Insulation for a Hard top Gypsy

[COUGAR]

I have just got a Hard top fitted on to my 3 year old Gypsy. Now this is my touring car used only for long tours and I could use some additional sound and general vibration dampening in the rear compartment. Since I very often sleep in the car while on tour (YES! ) additional thermal insulation would be a great help. I spent Friday night parked outside a Dhaba before Dhule as a dreadful traffic jam bought NH3 to a dead halt. Despite my sleeping bag, I was frozen to death!

What insulation options can I consider? I was thinking of some 1" thick dense styrofoam of the kind we use for our R/c planes on the walls and roof of the Top from the tailgate to the B-pillar with suitable cutouts for the windows. This could then be covered up with some nice thin wallpaper of the kind used for Kids-bedrooms (not the thick rubbery variety). For the floor I was thinking of removing all the seats, putting on a thin rubber mat (1-2mm thick) all the way from the rear tailgate to the firewall and then refitting the seats over it.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

[navin]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

I have just got a Hard top fitted on to my 3 year old Gypsy.I could use some additional sound and general vibration dampening in the rear compartment. additional thermal insulation would be a great help.

I was thinking of some 1" thick dense styrofoam suitable cutouts for the windows.

For the floor I was thinking of removing all the seats, putting on a thin rubber mat (1-2mm thick) all the way from the rear tailgate to the firewall and then refitting the seats over it.

Let break this into 3 parts.
1. Sound insulation
2. Thermal insulation
3. Keeping you warm in the car

Sound Insulation:
There are many products in the market that do this. The most well know is Dynamat Extreme. Dynamat Extreme is a good product but expensive (hey someones gotta pay for the the print and TV adverts). In India there is a product that is quite good called Noise Kill. Over on our ICE section it is well recomended. I had had 3 cars done with this and it really help with making the door panels and the trunk less resonant.

Lining the floor with 2mm of rubber will damp the metal (make it less resonant) but will do little for thermal insualtion. Therm-Max (see below) is a better option.

Thernal Insulation
You need to keep the engine heat in as well as keep the cold out. Heatlon can be applied to the underside of the engine hood as well as to the firewall. This will help retain engine heat so that you have fewer starting issues. For colder climes using antifreeze solution in your radiator will be nessacary. Do also make sure the battery termaials are clean and greased. Lastly a set of Starter cables so you can jumpstart you car with another car's battery should always be available.

Keeping you warm
The best solution is a sleeping bag. There are many varieties available in Mumbai. THere are even imported ones lined with Thinsulate (3M product) that are light and will keep you warm. If that dont work for you a set of wollen blankets (sheep wool is very warm) or quilted blankets will do too. In Mumbai the best place is called Khadi Bhandar in Fort. That's where I'd go. There are smaller shop around crawford market that sell thermal clothes too.

To keep the cold out fo the car the idea of using 25-30mm thermacol for the windows is very good. Thermacol insulates qutie well and is easy to handle and does not cause any skin irritation (like standard fiberglass mat insulsation can).

Another option is to line the roof with a product called Therm-Max Made the link is below. THis product is still not available in India so if you have a friend coming from the US this can be ordered from there.
CoolAndQuiet.com

lasltly instead of using leather or syntheic seat covers get those thick sheepskin seat covers. They will keep you warmer and retain heat better than leather and other synthetic covers. Acrylic covers can sometims cause a rash so use these with caution (covered in cotton cloth).

Hope this helps.

[tsk1979]

Unfortunately, thermal insulation on body will not work.
Even in the safari, which is much better insulated, after a couple of hours, the inside and outside temps equalize. the reason is that the glass is thin, and not double layered glass as we see on windows of houses in extreme cold countries.

[navin]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

the reason is that the glass is thin, and not double layered glass as we see on windows of houses in extreme cold countries.

this is why Cougar was considering using thermacol cutouts on the glass. thermacol can be made stiffer ans stronger by sandwhiching it in 3-4 mm ply.

[bigman]

If you are going to sleep in the car during the winter then get a hot water bottle. Get it filled with boiling water from any dhaba (or a car kettle) and it will keep you warm till the morning.