Installing FatMat Sound Deadening this weekend....got any tips?

[BlueCrush]

I am doing the floor of the interior and cargo area only. Not the doors(at this time anyway). I will be tearing apart my floor interior tonight and installing the FatMat tomorrow then reinstalling my floor interior after. Are there any tips or how-to's for removing the floor interior(especially the seats)? I think I can get the back seats without a problem. I'm wondering about the front seats(since they have airbags) and the amp. I can handle the center console without a problem. How do I remove the door sills, do I just lift up on them? Are there any plastic clips I should be aware of so I don't break them? Any tips would be appreciated. I will take pics too. Wish me luck! lol! This will be my most involved mod to date.

[02csnow]

I had to take my carpet fully out due to car getting a little flooded. there are clips on the door sills, but they do come out easily. Just disconnect the battery before disconnecting anything under the front seats, b/c there are some wires that come up form under the carpet to the amp. there are a few clips holding the wires to the seat. but besides that, it is only four bolts on each seat. you also have to unbolt the amp from the floor board.

[BlueCrush]

Awesome! Great tips! Thanks Snow!

[02csnow]

Oh yeah and when taking out the front seats. Dont try to go through the front doors, b/c you will mostly likely scratch something. It is a tight squeeze, so i would suggest the rear doors. that is what i did after i learned my leason and then costing me $25 for a trim plate.

[BlueCrush]

Good to know! I was actually just wondering about that. Did you need to keep them reclined to get them out or can they be upright? Thanks again.

[02csnow]

You can keep them upright or reclined. i believe mine were half way reclined. When you go to put them back in, slide them fully forward and put the back bolts in first and then slide it back to do the front bolts.

[MRCN RCE]

i had to pull all the seats out when a stupid (removed) cat got in my car and decided to use the back seat for a bathroom. one of the reasons i can't stand the vermin. the front passenger and rear seats come out of the car the easiest when they're folded all the way forward. the easiest way to remove the wires from the seat sensors is to remove the bolts first, then lean the seat back. they're 926 times easer to get to that way if i remember right, the bolts are 12 or 14mm. be careful putting the seat bolts back in; i somehow cross threaded the rear left bolt on the front passenger seat. now the bolt doesn't go completely in. it still holds great tho, my girl and i tested it lmaothe amp just bolts to the floor, and the wire harness is easy to remove. the door sills are really easy to remove too, just take your time and you won't have to worry about breakin anything.hope this helps, good luck

[BlueCrush]

Haha! Great! Thanks Guys!

[BlueCrush]

Well, I got all of the cargo area, the seats and carpet floor out. It took 2-1/2hrs. Damn, that sucked! Tons of bolts, clips and pins. I have a feeling I might end up with extra parts then I'm done. lol. I'm done for the night. Too tired and too dark to take pics. I'll take some in the morning. Time for a beer! Tomorrow I will be cleaning all the areas I will be laying down the FatMat and the laying it down. I'm guessing 2-3 hours for the FatMat installation then the fun of reinstalling everything. This better be worth the work put into it. Haha! My back is stiff already, can't wait until tomorrow!

[MRCN RCE]

haha yeah it took me a minute to get everything out, especially since i did it blind. look forward to pics n reviews. did you do a comparison between the fatmat n the dynamat??

[BlueCrush]

A minute? lol I hope you are kidding. I compared Dynamat, FatMat and eDead. I didn't want the cheapest (eDead) or the most expensive (Dynamat). The FatMat seemed to fit the bill. I read the reviews ana it was enough for me since I was only using it to quieten exhaust and road noise It came with a roller and knife (so I don't have to mess up my good one) as well.

[schroeder]

Hey B, is your car back together?If so any guess as to how much less road and exhaust noise?Does it seem more solid?Thinking of doing the same, but haven't selected the supplier yet.Howard

[MAVibe]

Yeah---I was planning on going w/ some FatMat too. But I'll wait for your results 1st. Haha. Also, how was it getting the carpet in and out? How many pieces is it?

