Phase 3: Front Wheel Wells
- Materials:
- Great Stuff Expanding Foam
- Rubberized Undercoating Spray
- 1/2" Closed Cell Foam (like Ensolite)
- Tools:
- 10mm socket
- Socket Wrench
- Latex gloves
- box knife
- exacto knife
- measuring tape
- #2 Phillips screwdriver
- Flathead screwdriver
Goals: The total project should be under $100, under 50lbs, reduce road noise by 3-7dBA and eliminate rattles
Intro: As part of the continuation of our sound proofing project we now tackle the beast. Most Insight owners agree that the wheel wells are one of the loudest generators of sound. The culprit in our case is the low rolling resistance tires and the relatively high tire pressure. Since these tires are absolutely essential to the sweet gas mileage we all enjoy, we can't very well change the tires so instead we will need to do some serious sound dampening.
Unfortunately completing this is not an easy task. The front wheel wells are not fully enclosed and the plastic liner only covers part of the well.
Step 1: Prep
Jack the wheel up and remove the tire and wheel. Spray the well out with a hose really good and wipe everything down with a clean towel. Remove the plastic well liner and wipe down the back side with a clean towel. This is the side we are going to place the 1/2" closed cell foam. Make sure you note where the pop-in rivets go and the phillips screws because you don't want to put the foam on those parts.
Step 2: 1/2" Closed Cell Foam
You will have to do a lot of custom cutting here, but cover as much of the back side of the wheel well liner with the foam as you are able. Just like the foam in phases 1 and 2 you will spray down the plastic with High Tack Adhesive spray and then after letting it set for at least 5 minutes go to town with adhering the foam. Make sure you spray the back of the foam as well. Once glued put the wheel well liner back in.
Step 3: Masking
Using newspaper and masking tape you need to mask off the brake caliper, and that entire assembly as well as the spring and brake hose. Make sure to also mask off the front quarter panel so that there is no risk of overspray on the paint.
*** If you skip this step and get underspray on your paint make sure to take your stupid pill too and then make sure you tell your lawyer that I warned you so that he will advise you not to sue me.
Don't worry about masking the bolts screws because this stuff isn't so thick that you won't be able to get to them.
Step 4: Underspray
Ok, this step is primarily mass loading and secondarily sound dampening. It will not be extremely thick unless you get spray on bed liner or something like that. If someone wants to try spray on bed-liner, let me know how it goes. Thicker stuff might work better.
Spray on a full coat using the directions on the can. Let it set for 15min and then spray on another coat. Repeat this process until you've used an entire can. I think I got 5 full coats out of a can.
Once finished spraying, remove the masking after you're positive there will be no drips but before the spray dries completely because you don't want chunks of newspaper stuck in your wheel well.
Step 5: Great Stuff Expanding foam
Using the 10mm socket, remove the three screws on the top of the quarter panel (you have to pop the hood to get to them). Then remove the screw located just below where the mirror is (you have to open the door to see this screw.
**IMPORTANT: Mask off the two holes where the door hinges are. Otherwise you will do what I did and have the expanding foam spewing out of it for hours. Fortunately once the stuff dries it is pretty easy to get off and doesn't seem to damage the paint. I would mask those holes by wedging a piece of cardboard inside and taping over the outside.
Gently lift the top of the front quarter panel over the lip (enough to get the straw of the expanding foam in). Spray away and focus more on the part of the well that is closest to the passenger compartment.
**Repeat steps 1-5 on the other wheel well
Step 6: Put it all back together
Remove any masking you've done and put the bolts back in for the quarter panel. Let the expanding foam set for a couple of hours. It continues expanding for some time.
Results: Ok, so I must say that I had VERY high expectations for this part of the project because it is arguably the loudest part of the car at highway speed. The results were less than I expected and wanted. Part of the reason (as stated before) is that it's difficult to just put ensolite around the entire wheel well because of the design. Half the wheel well rests right up against the firewall anyway. For that reason, I think if I were to do the project all over again, I would do the firewall before I did the front wheel wells.
With all that said, loud bangs from potholes are now dull thuds and the pitch of the highway drone is noticably lower in note, but I can't tell if it's really that much quieter.
Upcoming
- Phase 4: Floors and firewall
- Phase 5: Rear wheel wells
- Phase 6: Misc areas
Sound Proofing Project-Phase 3: Front Wheel Wells
