I just installed these babies last night... and let me tell you... if you are running the factory exhaust, installing them is a right pain in the butt. The front mount was cake. Took maybe 3 minutes. The problem is the rear bolt on the rear mount. When you start backing the bolt out it contacts the flange in the middle of the factory downpipe. The factory torque mounts have enough give that you can wiggle it out. However the upgraded mounts have very little give, so you can't put the bolt back in. It's Juuuuuust barely in the way enough to prevent the bolt from going in. I tried pushing the exhaust out of the way but it didn't have enough give. And it was the middle of the night, by myself so I had nobody to help try to rock the motor itself to move the stupid exhaust. So I made it work, in a way that I'm not exactly proud of, lol. I tried to insert the bolt and pushed as hard as I could. The bolt was inserted like a half inch, and at a funny angle. But I wedged it hard enough that the threads snagged the non-threaded edge of the mounting point. The head of the bolt being held against the exhaust flange, I just turned it ever so carefully and the threads pulled it in till the head of the bolt worked its way along the side of the flange. Once it popped past it, the bolt was free to wiggle the rest of the way through, and insert normally. Lots of swearing... LOTS. If you're running downpipes, it's probably a total non-issue, since that flange in the middle doesn't exist.
As for the mounts themselves: They work beautifully. Everything is held in place, rock solid. Launches felt REALLY good, and really consistent. I wouldn't say it made the car launch better than the best launch it's ever had... but now every single time feels about equivalent to the best launch it's ever had, instead of being hit or miss. Shifts felt much better. I still get some shudder on the 1-2 shift after at full throttle after a hard launch, but it is reduced. It feels like it takes a ton of "slop" out of the drivetrain. I drove for about 20 miles and 5 or 6 launches. At first the NVH was really bad, but it toned down a bit after a few miles. The maker of the mounts says they tone down of first 1000 miles or so, I believe. It's still noticeably worse, but getting more tolerable. At part throttle, under certain conditions it makes something inside my dash buzz. It feels like it makes the exhaust a little louder, but I think it's just engine noise being transmitted into the cabin. I think it sounds pretty damn good. It barely moves at all when you put it in park, which I love. No more rolling forward after parking. One of the coolest things is that if you're just bebopping around at part throttle and you just blip it, the whole car moves. Instead of just seeing the tach blip up and back down without feeling any speed change. Now even the tiny things like that you feel the whole car surge. It's awesome.
