Stringreen, my HRX motor assembly has rubber feet. They are not especially soft, but they are definitely not metal. I gather that VPI might have made some modifications to the motor assembly feet over time. Another factor influencing the performance of my turntable is the fact that it sits on a Silent Running Audio VR isolation base. The base does an excellent job of absorbing vibration energy, and this could be a reason I have never experienced any noise or feedback problems with the rim drive mechanism.
Stringreen, do you know whether VPI is advising that feet such as the plastic ones on my motor assembly be replaced with new footers? I suppose I could just send an inquiry to Mike at VPI, but I thought I might go ahead and get your perspective here.