Lady72nRob71

As the POR15 on the floorpan of my '72 is drying, I am trying to decide if i should line the whole floorpan with Dynamat before installing the carpet.

It is a favorite of stereo installers, but I am not in it for the music.
I seek heat insulation and road noise reduction, but is the price of this stuff worth it? Does it live up to their claims? It is only 2mm thick or so, but the heavy weight of it seems okay.

The cheapest I have found for the "extreme" is 145 bucks for 36 square feet. This cost as much as the carpet and ~almost~ covers the whole floor pan.

Has anyone used this stuff or knows how much heat and noise it will control?
If it gives a noticible difference, i do not mind to spend the dough (to a limit of course...)

Regular foil covered jute is only 32 bucks for 24 sq ft but there is little weight to it.

Any thoughts?

GoodOldsGuy

Used this stuff in my '58 Corvette and found that it did two things. First it solved the heat issue which is synonymous with the early Vettes and many forum members on the Corvette forum use this stuff for that reason. Second it did quite the passenger cabin quite a bit ( not totally quiet...convert). So in my estimation I would consider it a worthwhile investment.

Regards,
Fred

Olds64

I would just buy the foil covered jute. Oldsguy and I used some generic stuff from the harware store to re-cover the underside of his hood. It worked great.

gearheads78

I will be using it or at lease one of the knock offs everywhere in the final finished version of my car. Its a huge difference in interior noise resoinence (sp) You also put it inside the doors and the sound they make shutting its a night and day difference.

Not doing anything right now though until it comes back apart for paint.

Lady72nRob71

Some good points... I did hear about some kind of rolled roofing material ("ice guard") that is almost the same and installs the same. For 225sq ft for less than 100 bucks is the best part!
I need to look into that.

The extreme is a deadener and will need an insulator on the floor, the dynaliner. They want you to stack up multiple products it seems.
I have felt the amount of heat that somes up through the floor and it is intense.

I am getting to the point of doing this since it is already all apart and I never want to see the floorpan again!

Scottem

Great stuff ! Used it for years in nearly every part of the cabin including the passenger side of the fire-wall. Don't forget to line the inside of the doors and wheel wells in the trunk, made a huge difference.

flatoz

give this guy a go, well at least read his about his stuff. He's a member on a Hot Rod forum i'm on and he gets good reviews on his product. Enough so that I ordered 4 rolls and have had them sent to Australia, cost of shipping alone was US $120 and I hope to be putting the stuff in the car in the next week or so. He sells on ebay also, so you can check out his feedback there too.

http://www.lobucrod.com/

Jamesbo

Just MHO

Why be so concerned about sound in the body with a convertible?

Olds64

It would also be a moot point if you are running 40 series Flowmasters.

Lady72nRob71

I was wondering when someone would ask this!

First of all, heat insulation is my bigger concern, as I do not know how well the stock A/C in this car will cool a convertible when it is 100 degrees out.

Next, since I plan for this car to be my upcoming vacationing vehicle, travelling thousands of mile all over the US, I do not plan to have the top down ALL the time (like in rain, too hot or too cold weather, etc.) Any noise reduction (especially the low-frequency hum) would be appreciated.

Like Fred mentioned above, he noticed a reduction in mechanical resonance noise, even though his was a 'vert'.
Tire and road noise and body vibration can be objectional; wind noise is pleasant!

And just in case I may have a ladyfriend join me in a trip in the future, any noise reduction may delay any possible complaining about noise (if I do not find the right girl!)

Jamesbo

Jes tell em like I do, "If it ain't on the menu, there's always another cafe"

MDC

I've not used the dynamat personally but have been in a 68 chevy pu that had it. When you shut the doors they sound like a new truck. No more coffee can rattling sound. Road noise is greatly reduced, but you could still hear the 2.5" 40 series Flowmasters. Not sure about the heat reduction, but noise reduction for sure.
Probably shouldn't use the roofing material. I have read that it puts out fumes when it is warm.

74 Omega

The Roofing product, GRACE " ICE & WATER SHIELD", or others, will also heat up and make your carpet and any wires running under it sink in and stick to it. If your firewall gets hot enough, I would be willing to bet the ice & water would start to sag and could melt. On a roof it will get so soggy and mushy (technical words, lol) you feet start to stick.
I would not put it in a car, just MHO.

Lady72nRob71

Thanks for all the advice so far.

After a lot of exhausting web research, I have reached some conclusions.
www.sounddeadenershowdown.com started me out on my own.

