22 replies to this topic

[Gibby]

Hi folks, I'm new to the forum. I've just purchased a VX, a 2.2, with stage 2 supercharging.
I'm very pleased with the car (more so once I get a new battery in it...)
However I would like to improve the interior comfort and sound deadening just a little, as I want to enjoy it as a fun summer car for the odd weekend away in uk, including some motorway driving,and possibly the odd track day
I do appreciate, upfront, that these are far from luxurious cars (I have previously owned an S1 Elise, so I'm not expecting a Bentley Continental levels...) and I love these cars for their handling and lightweight.
I am however, happy to sacrifice a small amount of weight increase for a little more comfort, perhaps carpeting and some sound deadening/reduction of creaks and rattles. Some well sorted VXs which I have driven have been rather better in this department than some others.
Can anyone advise of somewhere/someone I might take the car to who has expertise with these cars and could make a few improvements in this area?
I do not have the time (or the inclination) to do an awful lot of DIY work myself.
Any assistance and expertise gratefully received.

[Rosssco]

Some adhesive sound deading on interior floor panels and inside of tub

Carpet

Soft top liner

Upgraded heater

 

 

These all make a small, but noticeable difference without really affecting performance in any noticeable way. Not gonna fundamentally change the usability of the car however (as I'm sure you'll appreciate!)

 

[coldel]

This is what I am focusing on (probably to the aghast of the forum  ) - so far I have added the Fred666 carpet set which makes a real difference to the interior i.e. reducing the cold panels inside the car. I have also retrimmed the seats and door cards, steering wheel is next on the list. I have added a nice head unit, new speakers. A T7 heater would be amazing but is very costly if you cannot fit yourself £400 + labour but would be a great addition (guy at a meet had one, it a huge step up heat wise).

 

Here is mine when I bought it

 

And how it stands now

[martinf]

A hardtop will make quite a difference to wind noise and general refinement, that's my experience.

Particularly if you can find a turbo version which will have the soft headlining which helps reduce the noise level.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

[aquilaproejct]

Take out rear speaker panel and add butyl sound deadening patches to fibreglass firewall
Stuff foam around rear roll hoop where it goes into the sill.
Stuff sill from front side with foam.

Makes big improvement

[Gibby]

This is what I am focusing on (probably to the aghast of the forum ) - so far I have added the Fred666 carpet set which makes a real difference to the interior i.e. reducing the cold panels inside the car. I have also retrimmed the seats and door cards, steering wheel is next on the list. I have added a nice head unit, new speakers. A T7 heater would be amazing but is very costly if you cannot fit yourself £400 + labour but would be a great addition (guy at a meet had one, it a huge step up heat wise).

Here is mine when I bought it


And how it stands now

Looks great!

The t7 heater also sounds a great idea (I'm really don't particularly enjoy being cold) and added insulation must help.
Just that bit of extra comfort would be plenty in my opinion and I could get on with enjoying the car.

I'd be happy to pay for the heater (who does this conversion?)
And for anything else such as carpet fitting etc. It would be nice to hand the car over to someone who was able to this as a job lot.
Reckon I'd be happy to pay to have a few of these things done together.

Yes it's sacrilegious in the eyes of the purists I guess..
Having had a boxster S and some other enjoyable and fairly plush cars, I can say that there is no driving experience and feel close the VX/lotus.
Basically there's nothing else out there that you can buy... so I think it's worth a bit of work or expense just to bring the comfort up a little, to get what you're after.
Otherwise you'd have a Westfield or something as brutal as.

[coldel]

You could do a fair bit yourself, I am not practically minded at all but managed to remove my own seats and lay in the carpet. All I used was some carpet tape and scissors. Otherwise you are paying someone a few hours just to do something pretty simple. 

 

The heater is here https://www.t7design...heater-kit.html not put one in myself but requires some knowledge, you are probably paying someone a half to full days work(?) to install it.

 

 

[Gibby]

That's awesome thanks for your help on that.

[pete-r]

Sound deadening made a good difference on mine but you don't need much. People tend to sheet it on but the best way to apply it is in strips in a lattice like the top of a pie.

Carpet looks great but don't glue it down to the aluminium, use tape and let it breath or any moisture in the footwells will sit and you might corrode the tub.

Thin felt tape across the undertray and diffuser panels help stop them rattling and tizzing, and make sure your windows seal to the roof and windscreen nicely to minimise wind noise. I ran an OEM hardtop and found the noise worse than the softtop. Roof off is by far the quietest option though.

