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Well i installed the kit today. My intensions were to take pictures along the way but once i got into it i kept forgetting. I also put down some 1/4" closed cell foam insulation first.
the tear down
install begins
here's a pic of the foam that's underneath
together again
The final verdict. It took me about seven hour to complete. I went for a ride after finishing the job. Riding around town on city streets there's a noticable drop in the noise level. Driving on the highway was a bit disapointing. The noise level wasn't that much differant from before.
In my opinion it really wasn't worth my money, time ,and effort.
Last edited by tslick98; Nov 28, 2009 at 03:36 PM.
I purchased the same kit you did. Then I got talking to a few people and they told me to get great results contact the people at second skin- for about 500 buck they have a couple of produces that will make your Vette quite as a luxury car. I haven’t purchased it yet but plan to for a spring install.
I purchased the same kit you did. Then I got talking to a few people and they told me to get great results contact the people at second skin- for about 500 buck they have a couple of produces that will make your Vette quite as a luxury car. I haven’t purchased it yet but plan to for a spring install.
Thinking of doing this on my C5Z as well...my primary concern really isn't noise reduction as much as reducing heat soak coming in through the tunnel. Have you noticed a reduction in the temp of your console?
I was getting ready to install my kit and just lucked accross someone who went through this and gave me the heads up. The kit you installed will decress the heat and some noise level and you can always add to it. I'm thinking about adding all when I get around to it. The one problem with the "skin" kit is that it will add about 40 lbs to your Vette.
Thinking of doing this on my C5Z as well...my primary concern really isn't noise reduction as much as reducing heat soak coming in through the tunnel. Have you noticed a reduction in the temp of your console?
I only drove it for about 30 minutes and there was no heat but probably
wasn't long enough to tell. Will let you know.
I installed the same kit last winter and was also a bit dissappointed with the sound level ( didn't drop as much as I expected ) however I can say the there is definately much less heat in the tunnel area. I also installed a coated tunnel plate so I'm sure that also attributes to the heat reduction... IMHO, not a bad mod for the cost as there is some improvement overall.....
All these insulation kits and rolls should be called heat reduction as opposed to sound reductuon. Sound reduction can only be reduced to any great amount by creating an airtight barrier between your ears and the noise being reduced. Think ear plugs. The tire/road, engine, transmission, drivetrain and airflow/wind can't really be lowered if you have any windows lowered or partially lowered. It can be muffled a bit, but not much. Any sound control system that might reduce some body noise would have to be a semi rigid rubber glued to the balsa floor pan and metal tunnel. Actually the balsa floor plan works pretty good as sound control by it's self. I would like to see an impartial laboratory study of these products to show any great amount of sound control achieved.
The insulation blankets, however, do reduce heat coming into the car as they are directly between the heat source and the interior. And do work well.
I agree with the others on the noticeable heat reduction and minimal noise reduction from the foil kits offered by some of the vendors. Along with the foil, I also added some pretty heavy duty sound damping sheets (which I forget the name of at this time) to the hatch area, the large area behind the seats and the floor pan to lessen vibration. It works ok to lessen engine/exhaust noise (b&b route 66 with bassanni x pipe), but the road/tire noise is still very annoying. I am going to look into some Dynomat for specific locations in a few months and see how that works.
I agree with the others on the noticeable heat reduction and minimal noise reduction from the foil kits offered by some of the vendors. Along with the foil, I also added some pretty heavy duty sound damping sheets (which I forget the name of at this time) to the hatch area, the large area behind the seats and the floor pan to lessen vibration. It works ok to lessen engine/exhaust noise (b&b route 66 with bassanni x pipe), but the road/tire noise is still very annoying. I am going to look into some Dynomat for specific locations in a few months and see how that works.
Chris
I would suggest giving secound skin a call, they seem to know what there talking about
I would suggest giving secound skin a call, they seem to know what there talking about
Is second skin a foam layer with a rubber backing? If so, that is what I have in the large flat areas of the car already. I need something more maleable to stick in some of the smaller, odd shaped places in the car. The stuff I used was HEAVY. It worked well until the X pipe went on. That made my car louder instead of smoother. If I add headers I am going to go deaf so sound reduction is going to be a neccessity.