I will not be using the roofing material - I ruled that out fast by the previous posts... The word "asphalt" was a turnoff.

But get this - The Ice and Water shield is almost the same as many commercial deadening products, giving the same asphalt problems - melting, stinking, falling off, and other bad problems. (Original dynamat was asphalt, too!)
Asphalt easily melts at 160 degrees, close to the temperature of a car surface in the hot Texas sun when ambient temps are already 100+... The smell would be horrible inside, also.

The three products that seem to be best (butyl rubber material) are the Damplifier & Damplifier Pro (by Second Skin Audio) and the Dynamat extreme.
They all seem to rate simlilarly in performance, but the Dynamat was a LOT more expensive.

Therefore I will be making a decision between these 3 in the next day or two...

If anyone has had experience with Damplifier, i would like to hear about it.

gearheads78

By the cheap stuff so if you have a terrible failure you will save the rest of us from wasting our hard earned money

MDC

Rob
See if you can find a product called Lizard Skin. It's a spray on dampner. I have heard little of it but it could be another option for you.

74 Omega

Anyone think of using roll on or spray on bedliner material?
I have it in the bed of my truck, (RHINO LINER). It does not seem to be affected by the heat. You can do it in colors too...( why we would want colors under the carpet, who knows)

Olds64

You should just take the carpet out, paint it with Rhino Liner and leave it that way. It would look COOL!

Lady72nRob71

I do not think Lady would appreciate being outfitted like a taxicab...

Lady72nRob71

Me apply a spray product? Unfortunately that is well beyond my talents.
The entire surrounding area would look like a paint factory explosion...

I considered the brush-on stuff, too, but I really need ease in installation.

Lady72nRob71

Okay, so I have 460 bucks worth of Dynamat on its way to me.
100 sq ft of extreme for floors, doors and quarters - (whereever it can be hidden).
I will line the rear seat speaker "triangle" also, to see if that helps the sound some...
I also got 36 sq ft of dynaliner for the floor for extra insulation.

While Dynamat is often more expensive than Damplifier, it depends where you shop.
Damplifier seems to be only sold online on its website, so there is no competition. It sells for an estimated 4.09 per sq ft, and that is for a low-balled estimated shipping cost. They do not reveal shipping cost until AFTER you place your order.

Dynamat can be bought anywhere. Also, the bulk packs (nine sheets) are not always the best deal. The "trunk packs" with 5 sheets are. I got them for 3.45 per sq ft - shipped!

Hopefully I can be peelin' & stickin' this weekend and get that carpet installed!

74 Omega

good luck. Let us know how it turns out, as I would like to do mine this winter also.

jonnyv713

man you should have given this a look, dynamat is still good stuff. i know cause i am a caraudio nut and all that good stuff.
http://www.edesignaudio.com/index.php?cPath=1_24

csstrux

That looks like some cool shiz, have you used it, and does it really work. what method of application did you use?

MDC

I'll probably use the dynamat too when the time comes just because I have personally seen what a diifference it makes. But IIRC you can sacrifice a garden sprayer to do the Lizard Skin job. Should be easier to get inside doors and tight areas. A spray gun is not necessary.
Let us know what you think of the mat once your done.

Lady72nRob71

After only two short months, 80 sq ft of the 100 sq ft of the Dynamat extreme I had ordered finally came in… I was starting to see the light at the end of a very long tunnel…

Installation soon started on a warm mid-January day. First attack was inside the rear quarter armrests and piston covers. Since speakers will still be mounted in them, rigidity is a big plus. Working with this stuff was interesting… The cheap Harbor Freight scissors and a utility knife worked well and I wore light cotton gloves when pressing it into place, as the aluminum backing had sharp edges. The cotton let your hands glide over it well. The stupid rollers they sell are useless unless the surface is perfectly flat with no ridges or bends… How much car sheetmetal is totally flat?? I also found out quickly that any type of rubber gloves stuck permanently to the mat, so they could not be worn.
I did these armrest panels in the house in the sun, but found that the black rubber crap made a mess wherever it touched, just like asphalt tar… I got some on the wall and carpet, but was able to get it off with goo-gone.
The speakers and top plates were reinstalled so these are ready for installation!
Here are the completed, recovered rear armrest panels and piston covers...


Keep in mind, the speaker holes were cut in the metal when I bought the car; I would have never done this on my own... I did choose to keep the speakers there however. Perhaps I may paint the grilles in the saddle color later...

