RCZ's 370Z Journal.

RCZ · 03-07-2010, 02:10 PM

I will post a writeup and diy tonight. Sorry guys for making you wait.

m4a1mustang · 03-07-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ

I will post a writeup and diy tonight. Sorry guys for making you wait.

DIY & Review, NOW!

Togo · 03-07-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCZ

I will post a writeup and diy tonight. Sorry guys for making you wait.

I'm really interested to see what your findings were. Especially since these guys are only like 30 mins down the road from me.

puckshaw · 03-07-2010, 05:54 PM

Uh oh. I had really high hopes for this

Are you going to post the review in the original thread?

RCZ · 03-07-2010, 09:47 PM

OK, so here's the review as promised.

Installation:

It was extremely easy. Its 6 bolts and its done. Very easy access, doesn't require any special tools, however you do need to find a way to support the transmission so it doesn't sag when you take off the mount.

This is what you are looking for under the car. Its right by where the driveshaft starts:

Support the transmission somehow. We used this guy, but you can use whatever as long as its sturdy enough to hold up the weight:

Remove the bolts:

Stock Mount:

Side by side comparisons.

Removed:

Z1 Mount on. Make sure the "arrow point" is pointing towards the back of the car:

After that, just put the bolts back in and your are done.

Thoughts:

Alright, so did it make a big difference? Absolutely. On the pro side, it made shifts much more positive. Shifting feels very consistent in every situation. It feels crisper and more exact when you put it into gear. You get this sensation like no matter what you are doing; accelerating or decelerating, the shifter is attached to something that is completely solid instead of something that has some give to it. As expected, that off-throttle jerking in low gears has been reduced. Instead of getting a sort of reverberating stop-go jerkiness that you get with the stock mount, you get this "load, unload, over" type of a feeling. Its hard to describe. Think of it this way... with the stock one it feels like the transmission is moving back and forth as it loads with the engine. With the hardened mount it feels like the whole car is a solid piece being acted on by the loading/unloading of the engine. You still feel it jerk, but it does it less and less abruptly.

Now the problem is this... and you folks knew there was a problem coming.

We know our engine and tranny are notoriously coarse as we go up in the RPMS, well guess what...you can hear and feel EVERYTHING. You can hear the synchros speeding up and slowing down when you put the clutch in and out. You can hear every little engine sound, clutch sound and chassis sound X100. Sounds like I have straight cut gears inside the car. If that wasn't bad enough, as you can imagine, huge amounts of vibration is transferred into the cabin. When I got home after the install, my whole body had that tingling sensation you get when you hold on to something tha'ts vibrating for too long. Just revving the car in neutral shakes you like a massage chair. My friend was joking that its a nice massage mod and that maybe girls would really love it.

I talked to Z1 and they said to give it a few hundred miles to let it bed in because it should get a little better. I drove around 100 miles this weekend and it has not really improved much. I am going to leave it in for the week and see if there is any improvement in NVH levels. It feels so good for shifting that I really don't want to let this one die. Please keep in mind that it is a product in development and it still needs to be altered a bit before production. I think if we made it less stiff it would get rid of a lot of the NVH, but it will also feel more like the stock one.

I think this would be excellent on a dedicated race car, but as it is right now, I don't feel the level of NVH is acceptable for a street driven car. Perhaps what we need are shifter and differential bushings + a softer version of the transmission mount. I am not happy that the side effects were so bad since shifting feels excellent. Way more composed and consistent than the stock one. Z1 said they would look into lowering the stiffness of the bushing if it's necessary. He will probably chime in and tell us what the plan is.

NYBladeZ · 03-07-2010, 09:57 PM

Great review, hopefully Z1 can get this worked out

puckshaw · 03-07-2010, 10:07 PM

This was the "comfort" version, right? Can't imagine what the race version would be like

Hopefully Z1 can get this dialed in.

370zForever · 03-07-2010, 10:24 PM

Dang, sad to hear about the NVH problems. I was really going through for that mount... I just hope that RCZ won't have any more problems and I'll keep my hopes up....

m4a1mustang · 03-07-2010, 10:28 PM

Thanks for the review, Raul. I kind of figured there were going to be some significant NVH issues once I knew you wanted to talk to Z1 before you posted.

