Well today I removed the Z1 transmission mount (polyurethane) and replaced it with the OEM mount. My car feels like a luxury car again. And, it's faster. Apparently the extra vibrations from the transmission mount could have been triggering some knock sensors which retarded timing and made my car sluggish. (I was torturing myself this whole time without knowing it)

 

 

Three years later, and I think I'm coming back to this de-mod idea. I still have the original mount up in the attic. Or... I should actually confirm that. And I could easy sell the Z1 mount. The swap is relatively easy, just put the car up on the lift, and use a tall floor jack to support the transmission while swapping the mount. Maybe while up there, I can have them replace that hose connector in the coolant system which is a big point of failure on these cars. And probably swap in a new thermostat, matching that coolant system work with a flush & fill.

This all makes sense in the moment, but I need to let it rattle around in my head for a bit and line things up.


*edit*

Found it, LOL. Should be totally fine. It was taken out of the car when there was only 28,000 miles on it.

That means the Z1 mount has only 25,000 miles on it. I bought it for $200 +shipping 8 years ago, and apparently that's still the price today.

 

I would go with the OEM mount. I know some like the firmer feel, but I would never be able to tolerate the NVH, IMO.

 

And I was definitely one of those people, bragging what a rush the NVH was, and how the vibrations introduced this really cool tonal experience in the cabin.

However, now that I'm over 60, I'm thinking I'd like to tone it down. It's a bit much.

 

I made an appointment at the shop to swap the original transmission mount back in this Friday. After that, I'll be selling the Z1 mount here in the forum.

While there, I'm going to have the coolant system flushed & filled, with a new thermostat. It's been 6 years since the last flush, and it's the original 13 year old thermostat, so it seems like good maintenance irrespective of the low miles.

 

Transmission mount swap was barely a 30 minute job. Coolant flush + thermostat + gasket + fluid... that was surprisingly expensive.

In any event, I'm actually very happy with the reduced NVH after swapping in the OEM mount. It's more quiet, and much less grrrrr. So it's all good.

 

Sold the old mount here on the forum. https://www.myg37.com/forums/private...ion-mount.html

So that whole saga is over. Back to the OEM mount.

With a variety of suspension mods over the years, I'm thinking about the question of which mod to pursue: transmission mount vs. engine mounts. I can confidently say the poly engine mounts are the better modification. There's less NVH than the tranny mount, the drivetrain geometry is lowered a little bit, and body roll is improved because the engine isn't rocking as much. Poly engine mounts are a great modification, however unless you DIY the work, swapping the engine mounts is a 4+ hour job on the lift. By today's prices, that's over $600 in labor. Whereas the transmission mount is only 30 minutes.