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by schroeder »Hey B, is your car back together?If so any guess as to how much less road and exhaust noise?Does it seem more solid?Thinking of doing the same, but haven't selected the supplier yet.HowardHey Howard, long time no chat! My car was back together yesterday. IT took a total of about 8 hours fro mstart to finish over the two days. From what I can tell after test driving it is that the road noise has been reduced by about 40-50%. It is a big difference to me. It did not do much for the exhaust noise, though. So I'll be switching resonatoes and adding a 2nd muffler. Both are high flow and should not redice performance by much, but should reduce the sound down to where I want it. I already have both, just need them installed. It does seem much more solid. No rattles anymore from the floor/cargo area. After doing this I am seriously considering doing the doors and headliner this summer. I will do a write-up and provide lots of pics tomorrow. It won't be a How-To but it will give you guys a good idea of what to expect. Thanks again for the help guys! Quote, originally posted by MAVibe »Yeah---I was planning on going w/ some FatMat too. But I'll wait for your results 1st. Haha. Also, how was it getting the carpet in and out? How many pieces is it?Carpet is one piece and was not bad getting in and out at all once all the plastic push pins were out and clips along the sills were released.One 50sqft. roll of FatMat covered only one layer on the entire floor. If you are doing more than that you will want to get the 100sqft. auction on Ebay and save $10 over buying 2 separate 50ft. auctions.

[MRCN RCE]

haha naw it didn't take me 60 seconds to get the seats out, i'm not a "minute man" lol. thas jus somethin me n my people have said since we were younger. it's another way of sayin it took a while. glad u got it in and are satisfied. i've never heard of fatmat, but i'll definitely look into gettin it. i've used dynamat speaker kits on my Z, and they helped 123688%, but if the fatmat does a good job too, i'll consider gettin that instead. lookin forward to the pics n writeup

[BlueCrush]

First of all, I would like to thank you all for the tips. It made things go more smooth. It took me 2-1/2 hrs on Friday evening to remove the interior, 3 hours for the FatMat install on Saturday morning, and 2-1/2 hours to reinstall everything on Saturday afternoon. 8 hours total over 2 days. The hardest part was ther rear seat side bolts. It not for that, it would have been much more enjoyable. Those side bolts are a *****! Front seats came out fine. the carpet came out easy once I figured out how to unclip it from the white clips at the door sills. I had to loosen the lower part of the B-Pillars and remove the lower part of the C-Pillars. The sills just popped right out. I then cleaned the entire floor with windex first and got all the dust off, then shop vac'd to get any remaining loose dirt, hair, etc... I started with a couple large pieces on the front and rear floors, but soon realized it was much easier and faster to work with smaller pieces. The logo on the foil side of the FatMat rubs off, so I had Papa Smurf hands. lol. The FatMat came with a roller and a knife. The knife worked perfect but the roller wheel kept falling off, since I kept putting too much pressure on it while rolling. One roll of FatMat(50sqft.) covered one layer on the entire floor and adds 12lbs to the weight of the car.Here is the Ebay seller I bought my FatMat from: http://stores.ebay.com/auto-sound-supplyOverall, I am happy with the install. I took my time and didn't rush it. the raod noise has decreased by about 50% but the exhaust noise only decreased by about 10-15% . So, I will be making changes to my exhaust in the next couple weeks anyways. I am seriously considering doing the doors and headliner this summer as well. There is a strong odor of rubber from the FatMat, which was expected. Hope it doesn't last too long, though. Opening the windows for about 5 minutes completely removes the smell. An now on to the pics w/descriptions.Interior Parts #1:Interior Parts #2:Front Seats:Rear Seats and Carpet:Cargo Parts and My Cheap Insulation Mod:The interior is out:Cargo Area Prepped:Rear Seat Floor Prepped:Front Seat Floor Prepped:Passenger Rear Floor PreppedPassenger Front Floor Prepped:Driver Rear Floor Prepped:Fuel Pump Location Under Rear Driver Side Seat:Front Driver Floor Prepped:WooHoo! I'm Done installing the FatMat:Cargo Area Finished:Rear Seat Floor Finished:Overview Of Finished Floor:Passenger Rear Floor Finished:Passenger Front Floor Finished:Driver Front Floor Finished:The FatMat Aftermath:Carpet Reinstall:Passenger Front Carpet:Driver Front Carpet:Amp Reinstall Under Passenger Seat:Misc. Electronics Reinstall Under Driver Seat:Front Seat are back in: I was too tired to take anymore pics but you get the idea. lol.

