IWRBB
05-05-2007, 09:53 AM
I posted pics here (http://www.modularfords.com/forums/2003-2004-mustang-cobra/gutted-the-interior-pictures-at-11-a-79836.html) of the interior stripped in preparation for installing various materials for reducing NHV (noise, vibration, harshness)and heat.
The materials I chose were:
Dynamat Extreme (used 18 sheets, 80 S.F. Pack=9 sheets per box)
Second Skin Damplifier Pro (used 5 sheets, 80 S.F. Pack= 9 sheets per box)
Dynaliner 1/8" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
Dynaliner 1/4" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
Dynaliner 1/2" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
This did cost a lot of money. The foam is an easily over $400 total, the Dynamat is over $100 per 80 S.F box. I have about $400 in that as well. You could use fewer materials as I explain below, and probably cut your cost in half.
I purchased the materials from CarDomain.com, it was on sale and they had free shipping. It's jsut as chap as the guy selling it on Ebay once you consider shipping. It was all shipped fast, I was very satisfied with them. I bought the Second Skin product from their website directly. It also shipped fast.
Dynamat Extreme and Second Skin Damplifier Pro are both 100% butyl with a aluminum backing. These products are designed for vibration dampening. They provide some sound control and a bit of a thermal barrier due to the foil, but not much. The SS Pro product is significantly cheaper than the Dynamat Extreme. The only issue I had with the SS is that the butyl material does not go all the way to the edge of the foil. There is about a 1/4" edge of just foil. I preferred the Dynamat having the butyl all the way to the edge. Other than that complaint, which is minor, I'd definitely recommend the SS product as a cheaper alternative to Dynamat.
Installing the Dynamat is very, very time consuming and requires a lot of physical effort. Installing it correctly involves rolling the material onto the metal with a wooden roller. I found the heavy duty 1" wooden wallpaper seam roller from Lowe’s worked the best. It's small, but the smaller size allows you to get more psi on the material with less force on the roller. Rubber rollers "give" too much to be useful. I also used a cheap plastic putty knife and a wallpaper spreader. The putty knife was good for pressing down edges where the roller couldn't get to. The spreader was good for laying down large sheets on flat surfaces without trapping air. Trapped air means it's not touching the metal. You need to work the Dynamat from one side to the other to get the air out. If some air gets trapped, just pop it with a razor and roll out the air towards the hole. I chose to cover most of the metal surfaces inside the car. The doors and the entire floor pan are pretty much covered 100%. To save weight, you could only do the large flat areas that are more likely to resonate. Although, at that point you are guessing at to what might be vibrating and you could miss some areas. No matter which way you choose to apply it, anything that gets installed is better than stock. As far as weight goes, each 80 S.F pack weighs 20 lbs. You will have about 3/4lb to 1lb per box as waste.
Dynaliner is a lightweight closed cell foam with a self adhesive backing. It's designed to control heat and sound, not vibration. Since it's closed cell foam, it's oil resistant and will not absorb water and humidity. Dynaliner sticks best to the foil of the Dynamat, but it will stick to cleaned painted surfaces just fine. The 1/2" foam is tough to work with in large sheets. Large sheets of the 1/2" material are best left to flat surfaces. Smaller pieces of the 1/2" foam can be used in irregular areas with some patience. The 1/4" foam is a good balance of thickness while still conforming to curves. The 1/8" foam can be used nearly anywhere, although it's not going to be that effective, it's pretty thin. I mostly used 1/8" foam to seal up the gaps where the larger materials met and provide a uniform surface. You can see an excellent example of this in the pictures showing the wheel wells getting the Dynaliner installed.
Installing the Dynaliner was much easier than the Dynamat. It still takes a lot of time though. You get a nice soft surface to sit on as you get it installed, which is a bonus. I'm very satisfied with this product. It's light, and it works great. It cuts down on the noise and heat just as advertised. For those who are really concerned with weight, but still want to reduce noise and heat, using just this material may be a good option. However, you will not see a large reduction in vibrations and resonance using the Dynaliner by itself. All the rolls are the same size- the 1/2" rolls weighed in at 2.2 lbs per sheet. The 1/4" is 1.1lbs per sheet, and the 1/8" is only 0.7 lbs per sheet. I used 4 sheets of each. I used double layers of ½” foam under the rear seat and in the trunk; you can get by with one layer if you want to save money. The ½” foam is the most expensive version of the Dynaliner.
