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Thread: Miata heat/soundproofing?

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Miata heat/soundproofing?

    I know this is a lame question (and most probably a meaningless quest in a softop), but I would like some extra heat insulation in the tunnel. I have also noticed that in highway speeds, there's a lot of noise coming from the firewall behind the seats (NB2). At the same time, I do not want to add a lot of weight (or spend a ton of money) in something like this. So what people have done so far?

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    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power MLambert19's Avatar
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    I bought Dynamat's DynaPad (Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1. It's about $100 for a roll, which was enough for me to do all the places Mazda had done with stock material (under seats, under carpet, behind seats, and on parcel shelf). It's no lighter than stock, but my stock insulation was musty and 25 years old. Unlike DynaMat or adhesive stuff, you can remove this to clean, wrench, etc. Not sure how much difference it made, as the car still has plenty of squeaks and rattles, but I felt it was worth a try to replace the old stuff.

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Interesting. What about moisture being trapped? This is something that also worries me.

    I have found all sorts of sound deadening stuff destined for boat engine compartments or HVAC systems sound insulation for CHEAP locally, however I am unsure to what extend they will work. Guess I could try a few options and see for myself.

    Wanted to try a more scientific approach, involving a decibelometer, a voice recorder and some FFT and signal analysis to find the frequency I want to attenuate in order to select the appropriate material(s) and locations, but I am afraid I do not have that much time...

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    Thermotech 12" x 24"' piece of adhesive backed heat reflecting material. The packaging calls it an aluminized heat barrier and claims to be good up 2000 degrees and to reflect 90% of radiant heat.



    I did notice much lower trans tunnel heat. And it's still doing just fine 2+ years later. I can't think of the last time I felt my right leg being warmer than usual because of the heat coming off of trans tunnel. I can still feel it with my hand resting next to the handbrake boot, but it's only warm and not excessively hot like before I added that piece.

    I have meant to get more of the material to fully insulate the trans tunnel since that initial piece. I figure if the sides of the tunnel are covered as well I should notice an even better reduction.

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    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    Look up sound deadening by "timtim". He had a nice write up about the materials he used to try to reduce noise on his NB1.

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    Individual-1 ☚ ☻ ☛ Agent☣Orange's Avatar
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    It's not a lame question but there's a big difference between mitigating heat and sound. It's true that the tunnel gets hot and the cabin can sound noisy but each condition requires different materials. Heat and noise are just two forms of energy.

    To block heat, obviously you'll need materials best suited to deflect heat. To mitigate vibration, you'll need to mass-load larger surface areas that resonate. It is much easier to block heat with not much weight penalty than it is to deaden vibration.

    Personally, I'd just lay down a double heat barrier on the tunnel and under the driver seat to block heat. If you want to cut down on some noise, a couple of 8"x24" strips of mass per door would cut down a lot. If you want a little more, take care of the rear wheel wells and tunnels.

    You just want to add a little weight to the broader door panels to absorb energy, not cover every square inch of cabin surface in heavy material like shown in car resto TV shows. You can add a ton of Dynamat-type stuff and still not be as quiet as a Cadillac as you already know.

    And just for perspective, the Miata is nowhere near as bad as the 370Z for noise. You could fill the entire trunk with concrete and the Z would still be loud.


    No todo que es oro brilla.

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    Supporting Member Hammerhead's Avatar
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    I used a self-adhesive heat reflecting material for the trans tunnel and dynamat for the whole interior floorpan (installing over the thinner heat reflective material), as well as the rear bulkhead and parcel shelf. I also made a heat shield from ABS plastic with the heat-reflective material stuck on it to shield my right foot from the heat of the heater core hoses. I HAVE NOT yet installed any sound deadening material to the doors. That being said, the car was remarkably quieter with the soft top on and even more so with the hard top on.

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    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    I know an audiologist, she and her husband have been in Miatas for years on many levels. She made custom-fit ear lugs for them both, some had speakers built in. I guess it makes the car SUPER quiet, even with the top down. It's probably easier and cheaper than sound insulation.

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    I use foam earplugs on longer trips. Really helps.

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    4,000 rpm - entering the fun zone wannafbody's Avatar
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    Sticking big car wash sponges in the tunnels along the gas tank helps reduce noise slightly.

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    Supporting Member Hammerhead's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin View Post
    I use foam earplugs on longer trips. Really helps.
    Yes! Wind buffet is a big issue when driving for long durations with the top down. One of my cars has the Oris Windblocker and it works great!

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    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift JamieH's Avatar
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    If ya have a roll bar, make your own massively effective windblocker from a sheet of acrylic.

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    Ninja Messiah kung fu jesus's Avatar
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    Honestly, when I pulled my carpet, I used off-the-shelf duct insulation I found at the home improvement stores. I wanted to replace the factory jute that had become foul after all these years. I read about the Corvette guys doing it. I used aluminum tape to jon the pieces together. It was easy.





    I also degreased and rattled-canned under my tunnel so I could install this self-adhesive insulation:

    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....l=1#post189557

    I have some sound mat where I mounted the door speakers and that helped more than I thought. I also added some mat in spots on the dash board, which helped more than I anticipated:

    http://mazdaroadster.net/showthread....l=1#post177087

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    Idling - Listen to it purr...
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    I got a lot of good information from this site https://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/
    I did the mass loaded vinyl and the decoupler in the doors , floor pan and behind the seats > made a decent difference Added some vibration dampening (He says you only need to cover 25% of the panel made a decent difference Packed the tunnels with fiberglass (probably not the best choice) made a significant difference and deadened the heat shield above the muffler made a significant difference

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    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    Bumping an old thread

    Has anyone used Lizardskin products to get rid of the heat from the transmission tunnel?

    http://www.lizardskin.com/car-ceramic-insulation.html

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