Afterwards I went to the garage and did a final vacuuming and wipedown of the car’s floorpan in preparation for the big installation tomorrow. I marked all the screw holes by loosely inserting the screws and I removed the headlight dimmer switch.

The next day was VERY warm (70*), so I laid the dynamat out in the sun to warm up. This made it a little softer, stickier (ick!), and easier (?) to work with. I started with inside the quarters, then moved to the floorpan.

Here were my observations and some tips on installing Dynamat extreme…
Before beginning, have a bottle of goo-gone and some hand cleaner that will remove tar; this stuff will get messy after a while and it will get on things you do not want it on. “Extreme” here stands for the tackiness level… Once it is stuck, it is stuck for good! It will pull POR15 off of metal easily! I molded and cut the sheets with the backing on and cut out areas for screws, seat legs, etc. Of course, the way it molds and fits with the paper backing on is totally different than the way it fits with the backing removed… The paper backing is hard to pull off the mats and often it tears up like cheap masking tape… Remove it carefully before sticking, then reapply it loosely and roll it off as you press it in place, usually starting from an alignment reference. Here is the “pain in process”…


This stuff sticks to hands very well and will pull all the cotton off of gloves. When installing, do not use gloves to get it stuck down; wear them only to smooth it out after it is stuck (usually it will never smooth perfectly.) Doing a whole car should be made into two days, as your hands will take a lot of abuse. I found that 80 square feet will easily do a whole 72 A-body convertible. If you want to do inside the rear quarters, do so with the window and mechanism removed. I installed full sheets in mine with it all assembled and it was a major PITA. Think about water drainage when doing inside doors and quarters – allow easy drainage and avoid water entrapment possibilities. This rubber stuff is messy when doing a big job so wear disposable clothing – this tar-like stuff will not wash out of clothing. At the end of the day, allow 30 minutes to goo-gone the bottom of your shoes and NEVER wear your shoes inside the house before you goo-gone them! (Take it from an expert on that one…) This is beginning to sound like in introduction to roofing! On the positive side, the matting is like insulation – all but the tiniest scraps are usable.

I completed almost everything in about 6 hours straight on one day and 4 hours hours the next.
Here is the completed front section…

My hands were in very bad shape afterwards. I had many less fingernails and lots of cuts, cramps, and some recurring numbness for a few days... Enter prescription drugs…
I had installed 15 sheets the first day and three more for the following day. The last 2 sheets will be installed inside the doors when they get done this spring.
Here is the completed back section:


I am curious to know how much benefit all this effort, pain, and money will give me and I will find out later and will post the results.
Do I plan to ever install this stuff again? I vote ‘no’, but I will see what gains I get from it. I rather would have rebuilt an engine – less taxing on my hands!

I would at least consider the brush-on stuff first - it may be easier to install!

Lady72nRob71

Looks like I never finished this thread!

A week later when more of the dynamat came in, I began installing the foam Dynaliner in the rear of the car. I only got the ¼” thick stuff, as if you get too tall, the carpet (with its jute backing) will not fit right. This stuff came in 32x54” sheets and I found it was best to cut it into 27x16” pieces to make it more manageable. I went the extra 10 miles by cutting out channels for the wiring to reduce “bulging” through the carpet. I also wanted to keep all important wiring visible and easily accessible in case service is ever required.


Now working with this is easier than with the extreme. In fact the tackiness was not as good as I hoped for. If you stuck it, it could be removed if needed for adjustment. The only things it stuck really well to were itself and the scissors I used to cut it with… The less tack meant more relief cuts needed to be make for it to lay right against the surface and actually stick. If you do not do this, you will be annoyed later by the sound of it sticking and unsticking with pressure. Lifting your feet off the carpet may sound like lifting them off of a movie theater floor - yuck…
Like the extreme, no scraps were trashed; all were able to be used somewhere.
Here is the back half so far…


Now when the rear section of carpet was test fitted, the fit was not to my liking. Putting your feet down in the floor pan would cause buckling in other places. This ACC carpet had ½” recycled cloth jute bonded to it compared to the factory’s ¾” horse (?) hair jute.
The next day I locally procured a 4x6’ mat of foil-topped 3/8” jute made from recycled blue jeans… I cut pieces to go in the foot wells and any other places that needed “shimming”. After a few hours of trial and error and trimming, I came to a “good” fit. I cut large and had to re-trim a few times, but better too big than too small. I also made the cuts for seat belt bolts, wiring, and the ‘T’ cuts for the seat legs, just like the factory made in my old original carpet.
For the first time in 4 months, the interior was starting to look like that of a car again!


