$164.00 $139.40
Sport Transmission Mount 9-3/900 (Manual)
[4376176u]
Date Added: Monday 15 January, 2007
by Aurelio Ramos
Installation was as easy as everyone else says: Took me about 45 minutes with only a jack, a jack stand and socket wrenches.
The vibration at idle was much less than I anticipated after reading all the reviews here. I would not call it so much a vibration as a low frequency, low level sound that goes away as you rev up. I had to turn off the AC and wipers to really listen to it enough to come up with a good description. Reminds me a bit of driving a honda, for those who may have driven one, many hondas tend to have slightly stiffer mounts (at least IMHO).
The shifting does not feel particularly more precise and the drivetrain "backlash", although noticeably reduced, did not totally disappear. Then again, I tend to shift quite gently (rev matching), and learned well to tolerate the shifter's quirks. For those who shift roughly there may be a greater difference. Perhaps with this mount there is less of a need for good rev matching when shifting.
I have not tested wheel hop yet, though I would expect it to be reduced.
However, what I was most impressed about was the *ride quality* of the car. It actually improved. Let me explain:
I often drive over an old bridge with expansion joints and uneven concrete slabs. At about 50 mph, this would cause the car to "bounce" on each joint. The bounce would cause the engine to bounce, enough that it sometimes would cause the transmission to jump into neutral (and the shifter can be seen moving as this happens)... But with the new mount, this no longer happens: the car seems to feel much smoother over those bumps. This effect was totally unexpected, and I think it more than makes up for the *very* slight increase in vibration at idle.
I installed my mount just a couple of hours ago, so I cannot comment on whether it breaks in over time. But it does not matter. This mount is not a "compromise" in NVH versus performance, it is rather an improvement all around.
For reference, I also have installed the 6 pt subframe brace, rear sway bar and steering rack brace, as well as a home made invisible rear hatch brace (that joins the seat latch plates) not sure what the combined effect of these may be with the mount, though I imagine some of these may have an effect as they stiffen the car quite a bit and may reduce vibration.
Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!]
The vibration at idle was much less than I anticipated after reading all the reviews here. I would not call it so much a vibration as a low frequency, low level sound that goes away as you rev up. I had to turn off the AC and wipers to really listen to it enough to come up with a good description. Reminds me a bit of driving a honda, for those who may have driven one, many hondas tend to have slightly stiffer mounts (at least IMHO).
The shifting does not feel particularly more precise and the drivetrain "backlash", although noticeably reduced, did not totally disappear. Then again, I tend to shift quite gently (rev matching), and learned well to tolerate the shifter's quirks. For those who shift roughly there may be a greater difference. Perhaps with this mount there is less of a need for good rev matching when shifting.
I have not tested wheel hop yet, though I would expect it to be reduced.
However, what I was most impressed about was the *ride quality* of the car. It actually improved. Let me explain:
I often drive over an old bridge with expansion joints and uneven concrete slabs. At about 50 mph, this would cause the car to "bounce" on each joint. The bounce would cause the engine to bounce, enough that it sometimes would cause the transmission to jump into neutral (and the shifter can be seen moving as this happens)... But with the new mount, this no longer happens: the car seems to feel much smoother over those bumps. This effect was totally unexpected, and I think it more than makes up for the *very* slight increase in vibration at idle.
I installed my mount just a couple of hours ago, so I cannot comment on whether it breaks in over time. But it does not matter. This mount is not a "compromise" in NVH versus performance, it is rather an improvement all around.
For reference, I also have installed the 6 pt subframe brace, rear sway bar and steering rack brace, as well as a home made invisible rear hatch brace (that joins the seat latch plates) not sure what the combined effect of these may be with the mount, though I imagine some of these may have an effect as they stiffen the car quite a bit and may reduce vibration.
Rating:
[5 of 5 Stars!] 