You can also fit quieter air filters and exhausts if you want it quieter from the outside.

Edited by pete-r, 06 March 2020 - 09:32 PM.

[Arno]

Sound deadening made a good difference on mine but you don't need much. People tend to sheet it on but the best way to apply it is in strips in a lattice like the top of a pie.

 

Definitely!

 

There are 2 distinct ways to reduce noise:

 

• Deadening
• Absorption

Deadening usually aims to reduce vibrations in panels and surfaces which would transmit to air pressure waves aka. noise. This is normally done by adding weight to some areas to change the resonant frequency of a panel so it's peak vibration frequency shifts away from the source of the noise frequency. This way panel noise transmission by vibration will be reduced a lot. Extreme cases are flat sides in vans.

 

Usually some strips or spots of a bitumen (==heavy) material is enough on these to shift the resonant frequency. Any more doesn't help from this standpoint anymore.

 

On a VX the prime candidates for this treatment would be the undertray(s), area under the seats and footwell floors, fuel tank wall and firewall to engine.

 

On the later (toyota) Elises Lotus fits big squares of the material on these areas but doesn't fully cover them.

 

Absorption is the second step. This would be materials that trap and dissipate noise in the air and prevents it from reflecting. This type of material would be foam based 'filler' materials and carpet like surfaces. Usually not terribly heavy, but you can fit it in various areas to cut down on mostly higher frequency noises and stop them from 'ringing' in the cabin. The VX already has a large foam block behind the bulkhead cover for this purpose, but you can add more to the cabin in the form of carpets and even a carpet 'underlay' foam layer.

 

Also some effort can be put into making (fitted) foam mats/panels that can be fitted in the cavity under the dash in the footwell and along the panel(s) behind the pedals.

 

A big source of noise can also be surprisingly small gaps and holes, so usually it's a good idea to check/seal for such 'leaks' from the engine bay, front compartiment and around the windscreen.

 

You can of course combine these, and some noise reduction materials/foams work that way with a more dense (self adhesive) base layer with an absorption top layer.

 

Bye, Arno.

[coldel]

The Fred carpet set actually tucks up behind the pedals, goes under the seat and around the back of the seat - does a very good job of covering a lot of the exposed areas. 

 

In terms of the heater and the airflow, whilst you have the OEM one in, I noticed on mine if you only open one vent the blow is much stronger than opening all four. So to get the max effect just open one or two 

[Gibby]

Great information guys, thanks. A lot of stuff, potentially, to do.
I like the sound of carpet and foam type deadening, and gap sealing, as I reckon this will be enough for me to be happy (and warmer) along with improving the heater.
These also shouldn't add too much weight, and would be a worthwhile compromise in my view.
I can remember going the other way in the past with a road car/track car conversion and stripping out everything including sound deadening, and how much difference ('ringing in the cabin') just losing the carpet made.

Edited by Gibby, 09 March 2020 - 12:13 PM.

[Rosssco]

All the sound deadening stuff listed above will add no more than 10kg (if that), mostly all low down in the tub, so any weight difference will be truly negligible...

[FLD]

All the sound deadening stuff listed above will add no more than 10kg (if that), mostly all low down in the tub, so any weight difference will be truly negligible...

 

What's the impact on NVH?  Has anyone measured it other than with the usual bum-dyno?
 

[pete-r]

I deadened the doors in my Kia Rio shitter and did a before and after with a phone SPL app so no idea how accurate they are.

Dropped 5db at 40mph on the same road which is a good result.

[denno]

This is something I’ve considered doing but never got round to it, does the carpet set alone make any real difference to the ringing type noises in the cabin?

[myles]

This is something I’ve considered doing but never got round to it, does the carpet set alone make any real difference to the ringing type noises in the cabin?

It makes a difference to the cabin temp and the residual noise, the clattering of the floor might be part of that.

[Gibby]

I suppose it absorbs some of the echo effect... Like when you put carpet in a bare room... Less hard surfaces for noise to bounce off.

[coldel]

Yes mine feels a lot more livable, with the carpet and refurbed seats in alcantara rather than leather the interior is warm and welcoming! It was definitely more rattly and cold prior to all the work.

[denno]

I’m not too fussed about the extra warmth as it’s only used as a summer toy but would like the odd annoying rattles gone that are impossible to find! If it went some way to absorbing the noise then it would be worth it plus they look nice with carpet. I’m not too sure if the kit fits the turbo with the footrest so have asked the question on the parts forum.