Audio installation experts, I need your advice on this. I am mid-installation in my C7, and I’m second-guessing if what I did is a good idea.

I proceeded to install closed cell foam on the inside of the car door – the Siless Liner 157 mil specifically. It’s advertised as being waterproof; however, it will be subject to water from time to time, given that the foam is on the inside-exterior paneling of the door. Does anyone have experience with this foam degrading over time due to water or other elements? There's no interference with the window rolling down, but I'm becoming apprehensive of it degrading and causing issues down the line.

I can totally reverse the decision at this point and take it out of there, but I don’t want to bury it and find a mess on my hands 6-18 months later.

Let me know what you think, and thank you in advance!

 

No experience with foam... but did you fix the door rattle before covering it up?

detailedlink

C7 door rattle TSB

 

I put Kilmat ( like dynamat) inside my doors on my C3 and C6, like you have. No concerns about water etc.

 

Perhaps inadvertently, but not explicitly. I had put "Dynamat" type CLD material on the outer door skin, but I didn't check for the gap mentioned in the links. Thank you!

You can see some of my work in progress in here. CLD goes all the way up to the top in various strips, under the foam:





Also I discovered this "Easter Egg" on the lower-portion of the glass window, which is real nice because it lets me know what type of car I'm driving, in case I forgot




Given everything I've researched, I think I'll just pull the foam and not risk it delaminating / disintegrating and then getting the window stuck.

 

Yup, I figured the Dynamat type stuff will stand the test of time. So I'll leave that layer, but pull the foam on top of it -- thanks!

 

Today I ripped out the foam as much as I could. Thanks again for the tip about the rattle fix, @VinceC5 , as I definitely did not treat that section previously. I shoved some reinforcement CLD down the length of those two mating panels, should be A-OK going forward.

Reference pics below, but two other questions:

1. I bought the same 3" Infinity Perfect 300M speakers per your indirect recommendation on another post. I thought they'd be plug-n-play, but turns out there's a ~1/3" gap between opening hole and the aftermarket speaker. I didn't have any appropriate foam on-hand, so I rigged a "surround" with CLD -- see pics below. How'd you end up doing it on your car? Are there some aftermarket brackets people buy, or do folks just leave the gap -- or something third?

2. The door panel is trickier to put back than expected. I notice there's this window seal strip that is attached with clips, that I would normally hang back into the door frame and then pop-pop-pop all the plastic fasteners into place around the door panel. However with this C7 it seems the plastic fasteners jut out too much for me to comfortably hang the panel into position prior to pop-pop-popping. So do folks instead remove this window seal strip, put it into position in the door frame, and then pop the panel onto it? Or some other method?


I know it's not pretty, but here's the CLD I wedged between the outer door panel and the reinforcement ribs.



Final shot of the panel, covering up the mess hidden within




This is a crazy gap compared to the stock speaker. What's the "normal" fix?




Here's how I did it, with small strips of CLD sealing it the best I could.




Should I pop this window seal strip off of the door panel and attach it first to the door, and then put the pop the panel back on? Or what's the best way to put the door panel back on the rest of the door?

 

No love for ol' Miro? Do folks just live with that speaker gap, or what?

I'll try my window seal strip reattachment tomorrow, hopefully the whole panel goes back on much easier with that strip pre-installed on the metal.

 

Love is everywhere!! Lol.

I used the window foam insulation to fill the gap and then wrapped it with Dynanat.

Attach the strip to the door panel. Panel should go in by hooking the upper part first. Then aligning all of the push pins.

Door looks good. Did you make the same indention as the original access panel? The door panel needs every part of that.

 

Thanks Vince. I'm debating if I just need to suck it up and go to the hardware store tomorrow, since I don't have any thick-enough weather stripping readily available, and the "Dynamat" strips don't form a complete seal. I probably should go -- do it right, do it once.

For the door panel indent, I think there should be enough play for the door to reattach -- I didn't put on the Dynamat super-tight. My main problem last time was hooking the upper window strip into the door *and then* aligning the push pins, even though I've done a similar procedure on other cars a half-dozen times before. But it was the end of the day, I was tired, and I felt rushed -- so things might be magically simpler tomorrow. Let's see how it goes!