NYBladeZ · 03-07-2010, 10:34 PM

I don't mind the noise as much as I would hate the increase in the vibration

370zForever · 03-07-2010, 10:36 PM

Hey guys,

I've looked through some reviews of other people with the 370z version of the mount and the common factor is that it was a great installation and there was a small price in comfort. Others claim that after a FEW hundred miles, there were no issues. I'm hoping this NVH issue will go away soon, I'm sure we all are...

By the way, getting my bridgestone RE-11s in two days...Can't wait to swap out the OEMs for those....

m4a1mustang · 03-07-2010, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NYBladeZ

I don't mind the noise as much as I would hate the increase in the vibration

If you've ever been in a car with a really noisy transmission I think you'd change your mind (for a daily driver, anyways). The noise gets very annoying and the vibration just takes it over the top.

travisjb · 03-07-2010, 10:54 PM

sounds like the right part for me!

you know who to look up if you take it off... thx for the great review

RCZ · 03-08-2010, 12:13 AM

You guys are all welcome. I wish install hadn't been as much as it was, apparently there was a rule I didnt know about where they charge me one hour minimum even though it was 10 minutes of work. Some of the quirks of testing stuff out, it doesn't always go perfectly. Its all good though, its all part of the job

1slow370 · 03-08-2010, 05:46 AM

yup thats why its better to do these things yourself. great to hear the mount helped.

03-07-2010, 09:57 PM	#456 (permalink)
NYBladeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New York Posts: 2,158 Drives: Lotus Exige S Rep Power: 20	Great review, hopefully Z1 can get this worked out __________________ 2009 Carbon Fiber/Red 370z aka Trish: Sports Package, Meisterschaft full catback, Fast Intentions Longtube Headers, Injen Long Tube Intakes, UpRev Tune: Sold 2008 Lotus Exige S Club Racer aka Bella, always leaves me smiling

03-07-2010, 10:28 PM	#459 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Thanks for the review, Raul. I kind of figured there were going to be some significant NVH issues once I knew you wanted to talk to Z1 before you posted. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

03-07-2010, 10:34 PM	#460 (permalink)
NYBladeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: New York Posts: 2,158 Drives: Lotus Exige S Rep Power: 20	I don't mind the noise as much as I would hate the increase in the vibration __________________ 2009 Carbon Fiber/Red 370z aka Trish: Sports Package, Meisterschaft full catback, Fast Intentions Longtube Headers, Injen Long Tube Intakes, UpRev Tune: Sold 2008 Lotus Exige S Club Racer aka Bella, always leaves me smiling

03-07-2010, 10:54 PM	#463 (permalink)
travisjb A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: GSO Posts: 2,803 Drives: VIR Rep Power: 188	sounds like the right part for me! you know who to look up if you take it off... thx for the great review __________________ 2009 370Z #104 For Sale

03-08-2010, 12:13 AM	#464 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1118	You guys are all welcome. I wish install hadn't been as much as it was, apparently there was a rule I didnt know about where they charge me one hour minimum even though it was 10 minutes of work. Some of the quirks of testing stuff out, it doesn't always go perfectly. Its all good though, its all part of the job Last edited by RCZ; 03-08-2010 at 12:27 AM.

03-07-2010, 02:10 PM	#451 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1118	I will post a writeup and diy tonight. Sorry guys for making you wait.

03-07-2010, 05:54 PM	#454 (permalink)
puckshaw Track Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 620 Drives: 09 PW 370Z Touring Rep Power: 17	Uh oh. I had really high hopes for this Are you going to post the review in the original thread?

