NVH-fighting plastic EV motor mount wins lightweighting award

Most motor mounts, even for EV applications, are made of metal alloys. It makes intuitive sense: It's a vibration-intensive mounting application that demands durability that matches the life of the vehicle itself. But there is another way. Now, a composite nylon-based motor mount on the Cadillac Lyriq has won the Society for Automotive Analysts' Innovation in Lightweighting Award.

The mount is a collaboration between GM, anti-vibration parts maker DN Automotive and chemical company Celanese. It is made with Zytel PA NVH Gen 2, a new polyamide (PA 66). The results not only showed up in development data, but in the end product, which has reviewers raving about how quiet the Lyriq's cabin is - “crypt quiet,” according to Automotive News.