Ok enough talk, how about some install pictures? Let's start with the doors.
I pulled the speakers, speaker cages and the factory weather liner. I removed the liner carefully and re-used it, as you'll see in the pics. I drilled the center of the 2 factory rivets on the speaker cages, and then used a chisel to cut through the remaining rivet material. The speakers weren't all that secure from the factory. They were tight, but I could still wiggle them. I remounted them more securely with nuts and bolts. The bottom of the bracket is a wedge fit, I stuck some Dynaliner in there to tighten that up as well.
This picture is looking inside the bare door. You can see the black factory dampening strip above the strip of Dynamat I added. I was very careful to gently roll this piece on since it's on the inside of the outer door skin.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0205.jpg
1/4" Dynaliner, about to go in the door. You roll/fold it up, put it through the opening, then spread it out. It goes from the upper body line down to the side impact bar. It pretty much covers the entire panel from front to back as well.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0206.jpg
Dynaliner installed inside door. Remember, it's closed cell foam so it does not absorb water or humidity.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0208.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0207.jpg
Dynamat installed on driver’s side. Note the window brackets. Obviously, don't cover the side where the roller goes. I left the passenger door panel installed as a guide to make sure I kept the edges of the Dynamat under the door panel. I pulled all the wires loose I could. The door handle cable easily unclips.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0213.jpg
Here you can barely see the top edge of more 1/4" Dynaliner that was installed in both doors below the impact bar. I stopped it about an inch short of the door bottom to keep it away from the drains.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0211.jpg
Dynamat installed on passenger door.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0227.jpg
Factory liner plus a piece of 1/4" Dyanliner to cover the large hole in the door. I used some general purpose 3M spray adhesive on the door and the liner/foam.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0224.jpg
It sealed up really well, better than factory probably.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0225.jpg
Finished door, minus the door pins. The door panel fit was a bit tough but it went on, no problem. It's very solid now. The doors shut with a solid thud as expected. The power window/motors are nearly silent. You mostly hear the glass moving across the seal.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0228.jpg
The materials I chose were:
Dynamat Extreme (used 18 sheets, 80 S.F. Pack=9 sheets per box)
Second Skin Damplifier Pro (used 5 sheets, 80 S.F. Pack= 9 sheets per box)
Dynaliner 1/8" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
Dynaliner 1/4" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
Dynaliner 1/2" Foam (used 4 - 12 S.F. sheets, 1 per box)
This did cost a lot of money. The foam is an easily over $400 total, the Dynamat is over $100 per 80 S.F box. I have about $400 in that as well. You could use fewer materials as I explain below, and probably cut your cost in half.
I purchased the materials from CarDomain.com, it was on sale and they had free shipping. It's jsut as chap as the guy selling it on Ebay once you consider shipping. It was all shipped fast, I was very satisfied with them. I bought the Second Skin product from their website directly. It also shipped fast.
Dynamat Extreme and Second Skin Damplifier Pro are both 100% butyl with a aluminum backing. These products are designed for vibration dampening. They provide some sound control and a bit of a thermal barrier due to the foil, but not much. The SS Pro product is significantly cheaper than the Dynamat Extreme. The only issue I had with the SS is that the butyl material does not go all the way to the edge of the foil. There is about a 1/4" edge of just foil. I preferred the Dynamat having the butyl all the way to the edge. Other than that complaint, which is minor, I'd definitely recommend the SS product as a cheaper alternative to Dynamat.
Installing the Dynamat is very, very time consuming and requires a lot of physical effort. Installing it correctly involves rolling the material onto the metal with a wooden roller. I found the heavy duty 1" wooden wallpaper seam roller from Lowe’s worked the best. It's small, but the smaller size allows you to get more psi on the material with less force on the roller. Rubber rollers "give" too much to be useful. I also used a cheap plastic putty knife and a wallpaper spreader. The putty knife was good for pressing down edges where the roller couldn't get to. The spreader was good for laying down large sheets on flat surfaces without trapping air. Trapped air means it's not touching the metal. You need to work the Dynamat from one side to the other to get the air out. If some air gets trapped, just pop it with a razor and roll out the air towards the hole. I chose to cover most of the metal surfaces inside the car. The doors and the entire floor pan are pretty much covered 100%. To save weight, you could only do the large flat areas that are more likely to resonate. Although, at that point you are guessing at to what might be vibrating and you could miss some areas. No matter which way you choose to apply it, anything that gets installed is better than stock. As far as weight goes, each 80 S.F pack weighs 20 lbs. You will have about 3/4lb to 1lb per box as waste.