[MRCN RCE]

looks great bc it's about time i was able to help somebody on this site, god knows i've found a bunch of help for myself on here in the past year

[keithvibe]

looks good B.... What about the sound of the stereo? any improvement? I bet if the roof was done that would help A LOT!

[BlueCrush]

Thanks, guys! I think I may do the door panels and headliner in the 3-4 weeks.

[tcam]

wow, that install looks perfect and ur car looks spotless too. lol

[MAVibe]

Wow looks good. You did a great job documenting the process! (hope the smell dissipates...)

[Sublimewind]

When it's time for the doors/headliner look into RAAMAT and Ensolite to go over the mat, it will make a world of difference... Nice writeup...!!

[zionzr2]

great mod BC!!It has just been added to the DIY MOD Index!

[BlueCrush]

Thanks Bill.I went ahead lst evening and did my doors and hatch with a foam that had foil on both sides. It was super cheap and I used 3M spray adhesive to attach it to the doors. Unfortunately, as a I was about to take my fist pic my camera battery died. So no pics. Sorry. It made it a little quieter fro mthe road noise, but the biggest difference was in the sound quality of the stock moons and toons system. Before with the windows down driving I had to crank the volume to hear the music. Now I don'w have to crank it hardly at all. I also had to turn the bass down as it is much deeper than before. I was pretty easy and only took 2 hours from start to finish. All door clips survived. Here is what I used: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...idgetThank for everyone's help with the floor and the doors info. I wouldn't have been able to do it without it.

[vibebob]

how much noise reduction would I get from doing just the cargo area ? I live in an apartment, no garage, don't have a lot of tools either.

[BlueCrush]

There is minimal sound deadending in the seat area of the cabin but none in the cargo area. So, you should see a nice difference with it installed.

[waveresponder]

how the fatmat holding up...you still satisfied with it?...also your pics are no longer showing?

[BlueCrush]

My old Photobucket account was deleted and my old hard drive died in January of this year so, no more pics. The FatMat is doing great! In fact, I'll be ordering some more this week. Good Stuff!

[joholste]

so I have a question...would you suggest that when i do this i do a double layer in the cargo area so that it drowns out the exhaust a little better?

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by joholste »so I have a question...would you suggest that when i do this i do a double layer in the cargo area so that it drowns out the exhaust a little better? Definitely!

[WaveAction]

what is fat-mat..is it similar to dynamat?? like the tar covered foil stuff?? stuff works amazing if it is..wish i could see the pics

[BlueCrush]

Yes, it is similar to Dynamat. It is foil backed, butyl rubber with a pressure sensetive adhesive.

[chadhgraves]

What if I bought some heavy duty floor mats and put on some FatMat on the bottom of it? I have the doors lined with Dynamat and it sounds solid when I shut it. I was thinking of lining the bottom of some new floor mats with FatMat and putting down some carpet in the back cargo area with some FatMat as well. Then FatMat any other places I can get to without taking out the seats and pulling up the carpet. You think this would cut down the road noise significantly enough to make it worthwhile or should it be all or nothing and take out the seats and carpet.

[Water boy]

WOWAlmost 4 years since the last post in this thread.I believe that inactive threads should be closed.Anyway, somewhere I posted using Roxul and the rolled roofing stuff. Made a BIG difference. And no issues with the roofing stuff as some have experienced and/or predicted I would.