Soundproofing Chassis

[StrawberryCheesecake]

Is the mat on the chassis needed to make it sit snug to the chassis, or will taking it out just make a lot of racket. Mine is going to be more track focused with occasional road use, so maybe I'll leave it out - I'm trying to figure out if a more solid mounting is a good or bad thing, in terms of stressing the body.

When I hear neoprene I think of wetsuits. Will it absorb and hold water against the chassis?

[BDA]

I think the mat/pad helps keep the body from knocking on the frame and probably also takes some stress of the bolts that mount the body because it minimizes any movement between the two. If you use closed cell foam, it should not retain water. In any event, it would certainly retain a lot less than the jute that came with the car originally!

[EuropaTC]

Like BDA, I'd expect closed cell neoprene to be far less of a problem than the original fibrous matting that Lotus used.  As an aside, when I took my chassis off many years ago there was no sign of dampness anywhere in the insulation, not even the bottom edges.  And that was a car used daily and kept outside in the West Yorkshire weather (rain, wind and that's a typical summer day    ) 

For a track car I don't think I'd bother.  I wouldn't expect any material makes a massive amount of sound reduction because there's nothing in the front crossmember to move and very little in the central tunnel that isn't tied down but I'd imagine it takes out a lot of creaks & groans as the body flexes going down the road. On a track car the last thing you'll be thinking of is where that odd squeak is coming from.....

Brian

[Gmg31]

Finished mine today. I think if you left it out the vibrations from the chassis would damaged the shell eventually, it's easy to do and in my opinion well worth £40.

[Nick in Beds]

That looks very neat.  What thickness did you use?

[Gmg31]

12mm.  It was very easy to fit

[Gmg31]

Just one more update.  After a week in the cold garage I noticed that the duct tape I used around the edges had come off.  Obviously it isn't essential but its hard to get perfect joints and edges so tape makes the job look much neater.  I ended up buying Gorilla Duct tape and re sealing all the joints. Superb stuff £5 off ebay

[blasterdad]

  I ended up buying Gorilla Duct tape and re sealing all the joints. Superb stuff £5 off ebay

Red Green would be proud!