Dynamat/Sound insulation
Discussion
Raify said:
That stuff is very heavy. Are you sure you want to put it in an Elise?
Not if it is really heavy I don't!! Used to have it in the doors of my old mg when I got the stereo upgraded. Out of interest will it also help deflect heat from the engine bay ? If so then it might be worth it to stop the cabin baking.Anyone know what material lotus use in the touring pack ?
Dynomat type sound insulation won't be much good at cutting out road noise. It's made to stop panel movement, rather than block noise.
A cheaper option is getting a sleeping mat from a camping shop and placing it under mats or carpets if you have them. Does a much better job IMO, far cheaper, and way, way, way lighter
A cheaper option is getting a sleeping mat from a camping shop and placing it under mats or carpets if you have them. Does a much better job IMO, far cheaper, and way, way, way lighter
MrP80 said:
Dynomat type sound insulation won't be much good at cutting out road noise. It's made to stop panel movement, rather than block noise.
have to say, I have used dynomat, and it's excelent stuff...just a small square under the seats makes a hude difference...
also used it on the inside of the fuel tank surround (front face) that worked well too.
My first Elise was an S1 'Super 160' from Bell & Colvill. It had no sound deadening, and a bloody stupid cone filter sitting right behind the passenger seat. The induction roar was quite simply unbearable (to me, a puss compared to some of the hardcores here) so I too considered the Dynamat option.
After removing the seats and covering the ally behind and underneath the seats with the thick stuff for people who like really loud 'music' (I count my supercharged V8's custom exhausts as music without the quotes
) - I found two results.
There may be better insulation products (what do Lotus themselves use in the Touring Pack of the Elise? My VXT has what looks more like roof insulation coated in aluminium foil, which must be much lighter but is bulkier, and the VXT (with lined hardtop) is really quiet and civilised inside when pootling around. I assume the Touring Pack Elises / Exiges are similar.
If you do use the same stuff Lotus use, then check out the published weight differences as well, because someone on this forum IIRC brought up the difference between the published weights of the Elise with and without touring pack, and it was something far too high to be just a roll of insulation. May have mis-remembered that one though...
After removing the seats and covering the ally behind and underneath the seats with the thick stuff for people who like really loud 'music' (I count my supercharged V8's custom exhausts as music without the quotes
) - I found two results.- I'd just added 10-20 kg to the car. S1s are very light so it was noticeable - the weight was all added in the centre of the car so it didn't really affect the handling much (the reduction in polar moment of inertia was probably minimal) - but I could feel it.
- It made no difference to the in-car noise levels. I had the B&C carbon hardtop and the noise inside was unbearable. I didn't measure with a calibrated instrument or whatever, but after replacing the seats and going for a drive, I couldn't tell any difference. Certainly not 'wow I can now love this car all the time' - to be honest it was just as bad as before.
- Removing it took hours with white spirit and other organic solvents - the Dynamat stuff I used was thick, heavy, dense bituminous material, which when torn off the car left brown tar all over the aluminium. Getting the ally clean again to sell the car was a pig of a job.
There may be better insulation products (what do Lotus themselves use in the Touring Pack of the Elise? My VXT has what looks more like roof insulation coated in aluminium foil, which must be much lighter but is bulkier, and the VXT (with lined hardtop) is really quiet and civilised inside when pootling around. I assume the Touring Pack Elises / Exiges are similar.
If you do use the same stuff Lotus use, then check out the published weight differences as well, because someone on this forum IIRC brought up the difference between the published weights of the Elise with and without touring pack, and it was something far too high to be just a roll of insulation. May have mis-remembered that one though...
Lotus use about 35K in total on a touring pack - a mixture of dynamat type stuff for doing panels and foam blocks (cut to shape) that fill voids e.g. wheel arches, behind dash, speakers, seats etc ..and if youve ever been in a std 111R (no noisy exhaust) with touring pack, its like a limo compared to an S1 or early S2
if you have an S2 then you could buy the pack/pieces from any dealer and fit it all yourself....
if you have an S2 then you could buy the pack/pieces from any dealer and fit it all yourself....
Unless you're fitting a stereo and need the quality like i did when i did the A2, Dynamat is not worth it as for it to be effective you need almost 100% coverage and with it basically being lead flashing with black rubbery glue to hold it to the car it's heavier than dark matter.
It will get rid of some of the sharp noise but as 90% is road/tyre noise and engine noise you wont lose a lot.
