RE: Welcome to Club SAITO !
Lopflyer- I use only the Great Pains plastic mounts and never had a problem. I use the self tapping 6-32 hex head screws. I've had two nose first crashes with the mounts torn from the firewall, and the screws held firm. They were bent quite a bit in the first crash, but they held.
Mike- Plumbers tape is sometimes labeled as virgin teflon. Maybe marketing knows that guys will jump on the virgin kind first when they have the the chance???
I've never had a muffler loosen or give any problems.
#715 for Broken Wings. Welcome aboard.