Ultimate sound pad vs regular engine sound pad?

deathpunk dan · 01-07-2008, 05:25 AM

Hello
In your opinion, is the 'ultimate sound pad' significantly better than the standard replacement engine sound pad? Is it worth the additional expense?

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks!

Dan

JP911 · JP911's Garage

I had one in my targa. Didn't notice more or less sound, but it sure tidied up the engine compartment. Haven't done one in my coupe because the PO put in a fresh factory sound pad. You just need to ask yourself how you feel about the aluminum foil look when you pop the decklid.

sand_man · 01-07-2008, 05:44 AM

I decided on the black, factory original when I had my engine out for a rebuild. No regrets. My car is GP White with all of the black trim, so I preferred the understated looks of the original. My car is a daily driver and the pad still looks like new.

I used this product as the adhesive...bought it at NAPA:

I think there might also be a spray adhesive equivalent...

herr_oberst · 01-07-2008, 06:29 AM

I wish I had just used the regular sound pad. I glued the foil side to the firewall, and it separated from the felt in places, ergo, it has a couple of sags. Also, I think the laminated look on the edge looks shabby. (I had the edge bound with naugahyde, and the upholstery shop let one of the apprentices do it, so not the best job. My fault for not being more insistent.

Having said all that, it looks 1000 times better than the old one, and it will do for now until I drop the motor to fix the standard oil leaks.

BTW, the sound damping wasn't much better. Maybe a little quieter.

sand_man · 01-07-2008, 06:55 AM

Agreed about not noticing much difference with or without the pad. My original pad was badly disintegrated (pre-engine rebuild) and was removed. I drove around for quite a while with no pad and didn't really miss it. The only thing I despised was the horrible look of the residual glue that was left behind on the firewall. This nasty stuff was pretty apparent on my white car. I tried to remove it, but decided I had better things to spend my time on...thus a new pad was installed.

deathpunk dan · 01-07-2008, 06:58 AM

Thanks guys - you've pretty much nailed the key issue for me, which was really how much more effective the USP is in terms of noise reduction.

Standard replacement it is!

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

What's the "ultimate sound pad" anyway? I don't see it. I just ordered a regular one so I guess it doesn't matter, but I wonder if a reflective one might have some benefit. . .

trentwat · 01-07-2008, 12:11 PM

I bought an ultimate sound pad, but it is still sitting in the box. It came with no installation instructions. Any advice? Can this be done with the motor still in place?

butzi73 · 01-07-2008, 01:54 PM

I need to get one myself and was trying to decide between the various pads out there. I don't have anything right now, just a bare wall. I tried laying a movers blanket (folded once) over the firewall inside the car, and frankly I noticed a pretty big difference in sound. The high pitched noise was cut down enough to make it much more comfortable inside. I have a sports exhaust so the bass/exhaust sound is still plenty loud.

The "Ultimate" pad just seems to have the extra foam, in addition to the sound-deading felt. I gather that the foam is mostly for heat, not sound. Does anybody know? I don't care about heat too much. I just want to cut the sound down a bit. I was wondering about those untrimmed edges. That does seem a bit unfinished looking.

Some of the pads have edge trim, but I was wondering if they provide equal sound-deading to the Ultimate pad. Some have foil on both sides. Can anybody by chance show some photos of engine compartments with either the foil showing or not?

Thanks!

57_300SL · 01-08-2008, 06:30 AM

I would not do one while the engine is in the car . I find that the most important thing is to get all the old rotted foam off before trying to install the new one for two reasons. 1) if you try installing the new one over old foam it will not adhere as well. Think of what happens when you try painting over old flaking paint. 2) if the metal surface is not devoid of old foam (even if it is firmly attached) you will see bumps there the old foam in still in place. Finally I would use the 3M trim adhesive in the spray can instead of the tube. This will ensure a uniform coating of adhesive and will minimize the potential for sections of the new pad falling down.

sand_man · 01-08-2008, 06:51 AM

I did mine while my engine was out for a rebuild. However, one could always perform a "partial engine drop" to help with access:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/911_partial_engine_drop/911_partial_engine_drop.htm

Evans, Marv · 01-08-2008, 07:16 AM

I bought some sound & heat insulating material from J.C. Whitney. It was about an inch thick of high density foam with a layer of sound deadening vinyl in the middle and silver colored mylar on one side. I used my old pad as a pattern and edged it with aluminum tape. It worked better than anything I had used before.

911 in SC · 01-08-2008, 10:02 AM

I just replaced mine when I had the intake off replacing the manifold gaskets. I couldn't imagine doing it with everything in place. BTW, I just went with the lightweight pad. I could notice a difference in sound. Not sure about heat yet. I used spray adhesive, and plan on getting the tube adhesive to make sure the edges are glued down really well.

herr_oberst · 01-08-2008, 10:05 AM

I did mine with the engine in, it went pretty well. I took off a lot of the ancillary items, like the airbox and the throttle body and some oil lines, removed the cruise control, and really didn't have much of an issue. Took a couple of days, only because I started on a Friday after work and had to quit before it was finished, finished up easily on Saturday.

Took lots of pictures and printed them out 11 x 17 so I had a very good idea of what went back where, and I am pretty happy with the results, other than the aforementioned sags, which I don't really notice until I look for them.

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I bought some sound & heat insulating material from J.C. Whitney. It was about an inch thick of high density foam with a layer of sound deadening vinyl in the middle and silver colored mylar on one side. I used my old pad as a pattern and edged it with aluminum tape. It worked better than anything I had used before.

Is that the stuff you used?

Aurel

hcoles · 01-08-2008, 12:20 PM

take a look the the B-Quite Company
I used the Hliner and Extreme in two layers....
Not real easy to put on, very sticky.
I made templets. Was a lot of work to get all the old adhesive off.
Definately an engine out project..
Not real sure how it compares to a stock or other sound pad.

turbobrat930 · 01-08-2008, 01:32 PM

another option... you could forgo the sound pad all together... and just use a heat barrier.... here is a pic of mine... not the best pic.. but you get the point...

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

That engine is too clean. Please dump a 1/2 quart of dirty oil on it and retake the picture.

trentwat · 01-08-2008, 05:29 PM

Food for thought...yummy. Thank you! Not sure when the engine will be coming out. But, considering I removed the mffler all together and went with a bypass pipe. It might happen sooner than later...still waiting for the car to come back from the shop.

Evans, Marv · 01-08-2008, 07:45 PM

Aurel,
That looks like the thin stuff with mylar on both sides and the chopped fiber in the middle. What I used had about an inch of gray foam with a black layer (fairly thick - maybe 32nd of an inch) of vinyl sandwiched in the center, and mylar on one side of the pad. It was decently heavy, but not bad since the sound pad isn't that big.