wcw2
11-04-2006, 03:54 PM
I've got a '98 Legacy L (2.2, 5spd) with about 135k on it. I'm doing some work on it over the Christmas holiday (clutch, rear main seal) and I think I could use some new engine and tranny mounts too. The Group N mounts are, oddly enough, a lot cheaper than the Legacy mounts. I'm looking to keep costs low on this, and the idea of slightly stiffer handling sounds good. But 95% of my driving involves getting on the highway and setting the cruise for 65mph. NVH (mostly noise and vibration-I can live with harshness) are big issues for me. How bad are these with the Group N mounts in a Legacy?
I absolutely can't take vibrations that will carry into the steering wheel, but I've heard that most of the vibration comes through the shifter stick, and mine vibrates already, so no big deal there. Noise is another subjective thing- I've got winter tires on and the engine is already at 3000 RPM when cruising, so I'm not sure how much worse a different engine mount could make things. Basically, I want to be talked into Group N mounts, or told if there's another option out there that maybe isn't as stiff, but costs a lot less than the $85/per cushion Legacy mounts cost online. Or, as a bigger question, do I even need new mounts? The engine moves less than inch side-to-side when I tweak the throttle, and I can't see any forward movement at all. The only reason I think I need new mounts is because of how the car bucks if I let off the gas and start to coast/engine brake. It's only a problem on the highway when I'm going downhill and trying to keep a constant speed- every time I switch from brake to gas, the car jerks.
I absolutely can't take vibrations that will carry into the steering wheel, but I've heard that most of the vibration comes through the shifter stick, and mine vibrates already, so no big deal there. Noise is another subjective thing- I've got winter tires on and the engine is already at 3000 RPM when cruising, so I'm not sure how much worse a different engine mount could make things. Basically, I want to be talked into Group N mounts, or told if there's another option out there that maybe isn't as stiff, but costs a lot less than the $85/per cushion Legacy mounts cost online. Or, as a bigger question, do I even need new mounts? The engine moves less than inch side-to-side when I tweak the throttle, and I can't see any forward movement at all. The only reason I think I need new mounts is because of how the car bucks if I let off the gas and start to coast/engine brake. It's only a problem on the highway when I'm going downhill and trying to keep a constant speed- every time I switch from brake to gas, the car jerks.