Cushion on the replacement fan -- do I need any?

greetings,

i've just replaced the fan in my early 2009 mac mini and everything is working great again. i referenced the guide at Mac mini Model A1283 Fan Replacement (thanks!)

the original fan has cushioning on it. you can see the cushioning in the image for step 13 of the guide.

the new fan has no cushioning.

moving the cushioning from the old fan to the new fan is not a viable option.

everything is working fine ... the fan is spinning and blowing hot air. :-)

i'm wondering how crucial it is to have cushioning on the new fan? i'm wondering what it's for ... i'm guessing it's for vibration protection or to provide better hold between the fan and whatever it's pressing up against? i'm also wondering if it's not that important to have on the replacement fan, why was it on the original fan to begin with?

any insights will be greatly appreciated!

thanks.