03-07-2010, 09:47 PM	#455 (permalink)
RCZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Miami Posts: 6,403 Drives: '09 370Z Rep Power: 1118	OK, so here's the review as promised. Installation: It was extremely easy. Its 6 bolts and its done. Very easy access, doesn't require any special tools, however you do need to find a way to support the transmission so it doesn't sag when you take off the mount. This is what you are looking for under the car. Its right by where the driveshaft starts: Support the transmission somehow. We used this guy, but you can use whatever as long as its sturdy enough to hold up the weight: Remove the bolts: Stock Mount: Side by side comparisons. Removed: Z1 Mount on. Make sure the "arrow point" is pointing towards the back of the car: After that, just put the bolts back in and your are done. Thoughts: Alright, so did it make a big difference? Absolutely. On the pro side, it made shifts much more positive. Shifting feels very consistent in every situation. It feels crisper and more exact when you put it into gear. You get this sensation like no matter what you are doing; accelerating or decelerating, the shifter is attached to something that is completely solid instead of something that has some give to it. As expected, that off-throttle jerking in low gears has been reduced. Instead of getting a sort of reverberating stop-go jerkiness that you get with the stock mount, you get this "load, unload, over" type of a feeling. Its hard to describe. Think of it this way... with the stock one it feels like the transmission is moving back and forth as it loads with the engine. With the hardened mount it feels like the whole car is a solid piece being acted on by the loading/unloading of the engine. You still feel it jerk, but it does it less and less abruptly. Now the problem is this... and you folks knew there was a problem coming. We know our engine and tranny are notoriously coarse as we go up in the RPMS, well guess what...you can hear and feel EVERYTHING. You can hear the synchros speeding up and slowing down when you put the clutch in and out. You can hear every little engine sound, clutch sound and chassis sound X100. Sounds like I have straight cut gears inside the car. If that wasn't bad enough, as you can imagine, huge amounts of vibration is transferred into the cabin. When I got home after the install, my whole body had that tingling sensation you get when you hold on to something tha'ts vibrating for too long. Just revving the car in neutral shakes you like a massage chair. My friend was joking that its a nice massage mod and that maybe girls would really love it. I talked to Z1 and they said to give it a few hundred miles to let it bed in because it should get a little better. I drove around 100 miles this weekend and it has not really improved much. I am going to leave it in for the week and see if there is any improvement in NVH levels. It feels so good for shifting that I really don't want to let this one die. Please keep in mind that it is a product in development and it still needs to be altered a bit before production. I think if we made it less stiff it would get rid of a lot of the NVH, but it will also feel more like the stock one. I think this would be excellent on a dedicated race car, but as it is right now, I don't feel the level of NVH is acceptable for a street driven car. Perhaps what we need are shifter and differential bushings + a softer version of the transmission mount. I am not happy that the side effects were so bad since shifting feels excellent. Way more composed and consistent than the stock one. Z1 said they would look into lowering the stiffness of the bushing if it's necessary. He will probably chime in and tell us what the plan is.

03-07-2010, 10:07 PM	#457 (permalink)
puckshaw Track Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 620 Drives: 09 PW 370Z Touring Rep Power: 17	This was the "comfort" version, right? Can't imagine what the race version would be like Hopefully Z1 can get this dialed in.

03-07-2010, 10:24 PM	#458 (permalink)
370zForever Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: California Posts: 159 Drives: 09 Black 370z Rep Power: 16	Dang, sad to hear about the NVH problems. I was really going through for that mount... I just hope that RCZ won't have any more problems and I'll keep my hopes up....

03-07-2010, 10:36 PM	#461 (permalink)
370zForever Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: California Posts: 159 Drives: 09 Black 370z Rep Power: 16	Hey guys, I've looked through some reviews of other people with the 370z version of the mount and the common factor is that it was a great installation and there was a small price in comfort. Others claim that after a FEW hundred miles, there were no issues. I'm hoping this NVH issue will go away soon, I'm sure we all are... By the way, getting my bridgestone RE-11s in two days...Can't wait to swap out the OEMs for those....

03-08-2010, 05:46 AM	#465 (permalink)
1slow370 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: In the D Posts: 3,732 Drives: v8 74 260z ;) Rep Power: 7251	yup thats why its better to do these things yourself. great to hear the mount helped. __________________ ANSWER PRICE LIST Answers - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - $0.75 Answers (requiring thought) - - - - $1.25 Answers (correct) - - - - - - - - - - $12.50

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