Located in Phoenix, Ariz., HASport Performance has been synonymous with innovation in the Honda performance industry since 1998. At HASport, building engine mounts for Hondas isn't a job, it's a full-blown obsession. Along with building engine mounts, HASport offers complete engine swap solutions, which include axles, shift linkage and wiring conversions. Their mission over the years has been to produce the most technologically advanced products that improve performance and safety. There is a reason more magazine project cars use HASport mounts than any other aftermarket manufacturer. It's the same reason the best Honda drag racers choose HASport. HASport has a well-deserved reputation for building the strongest, best-engineered engine mounts in the business. Recently, the guys at HASport gave us a look into how they build their ever-so-famous mounts.
 Before any engineering of...  Before any engineering of car/engine combinations begins, the HASport team finds it useful to first reference how Honda designers orient its engines in the cars they came in originally. Then, for an initial mock up, a motor-less chassis is placed on a lift and the candidate swap motor and transmission on a dolly underneath. The car is lowered over the powerplant and placement of the engine and transmission are scrutinized until the best position is determined. Measurements are made and a first run of prototype mounts and brackets are produced. |  Next, prototyping begins....  Next, prototyping begins. After measurements are made, work begins on the brackets (if needed for the swap). CAD software is used to draw the brackets and a CAD/CAM plasma machine is used to cut the bracket parts to proper size. The brackets are then assembled and mounted in the car. Measurements are made for the mounts and they are created on HASport's manual mill. |  For solid modeling, all the...  For solid modeling, all the parts are drawn in CAD/CAM software. HASport makes full use of current technology to design and produce the best product possible. Mounts are designed and modeled in-house using the industry standard CAD/CAM software, Pro/ENGINEER. Using the integrated design analysis software Pro/MECHANICA, the models can then be tested for structural design optimization. |
 |  After solid models are drawn,...  After solid models are drawn, they are printed on HASport's rapid prototyping printer. The components the printer produces can be used to verify parts were measured, drawn, and prototyped correctly, usually by physically mounting them in the car. |  Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire is then...  Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire is then used for CNC programming so that all tool paths can be optimized, saving valuable machining time. This is a critical step in the process. |
Finally, time for production!
Mounts are CNC machined in-house on one of four HAAS VF-4 Vertical Machining Centers. To increase productivity, automatic pallet changers are incorporated so that non-machining tasks, such as fixture setups and part changeovers, can be performed off-line on one pallet while parts are being machined on the other. This helps HASport keep back orders to a minimum and allows it to offer the best price possible. Custom tooling is also utilized to shorten mill time further.
The mounts are machined from solid 6061-T6 aluminum at tolerances of less than 1/1000th of an inch. Because of heat and warping, welded steel mounts can't hope to duplicate these tolerances. With aluminum's unique combination of strength and light weight, HASport sells a mount that is pound-for-pound much stronger than steel, and looks attractive too. This is why the company offers a lifetime warranty on its engine mounts. Since switching from welded assemblies to machined billet, HASport's warranty rate has been reduced to less than .002 percent.