Soundproofing

[christopher storey]

John : that's useful looking stuff but ..... isocyanate based . Did you have to use a force feed air mask or was there some other way to mix it ? Also, is it a hazard if it comes into contact with the exhaust ? I don't want to be alarmist but I have a bit of a horror of isocyanates becuase of past experiences of people becoming sensitised

[kingzetts]

Christopher,

I am aware of the nasty nature of isocyanates so mixed and used it in a well-ventilated environment wearing gloves and other PPE and was careful to avoid exposure to any fumes. The exposure risks are far lower than with the spraying of two-part paint (and are similar to mixing large amounts of araldite) as you are not creating an airborne aerosol containing isocyanates, so I did not consider an air-fed mask to be necessary. The release of CO2 to create the foam does not occur instantly but has an induction period and once the liquid was poured into place I left it well alone while it was rising and setting.

I'd be surprised if the exhaust pipe was hot enough under the gearbox to decompose cured PU foam. Modern cars are stuffed full of polyurethanes (albeit flame-retarded) and in a vehicle fire all these will decompose, with the main poison created being CO, with some trace amounts of hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides but if you were still in the car at that point you'd have worse things to worry about.

In any case in my car the material does not go far enough down the side of the box to be in any realistic danger of contact with the exhaust. Also, I suspect that upholstery foam, motorbike seats or the foam available from SNGB will likely be PU foam as well.

[MarekH]

It's not the mixing or handling which are the main concern, but the fumes, were this to be set alight. Use something which is flame retardant if you can.

kind regards
Marek

[Mark Gordon]

My foam has become oil-soaked over the past 45 years and although it still seems to be serviceable, my plan is to replace it with a clean version when I reinstall my engine. I have a piece of "memory foam", aka Tempur-Pedic, which is about 2" thick that I will cut to fit. In terms of thickness and texture, it seems to be a very close match to the original. If it doesn't work out, I have saved the original foam which I can clean in a tub of water with dish washing liquid and I think that it would still work fine. The Tempur-Pedic foam is sold in the States at bedding stores and I suppose mattress stores or online. Don't know about supply sources on the east side of the Pond.

[Heuer]

Yes - Tempur sell their pillows and mattresses in the UK. My guess you would be best to buy one of their pillows (?79) and cut it to shape but it seems a rather expensive way of doing things.

[Dave K]

Last year after finishing my bedroom extension over the garage my wife and I had to go bed hunting.
After doing research about the various bed manufacturers and what is the best type of mattress to have Tempur and memory foam got a lot of criticism because absorbs heat making it uncomfortable to sleep in.

We settled for a 3" memory foam and some sort of under mattress, heat doesn't bother me because I'm asleep before my head hits the pillow :D
The Tempur range are hugely expensive as well anywhere between ?2K to ?5K.

Dave

[Mark Gordon]

"My guess you would be best to buy one of their pillows (?79) and cut it to shape but it seems a rather expensive way of doing things."

If they were to market it as OEM Jaguar foam, it would go for 250 pounds.

[MartinA]

Jon,
Hi. I retrimmed my S2 last year and stripped the interior completely including stripping the paint back to bare metal and repainting the interior. The self adhesive mats were replaced after priming and before the colour coat as thet were in the factory I believe. They do help reduce the drumming sound of an uninsulated car. They are fitted to each floor pan and also the lower part of the rear bulkhead behind the seats..one thing to be careful with when you retrim that part is to let the adhesive go off until almost dry before positioning the moquette on the lower bulkhead, otherwise it can catch and you never get it quite right...ask me how I know!
All the best.
Martin

[jonr]

Thanks for all the great feedback. Have not decided 100% what solution I go for yet, but at least now I have a lot of info that makes it easier (or harder?) to make the right decision.

Jon

[aussieseries2dhc]

Very interesting discussion. To ensure minimal cockpit cooking in my OTS series 2 previously experienced here in perth,western australia, where summer temps run between 38 degC and 42 deg C, for the interior cabin, I have gone with Koolmat overlain with Dynamat Extreme.
As pointed out by Peter, the best and most logical approach is to stop the heat from engine/exhausts radiating onto the tub forming the interior of the vehicle. I have an Audi RS6 v10 tt which generates enormous heat, yet cabin is cool in the shade.(without aircon on). Audi must have cornered the reflective heat shield material market as it is everywhere between engine/exhausts/gearbox and the body! To move the heat reflected back and pooled around the engine/turbos/gearbox, the RS6 has seven radiators and five fans. At idle, these sound like a jumbo warming up, but are needed to help move the engine/turbos/exhaust heat away. So on my E, I have also installed a NASA type reflective and insulating heat shield good for 2000 degC over the top of the main silencers to stop heat radiating up onto the floor pan. Possibly a bit of overkill. Lagging the exhaust pipes from the manifold to the main silencers would complete the insulation and add to the overkill, but I am not doing this at present. Steps taken already should do the trick.

With the koolmat/dynamat insulation applied everywhere in the cockpit/interior, only problem I now see is that when it rains and the E turns into a mobile bathtub as they do, there is now no way for the water collecting in the footwells to drain out. "Beware the Law of Unintended consequences". A less than helpful mate suggested a racing yachts self draining flap strategically placed in each footwell! I will report back when vehicle is back on road in April 2013.