Cabin noise

Bonzo

Scott, above is a total hacked and edited version of your quote. I mostly agreed with what you said but had to change some words and delete others. The real quote is just back a page so if anyone wants to see that please do so.

The car has a more solid sound now, yes, but I wouldn't call it revolutionary.

As for the pebbles, I was hoping for more. There is a difference. They used to go tink plink tink plick and be really loud. Now they are more like dink donk dink donk, and aren't quite as noticeable, I think because it's not as shrill sounding.

I think it's an improvement but, since it's so slight......

.....is it really worth all the work? I'm not sure. This was a total PITA!!! Only time will tell if it worked for me. I think if I just unconsciously stop noticing it then it worked. If a month from now I still notice it all the time then I might need to go to the next step. I think the real cure for the pebbles is more rubberized undercoating in the wheel wells. FatMat sells paint on stuff by the gallon, which is probably where I'd start my hunt. Paints on blue so you can see where you've done, and dries black. I think rubber stuff on the outside will act like a padding to help the pebbles bounce off with less metal sounding noise. If I ever do it I'll be sure to report here.

4 hours? Wow, you cruized! All my plastic trim pieces, foam stuff and spare tire were already out, and it still took me about 4-1/2 hours the first day (when I ran out of material after 5 sheets of 18 x 36), and about 4 hours the second day (for another 5 sheets of material). All in all if I had started with panels still in this would have been a 10 hour job, easy. Now I will say that I took my time and tried to do it right. I tried to clean all the surfaces with 409 (but this was hard too with all the wires and protrusions sticking out), and I really tried to work the FatMat really well down into all the cracks & corners etc. I tried to cover all the holes. I used larger "fitting" pieces when possible, and took my time trying to cut stuff fairly accurate (Smaller pieces are inevitable eventually though, especially as you wind down and find little spots you missed). I also had 1 full sheet left over when done, so I re-did the fender wells doubling up material best I could with the 1 limited sheet. I also took 5 minute breaks every 45-60 minutes or so to stretch my legs out. I wanted to be able to get out without falling into the car so this was good for me to do. Basically I tried to be that perfectionist you talked about, but failed too due to it just being a PITA. I'm not sure if my work quality was as good as professional, but I'm certain it could have been done a lot worse. It was the best I could do.

I've got lots of pics which I will post when I get time. Here's one of me climbing around in back....

So for those of you doing this, it took me 9 full sheets at about 18 x 36 to cover most of the trunk. I used my 10th left over sheet to double up on the fenders some. Best tools are your fingers, a micro fiber cloth to help your fingers slide as you push, some good plastic handled scissors to both cut and to push the material into corners with the handle, and that roller thing they supply you with. Make sure you bring a bottle of water in with you, as well as a folded towel or something else padded to sit on. Use your knuckles to rap on the metal areas to see what's most important to do, and make sure those areas get covered.

That's all I got for now.

Cheers ---- Bonzo

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Finally Able To Order 2012 Model 8/24/2011
Delivered Tuesday November 15, 9:57 am!!!
2012, Auto, White, Sport, Kick Plates