Question about insulation under the carpet.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 235
Likes: 0
Question about insulation under the carpet.
I see alot of guys are doing this on their restorations. What is the purpose for this? Does it block the heat from the exhaust that radiates through the floor and melts the soles of your shoes? I'm just curious. My car runs around 190 degrees most of the time, and I have a trans cooler. I get a rather annoying amout of heat from the exhaust through the floor. I was going to wrap the exhaust pipes with heat tape where the go under the floor. Will this insulation work also. Where do I get it from? Is it something I can get from Home Depot? Thanks.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 3,734
Likes: 2
From: Southeastern PA
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
I bought this insulation from Corvette America here in PA. It is a foil backed insulation sold in a kit to fit your model/year. I paid about $99 for it and I was unpleased. The insulation was pre cut and fit fairly nicely and does help prevent excess exhaust heat (especially from my big block car) from reaching the cabin. I thought it was worth $30 or $40 when I saw how cheap looking it was. Nothing against Corvette America, but it looks like another overpriced imported item.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 5,943
Likes: 3
From: Wildwood IL
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
Many have used a foil back insulation from home improvment stores, at a fraction of the cost. Same results as the expensive stuff bought from vendors. Just be sure it's the proper thickness or longer interior mounting bolts will be needed.
Eddie
Eddie
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,321
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From: Haysville Ks
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
You can get the foil double sided insulation on a roll from Home Depot for about $20.00 to $ 25.00. Will do the same thing that the stuff from Corvette America does. You will just have to cut it to fit.
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: Haddon Heights NJ
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
I just did mine last weekend. I used Reflectix from Lowes it cost 25 bucks for a roll(2'X25') and 5 bucks for the heat tape. Real easy to put in and it worked great for the heat and the noise. I thought it was much better then the kits from any of the magazines and a heck of alot cheaper.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,659
Likes: 7
From: Katy (Houston) TX
CI 7-8 Veteran
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (1LE)
I bought some of that stuff from Home Depot and covered the entire front area and under and behind seats. I think this will help more than just wrap on your exhaust cause it's also insulating from your under-hood heat. You might be surprised how many holes there are leaking hot air into your cabin from the firewall. I've heard to not run speaker wires right against the foil side though so I ran them between the insulation and the carpet. The stuff I bought from Home Depot had foil on one side.
Advanced
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
From: PA USA
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
Huh! I was wondering the same thing about this insulation thing. Since the heater core ruined mine. I to went to Corvette America here in PA and saw the price thank god I didn't bite. I'll have to take the suggestions here to mind when I get that far to complete in mine. I wonder if you could use house hold padding as a sound deadener along with that rolled barrier?
Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the info.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,080
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From: Exiled Tampa Bay Misfit
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
Scott did a good write up on this..
http://www.c3sharktank.com/tech2/carpet/carpet1.html
http://www.c3sharktank.com/tech2/carpet/carpet1.html
Racer
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 330
Likes: 0
From: Baja Oregon
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (Mikeb690)
I just did mine last weekend. I used Reflectix from Lowes it cost 25 bucks for a roll(2'X25') and 5 bucks for the heat tape. Real easy to put in and it worked great for the heat and the noise. I thought it was much better then the kits from any of the magazines and a heck of alot cheaper.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 29
From: Texas
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (tshort)
I bought some of that stuff from Home Depot and covered the entire front area and under and behind seats.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (IRON WILL)
Go to my website for an article on my cockpit insulation install. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/vettfixr/page14.htm
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,336
Likes: 4
From: Springfield MA
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (vettfixr)
I got mine from Julianos.com
It's similar to the home depot stuff but doesn't have the bubbles. It has much more dense foam and thicker aluminum on both sides. I bought a 40 sq ft roll for $45 and it was plenty to do the entire firewall back to the rear deck.
Home depot stuff is cheaper, but if the bubbles break, you lose a lot of the insulation, (I doubt that it would happen, but for $20 I figured why do it twice) :)
BTW... it's called insul-tek
It's similar to the home depot stuff but doesn't have the bubbles. It has much more dense foam and thicker aluminum on both sides. I bought a 40 sq ft roll for $45 and it was plenty to do the entire firewall back to the rear deck.
Home depot stuff is cheaper, but if the bubbles break, you lose a lot of the insulation, (I doubt that it would happen, but for $20 I figured why do it twice) :)
BTW... it's called insul-tek
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
From: Haddon Heights NJ
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (Larry82)
I noticed you have the reflective side up. I would have thought that the reflective side goes down, toward the heat source. At least that is what I did when I used the same material.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 8,721
Likes: 108
From: Canada
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (Mikeb690)
I am looking at buying the VL-38 from http://www.advancedacoustical.com it is a paint on heat and sound insulation and is $50 per gallon.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,336
Likes: 4
From: Springfield MA
Re: Question about insulation under the carpet. (gdh)
I am looking at buying the VL-38 from http://www.advancedacoustical.com it is a paint on heat and sound insulation and is $50 per gallon.
Only problem is that it doesn't stick real well to fiberglass and doesn't stick at all to fiberglass that has the coating of oil from a leaking mechanical oil gauge. :)
I'd recommend cleaning anything you plan on coating with a wire brush, solvent and more solvent if you hope for it to stick permanently. I had the first coat peel up on the floorboards. I cleaned them all again and redid it. Hopefully 2nd time's the charm. :)