Got a concrete answer and they fixed it for me at price of inspection because I guess it was pretty simple. What they said was is that normal wear and tear on the motor mounts caused the exhaust to rub against the subframe and that the movement of the engine from the wear on the mounts was probably why it felt shaky at the same time as I heard the sound. Effectively, one problem was causing 2 seemingly unrelated symptoms. They installed spacers and basically said the mounts should be good for a little longer but I should get them replaced next time I do something where a mechanic would be in that area anyway like the exhaust.

CONTD: Just actually picked the car up. It drives like a completely different car just with spacers. In a good way. The weird uneven acceleration issue is no more. It is making me a bit anxious to get new mounts in ASAP. I was gonna wait til I do headers when I heard him say that but now I am a little impatient. It really is nice.

Many of us in the local owner's tribe agree that the stock engine mounts are mushy out of the box and quickly go downhill from there.

STi mounts - IMO perfect balance between vibration isolation and torsional rigidity (for the driveline). They have exactly the same form factor as the stock mounts. I installed mine after driving twins with a few different brands of more rigid mounts.

I suggested rocking the car back and forth because I thought it might be that. It's shocking to see how much the engine rocks with such little torque. Really happy that you found it!

Thank you. Yeah rocking didnt do much but also I really wasnt able to rock it much with out standing on the door sill so who knows. I was looking at the STI mounts. I kinda like the engine feel in cars which I wasn't expecting a WHOLE whole lot of out of a flat 4 but at the same time, I was a little shocked with how little there is. I want to go stiffer for sure, but I really am not sure how stiff to go. I want the car to vibrate a bit more but not rattle or kill all sense of feeling.

I am in the same boat with exhaust right now because I want a better exhaust because this one sounds like a vacuum from 1999. I want to hear it a bit (or a lot) more but I also dont want to wake the dead or piss people off just idling at a light. I bring up exhaust because I was planning on doing that in the next couple weeks anyway and I may do the mounts while I am down there if I think I can get the car level, and I probably can. Combo of ramps and stands is a lot more stable on the uneven ground here at my place. I feel good about it.

I tend to forget that I'm a bit larger than average. :bonk:

Yeah I have weird proportions lol. I am about 160lbs and 5'8" but I also have the legs and arms of someone 6'1", yes thats my wingspan, and the torso of someone 4'8"... Genetics made a mistake. Lol. I am an artist by trade and when I was in art school once upon a time ago, one of my instructors would say, count 2 and a half head heights from hips to adams apple.... thats your torso. I am like, no its not. Lol. Think more like 1.75 haha

:D :cheers:



https://i.imgur.com/efghSgH.jpg

How did you know? Have I met you before :lol::cheers:

Glad to know it was a nice small problem! The best part of having a part go bad is upgrading to something nicer. :D

I intend to. Per the Great Wise One's suggestion, I am gonna look at the STI mounts. Ill probably do that myself. Short of the one infamous bolt that's hard to get to behind the frame, it should be straight forward but I may just take it to a shop. Just not interested in spending money on something I can do myself if I can help it but the laziness may consume me on this one.

Yes I have been eyeing these mounts for some time. They are definitely on my list in the near future as I have heard very positive reviews about them and love the fact that NVH is minimally increased.

Its a tricky spot for me because I would like a noticeable increase in NVH but more in the VH of the acronym and only a little more in the N part of it. I like to feel my car, but the part I mostly want to hear is the exhaust and intakes and if one is blessed with a turbo, occasionally a blow off, but to me the blow off comes a bit distasteful in this car. Obviously functional and if I turbod then yeah, it will be there, but the "cool factor" of the blow off is a little lost on me with the 86.

Cusco mounts seem cool too but without being able to compare side by side I am a little worried they may be over kill. People say they can hear some humming in the steering after them but IDK how bad it is from videos and if its something I could deal with or if it would piss me off after 2 rides.