10.14.2008

Sound proofing procrastination

Those who know me understand my passion for taking things apart. I try to find excuses to do so any time I can. I especially like to take apart my car (the Audi TT). Thankfully I've developed a 95% success rate for being able to put everything back together without any parts left over. 

Most recently, I have taken out the rear seat and seat backs, the spare tire, the trim around the rear hatch . . . well, everything from the front seats back. This in preparation for sound proofing with a special sound-absorbing product called Damplifier from Second Skin Audio. I'm not doing this install because I'm looking to improve the audio quality in the cabin, I'm doing it mainly because there is a certain amount of road noise inherent with any car - and with my TT I have just completed installing a 3" downpipe to finish off my custom exhaust system. It's not too loud, I simply want to dampen the road and exhaust noise that does make it into the passenger compartment. 

So I'm done with the fun, taking out all that stuff to get to the bare metal. Now it gets complicated which leads to why I'm procrastinating. It looks daunting from here! I have a box of 12" x 18" flat sheets of the Damplifier material looking at me every time I walk through the garage; it has adhesive backing to secure it to the metal. You have to cut it just so, place it and then roll it out with a small wooden or rubber roller in it's final home. I suppose I'll create paper templates based on the complex surfaces that I need to cover, then cut the material to size. That'll test my patience for sure but the payoff is when I get to put everything back together and enjoy my sense of accomplishment.

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