle and very low speeds you'll find a lot more gentle vibration in your steering wheel. It's not so bad really, I can tolerate it, but then again I'm also used to a super-stiff suspension so your comfort level will be the ultimate factor. You'll hear a little rattling on idle sometimes too. Once I get my valve adjustment and another oil change that vibration should calm down noticably; I also should replace that washer before I say the damper kit is noisy. Another con of this kit is the installation - it's a pain in the posterior to mount this sucker when the already-super-packed engine bay is even more restricted by the ABS module, which Ingalls doesn't even make provision for in their packaged instructions.

So overall I have to give this item a 9/10, probably the best mod my engine bay has seen since the Neuspeed strut bar. The added vibrations at idle are a very small price to pay for the improved feel of acceleration and shifting. Would I recommend it to everyone? No, if you drive an auto or just don't drive that hard, then there's no point adding the vibration or noise this thing introduces into the engine bay. But again, if you like a direct feel to your driving and just want that last little bit of "tightness" added to the experience, this damper is IT for you, give it a try. Performance junkies will NOT be disappointed!!!!

Oh btw, the pics...

You can see the silver damper here. Note as well the zip-tied hoses; they were rattling against the damper.


You can see here how close the damper is to the ABS unit. In fact it's touching.


A not-so-clear shot of the motor-side bracket. Note the lack of cover on my cam gear, due to the motor mount reinstall earlier this week:


Another not-so-clear shot:


Full engine bay shot, you can see my repainted EM heatshield, courtesy of EL-Driver.


Strut-side mounting bracket, please excuse the filthy grease everywhere:


Another engine bay shot:


Directly above:


Here I'm pushing aside the power steering hose so you can see how the damper mounts to the bracket:


Just imagine trying to tighten that nut and the bolt below with just wrenches; can YOU find enough room to stick them in?

Nice write up Telly. I will definitely look into this in the near future.

looks nice man props... this really makes me miss my car though ( smashed it :'( )

nice write up man. that looks like it was a pretty big pain the ass to install.

Awesome!! I have been wanting to purchase one of those things for a long time, and know no-one that has purchased one to see if it was worth while. I have heard that placing some "Brown Bread" or some other sound deadener between the mounting bracket and the body of the car will eliminate some of the unwanted vibration.

^^ I actually heard that as well, I may try it if I feel up to removing the bracket again (pain in the ass).

But you say in your other thread that there is vibration coming from the engine bay now?

I was thinking of getting this too because my engine shakes like a stripper on amateur night.

LOL this will NOT help engine vibration, it will simply transfer the vibration from just the engine mounts/tranny/axles/anything directly connected to the engine, and instead since now the CHASSIS is directly connected to the engine the whole chassis will vibrate. It sounds bad but really it's pretty tolerable, definitely worth it when you notice the feel when accelerating is much more direct. Come by the house this week Ian, you can take 'er for a boot.

But wont this vibration cause some of the bolts to run loose, like the gear box bolts or even on the starter. I would think this would more apply for a race car than a daily driver.

nice review will, glad everything turned out well