Thumbs up for Wayne. Great product, nice guy

 

I live about 125 miles from Wayne and have been fortunate enough to spend numerous days with him working on our cars and trucks at his home shop since meeting him through this very forum in October 2014. Both Wayne and Steve (baxtor) have been phenomenal regarding their constant dedication towards creating the absolute best XK8/XKR upper shock mount solution during the past three years. I simply would not run the risk of installing an upper shock mount kit that was anything other than one of theirs. Wayne and Steve have earned our solid trust, and you simply cannot say that about any other supplier at this point....

 

Is this still important to know?

The Bible, specificallyProverbs 16:18, which reads, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall….”

being humble in all things may not be in fashion, but it still may be something to strive for.

Texas, hmmmm…..

 

Good to know. Any warranty for us that bought the yellow ones in the last year?

Also curious how they compare to Wayne and Steve's in terms of durability, ride quality, etc.?

 

I'm honestly surprised that URO listened to the feedback and improved their product. I may have to reconsider your products. I would like to see how these fair. Hopefully they are as good as Wayne and Baxtor's mounts. I can only imagine how many X100 owners that are not members of this forum suffer through constant shock mount failures.

 

I got some of Wayne's mounts for my 2 XKRs and my XK8.
Two sets got put in storage because I bought some URO mounts and installed them on the XKRs before I got the Wayne mounts.

I just looked at the URO mounts on the cars and found out they are the updated darker units.(installed about a year or more ago)

Just figured they would fail soon and I would install the Wayne mounts.

I did just buy a 1998 XK8 and it got the Wayne mounts.

The race is on to see what versions last the longest?

I did install some Wayne mounts on a few customer cars in the last several months.

We shall see.

 

OK, I talked to Tech Support at URO.
I understand they are trying to improve, and the object was to find mounts that would last for a resonantly period of time. Remember, it's still a wear item that will need replacement from time to time.
Don't know how far it will go but I did try to lead them in the right direction. My bad if they take the lead on this, leaving all the molds, equipment and stock setting on the shelf for those of us that have been in the process of keeping the XK8's with decent mounts.
I guess there is still a place for us that rebuild the cores and correct all the problems with the sharp edges that all of the ones I get in have.
I have not talked to Steve yet but feel sure he would or has given them a bit of leadership.
Now, if they will listen, maybe some other things will improve.
I could be wrong in helping but this was an adventure in us trying to help. Pretty sure we did that.

 

You are too nice, I hope the community continues to support you and Baxtor.
wj

 

On June 21 I ordered a front top bushing rebuild kit for my '03 XK8 from Mr. Davis in Australia. As of this writing it has cleared customs and I should receive them shortly. One of my yellow Uro's, which I installed as a Covid project in 2020, failed in short order (strut-top offset to one side). I will rebuild the bushing assembly this summer sometime when I get the nerve to remove the strut, etc., again. I have to say that in the 10K miles I have put on the car since, the car has steered straight and true with no quirks, though the pervasive extra wear on the inner edge of the tires remains (I know, there's a solution for that, too, and I have flipped the tires once already). It just does not sit well to know the center part of the bushing failed so fast. The order and shipping procedure from Australia was painless and efficient - I will report back when I do the rebuild.

 

Hi Doug, no problem, to set up a warranty return exchange for a purchase within the last two years, please email your request with a copy of invoice (being sure the retailer name, order date, order number, part number, and shipping address is visible) to "sales at apaindustries dot com". Please also include a photo(s) showing the flattened / deformed bushing.

We haven't done any comparisons with the Wayne & Steve bushings, but it's safe to assume that their bushings will be more performance-oriented and last longer due to much firmer material, which completely fills the clamshell mount cavity. The drop-in OEM urethane foam bushings about 50A durometer, ours is now 57A, and Wayne said their pour-in solid urethane bushings are in the 70A's. So if someone wants the highest-performance mount available, W&S is still the way to go.

Hope that helps!

 

Well, thank you very much, now that is a great gesture on URO's part.
While you are making the bushings a bit softer, make sure to pay attention to the sharp edges in the hole at the top of the mount and the welds in the bottom. Easy fix in the manufacturing process.
Again, thank you for helping out the Forum members.

 

This is just a little off specific topic but just letting all know a kit to suit REAR top mount in same quality polyurethane is now available.

 

I've been getting the KYB isolators so I'm interested!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Apologies for reviving an older thread, but how can I tell if my car still has the OEM mounts? Is it just a matter of checking the color of the urethane?

Thank you!

 

Color would be a good start. If you have over 75k miles I feel you should replace them no matter the appearance.
wj

 

Measure the distance from the center of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch. New is about 15 5/8". If off by more than 1/2" they may be bad, but the springs will also have sagged, so that could be misleading. Inspect the mounts on top and from the wheel well. If you see crumbling of the material they are definitely bad.

 

Original will most likely be biege to orange with varying degree of crumbling and crispy edges.
Typical aftermarket (URO) will still be soft and bright yellow.
If original they're getting really old and if they're URO they were likely no good very shortly after fitting them.