Dynaliner is a lightweight closed cell foam with a self adhesive backing. It's designed to control heat and sound, not vibration. Since it's closed cell foam, it's oil resistant and will not absorb water and humidity. Dynaliner sticks best to the foil of the Dynamat, but it will stick to cleaned painted surfaces just fine. The 1/2" foam is tough to work with in large sheets. Large sheets of the 1/2" material are best left to flat surfaces. Smaller pieces of the 1/2" foam can be used in irregular areas with some patience. The 1/4" foam is a good balance of thickness while still conforming to curves. The 1/8" foam can be used nearly anywhere, although it's not going to be that effective, it's pretty thin. I mostly used 1/8" foam to seal up the gaps where the larger materials met and provide a uniform surface. You can see an excellent example of this in the pictures showing the wheel wells getting the Dynaliner installed.
Installing the Dynaliner was much easier than the Dynamat. It still takes a lot of time though. You get a nice soft surface to sit on as you get it installed, which is a bonus. I'm very satisfied with this product. It's light, and it works great. It cuts down on the noise and heat just as advertised. For those who are really concerned with weight, but still want to reduce noise and heat, using just this material may be a good option. However, you will not see a large reduction in vibrations and resonance using the Dynaliner by itself. All the rolls are the same size- the 1/2" rolls weighed in at 2.2 lbs per sheet. The 1/4" is 1.1lbs per sheet, and the 1/8" is only 0.7 lbs per sheet. I used 4 sheets of each. I used double layers of ½” foam under the rear seat and in the trunk; you can get by with one layer if you want to save money. The ½” foam is the most expensive version of the Dynaliner.
Ok enough talk, how about some install pictures? Let's start with the doors.
I pulled the speakers, speaker cages and the factory weather liner. I removed the liner carefully and re-used it, as you'll see in the pics. I drilled the center of the 2 factory rivets on the speaker cages, and then used a chisel to cut through the remaining rivet material. The speakers weren't all that secure from the factory. They were tight, but I could still wiggle them. I remounted them more securely with nuts and bolts. The bottom of the bracket is a wedge fit, I stuck some Dynaliner in there to tighten that up as well.
This picture is looking inside the bare door. You can see the black factory dampening strip above the strip of Dynamat I added. I was very careful to gently roll this piece on since it's on the inside of the outer door skin.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0205.jpg
1/4" Dynaliner, about to go in the door. You roll/fold it up, put it through the opening, then spread it out. It goes from the upper body line down to the side impact bar. It pretty much covers the entire panel from front to back as well.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0206.jpg
Dynaliner installed inside door. Remember, it's closed cell foam so it does not absorb water or humidity.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0208.jpg
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0207.jpg
Dynamat installed on driver’s side. Note the window brackets. Obviously, don't cover the side where the roller goes. I left the passenger door panel installed as a guide to make sure I kept the edges of the Dynamat under the door panel. I pulled all the wires loose I could. The door handle cable easily unclips.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0213.jpg
Here you can barely see the top edge of more 1/4" Dynaliner that was installed in both doors below the impact bar. I stopped it about an inch short of the door bottom to keep it away from the drains.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0211.jpg
Dynamat installed on passenger door.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0227.jpg
Factory liner plus a piece of 1/4" Dyanliner to cover the large hole in the door. I used some general purpose 3M spray adhesive on the door and the liner/foam.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0224.jpg
It sealed up really well, better than factory probably.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0225.jpg
Finished door, minus the door pins. The door panel fit was a bit tough but it went on, no problem. It's very solid now. The doors shut with a solid thud as expected. The power window/motors are nearly silent. You mostly hear the glass moving across the seal.
http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w222/reckless-2003/DSCF0228.jpg