Fast forward to after the rest of the interior was done.........................

Lady72nRob71

The first Saturday in March was warm and pleasant enough to do some driving! I hit the open farm roads and state highways for a total of 120 miles. It was much too windy for tops down, so I did 70 miles with the top up. That day was about 80 degrees and cloudy. I kept the windows up to listen for strange noises.
The Dynamat did make a noticeable difference. The engine was almost silent, except from the Rocket’s deep exhaust note from the rear, audible only through the top at idle or slower speeds. In fact the engine was quieter than my ’97 Cadillac’s, aside not counting the exhaust note… With the top up at 75 it was so quiet and smooth that I was getting very sleepy... Engine noise vanished completely.
Road (and wind) noise was also only heard through the top. No vibrations were felt through the floor by my feet. The floor felt very solid, even more so than my ’97 Cadillac!
During the whole trip, the windows never needed to be opened, and I used only the vent at low fan speed. Therefore, I think the Dynamat was a very good heat insulator also.

A long road to nowhere...

The following sunny Sunday I decided to take Lady out to get her 6-months-overdue inspection sticker.
Now driving a car like this ain't easy... Rounding the curve in the alley before I could exit, the guy at the end who never talked to me stared at us and started saying how nice my car was. Now caught off guard around a corner and trying to wave, I almost ran though his yard...
As soon as I turn onto the street, a group of young kids waved, so I had to wave and turn tight at the same time... Talk about too much attention!
The inspection guy looks at everything BUT the safety stuff and gives ME the sticker to put on myself!
After that, it was time to come home and do yard work. However, Lady seemed to have a mind of her own and started heading northeast... I just let her go where she wanted.
We hit the less traveled farm roads on my well-known fun route through the country. All road, wind, and exhaust sounds were heard through the open air, as expected. Very little noise through the chassis was heard. The sun felt nice and the ride was SO smooth. Later I had the music cranked way up and it was loud and clear with the top down at highway speeds. The sound was very good given the low grade radio it is, there were no vibrating body panels either. No vibrations could be felt though the floorboards, except when the tunes were cranked up very loud.
Almost back to the house I pass one of our own city cops and was glad I had that new sticker! Therefore he just gave me a big wave and a stare...
So after about 50-60 miles, I got home. This makes 120 miles+ in the past two days, going absolutely nowhere. It felt so good though and I enjoyed it all!
I then had to do my yard work so I would not get mad at myself...

So was the Dynamat worth it?? Well, for a car I will travel long distances in at a time, yes. If just a daily driver going to work or shopping, no. If a classic car I would just drive locally a few hundred miles a year in, no.

J-(Chicago)

How much does it weigh?

Lady72nRob71

About an extra 70 pounds....

extreme1

Nice job, I know professionals that wouldn't have as nice a finished install.
If you need anything like this, I can check into local dealers to get you a deal and save on shipping.

Aceshigh

Nice work on the dynamat install.

It's one of, if not the most expensive sound deadener out there.
I put B-Quiet's Brown Bread in my 78z.

There's also Fat Mat, and Lizard Skin, and numerous others.
I think you'll be happy with it.

Lady72nRob71

Thanks... It was a pain for sure...

I have heard of those other brands but the reviews I saw back then lead me to the Dynamat. I was also able to get it at a good price.

If any of you out there have had good (or bad luck) with the other brands, please post them here.
I heard that Fatmat is pretty good at a much lower price. Someone here used it with good results.
I am all for finding comparible products at an affordable price! I agree - dynamat is WAY too pricy. Maybe it was just because foose's face was on each box.

The only kinds of deadener I would NEVER recommend are the ones with any kind of asphalt base in them.

MHENDERSON

Rob it looks nice can you do mine too!!LOL

Lady72nRob71

Thanks!
I do not think I want to do another one again, even if I was paid.........

citcapp

Aw come on Rob and here I was gonna fly you up to my place and have you help me with my 57 and the 48, now I'm bummed out.

Lady72nRob71

Well, one just has to push the right button sequence...
Now an all-expense paid trip to Washington would be worth a fight against that sticky stuff...

My442

I did my 442 with DynaMat.

Made a huge difference in interior noise and heat.

Absolutely worth it. The car is much quieter and cooler on the inside now.

citcapp

So if a roundtrip ticket, plus room, board and beer were provided...............?

Lady72nRob71

Sounds good to me!