It doesn't deflect heat either as the backing just melts leaving you with a shitty black tar everywhere. As for the small patch under the seat, it's only the same as putting some weight on it so the metal is taught, it's not actually damping it.
In short i think it's a silly idea to put in in a els/xig/220 and it's bloody heavy and isn't effective against the type of noise prevalent in our cars.
It will get rid of some of the sharp noise but as 90% is road/tyre noise and engine noise you wont lose a lot.
It doesn't deflect heat either as the backing just melts leaving you with a shitty black tar everywhere. As for the small patch under the seat, it's only the same as putting some weight on it so the metal is taught, it's not actually damping it.
In short i think it's a silly idea to put in in a els/xig/220 and it's bloody heavy and isn't effective against the type of noise prevalent in our cars.
bogie said:
Lotus use about 35K in total on a touring pack - a mixture of dynamat type stuff for doing panels and foam blocks (cut to shape) that fill voids e.g. wheel arches, behind dash, speakers, seats etc ..and if youve ever been in a std 111R (no noisy exhaust) with touring pack, its like a limo compared to an S1 or early S2
if you have an S2 then you could buy the pack/pieces from any dealer and fit it all yourself....
Cheers, I've got an 03 111s so it has improved sound insulation (carpets & foam behind the speakers). What extra does the touring pack add ? Presumably as lotus charge nearly a grand for this option they ain't going to sell it cheaply. I just want to reduce the overall clunking & clattering if possible without sacrificing weight. If I could also reduce the heat coming in from the engine bay that would also be a bonus.if you have an S2 then you could buy the pack/pieces from any dealer and fit it all yourself....
Getting lots of differing reports about dynamat though looking on the other forums, some say its great, others say its sh*te..
Have a dig around in SELOC.
Someone did a sound deadening/carpeting job on an Elise and reported a huge difference.
Personally (and I'm an old fart)I like my Elise (S1) raw.
My stereo is good enough to drown out the noise when I want it to (even at common law M'way speeds).
Half decent head unit (£150 Pioneer from an internet retailer, a pair of decent speakers at the rear (£170 Kenwoods), couple of cheapo Sony units (£30) in the dash top and a small Alpine sub (£100) in the pax footwell. I'm going to buy a better pair of speakers for the front as the Sony units let the side down. I went a bit OTT on the Kenwoods but but a couple of pairs at about £70-80 and the sub and you'll be amazed at how good music can be in the Elise.
Someone did a sound deadening/carpeting job on an Elise and reported a huge difference.
Personally (and I'm an old fart)I like my Elise (S1) raw.
My stereo is good enough to drown out the noise when I want it to (even at common law M'way speeds).
Half decent head unit (£150 Pioneer from an internet retailer, a pair of decent speakers at the rear (£170 Kenwoods), couple of cheapo Sony units (£30) in the dash top and a small Alpine sub (£100) in the pax footwell. I'm going to buy a better pair of speakers for the front as the Sony units let the side down. I went a bit OTT on the Kenwoods but but a couple of pairs at about £70-80 and the sub and you'll be amazed at how good music can be in the Elise.
I posted on Seloc about this issue a while back...
My Elise is pretty much unbearable now. I like the car 'raw' but also want my hearing to last into my 40's. I'm going to be putting the cat back on, and want some real sound-proofing solutions. Dynamat or similar sounds good, thinking of buying a cheaper version and putting squares under the seats and on the rear partition. However, it's weird how some people swear by it and others say it makes no difference?
I don't think the carpet would make any difference, so I've scrapped that idea. One thing that did make me chuckle was Brian D on an old Seloc thread saying that he filled bin bags with loft insulation and put them in the wheel arch spaces. I think he was being serious?! Sounds like a good budget solution.....
My Elise is pretty much unbearable now. I like the car 'raw' but also want my hearing to last into my 40's. I'm going to be putting the cat back on, and want some real sound-proofing solutions. Dynamat or similar sounds good, thinking of buying a cheaper version and putting squares under the seats and on the rear partition. However, it's weird how some people swear by it and others say it makes no difference?
I don't think the carpet would make any difference, so I've scrapped that idea. One thing that did make me chuckle was Brian D on an old Seloc thread saying that he filled bin bags with loft insulation and put them in the wheel arch spaces. I think he was being serious?! Sounds like a good budget solution.....
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