Thermo-Tec Install: Keep Out The Heat and Sound!

The next segment of our Project Way-Gone build has come. After getting the car running and driving we want to get the interior in it. With nothing but a bare metal shell it’s rather loud and tinny sounding inside. How do we fix it? With Thermo-Tec of course!

Adding a butyl rubber insulation under the carpet is nothing new for classic cars. These products not only make it quieter but with their aluminum foil backing, it helps to reflect the heat back out of the car. The issue we ran into is that there are so many different brands out there – which one actually works?

We know the experts at Thermo-Tec are the real deal. They’ve been making some of the best insulation products for over 32 years and have a huge line up of insulation products. Thermo-Tec has everything from exhaust wraps, to interior insulation, heat shields, coatings and just about anything needed to maintain heat and sound on our cars.

We gave them a call and told them what we were working on. “We recommend the Suppressor Heat and Sound Control mat,” stated Randy Pugh. “This is an all around insulation that’s going to quiet things down inside and keep things cool at the same time.” That’s exactly what we needed.

The Science of Cool

How it works is the butyl-rubber acts as a dampener. When the sheet metal floor resonates it’s moving back and forth on a microscopic level like a drum. The Suppressor slows down or all together eliminates that movement so sound doesn’t travel well through the sheet metal. The aluminum foil backing acts as a reflective barrier for heat and cold by reflecting it back outside of the car.

“The Suppressor is ideal when both sound and radiant heat control is needed. In addition to the polyethylene film, the foil surface provides direct protection from radiant heat up to 2000 Deg F and direct temperatures up to 300 Deg F. Great for areas like INTERIOR firewalls, floorboards, or doors. The Suppressor is also 7 mil in thickness, contains a high temperature adhesive backing, and is easy to trim & fit,” continued Pugh.

Laying Down The Cool

Installation of the Suppressor is really straight forward. You can cut it with a razor and make pieces that fit the area you’re trying to do. The Suppressor comes in a 3’x3′ sheet and we found that instead of trying to lay down one big piece at once, it’s easier to just cut little pieces. This is not only easier to work with, but makes it easier to conform the Suppressor to the bumps and contours of the floor as well.

What we did was roughly measure the area we wanted to install the Suppressor. Then with a razor blade we cut out the piece we needed then removed the paper backing. We laid down the piece and then used the dull end of a screwdriver handle to push down the insulation. We find that just pushing down by hand isn’t enough, you really need to work it around the bumps and ensure it’s stuck down.

We’ve used several different companies insulation before and this was our first time using Thermo-Tec. One thing that caught us off guard at first is the Suppressor isn’t insanely sticky. The other companies were. We quickly found out this was a great thing! This allowed us to remove the paper and get the piece in place before really locking it down the back of a screwdriver handle. The other companies as soon as it touches anything it sticks, including our hands! The Suppressor was way easier to handle and install. After rubbing the edges and middle with the screwdriver handle, it was definitely stuck in place though.

Overall the process is pretty easy though. We started with the firewall and slowly worked our way back, but there’s no right or wrong way to do it. We did make sure that we didn’t put any over seat belt or seat holes to make installation of those easy.

We did order enough of this to be able to do the entire floor and doors. For now we insulated the entire floor and will do the doors in the future. We have to rebuild those and the insulation will be the last piece. Just getting the floor done and then starting the car up we can tell a huge difference already! An easy upgrade for a few hours worth of work.