Noise, Vibration and Harshness, known in the automotive world as NVH, are three areas automotive manufacturers spend billions of dollars trying to improve their products. Let’s face it, leaving aside historic vehicles or race cars, few people enjoy driving cars that are rough, overly noisy, hot, or jarring.
However, just because you can’t afford the latest cosseting, luxury barge from Bentley or Mercedes-Benz doesn’t mean you can’t make your car a much nicer place to be using products available right here in Australia.
Car Builders’ Mass Noise Liner is a product developed to improve a vehicle’s ability to withstand NVH levels. It is not just a standout product for passenger car cabins, though,
The beauty of Mass Noise Liner is it can be removed from the car with no trace it was there – there is no sticky surface or adhesive so it pulls straight out! Mass Noise Liner works by having a two-pronged attack on NVH: a closed cell foam layer on the bottom, with a mass-loaded vinyl on top of the foam.
Closed-cell foam is a de-coupling layer that separates contact between the vehicle and the insulating surface above it. Basically, it filters sounds and vibrations felt through the car’s sheet metal by acting as a physical barrier, removing direct contact with the mass-loaded vinyl on top and your floor covering.
The advantage in using a closed-cell foam on the bottom is it will not hold water, which is perfect if you have a convertible, plan on doing river crossings in your 4x4, or even if you have a container of fluid tip over. Another great property of the foam used is it is a fantastic thermal insulator, commonly found in domestic applications to lag hot water pipes.
Heat transfer through the floor of the car is isolated and effectively reduced by placing the Mass Noise Liner foam side-down. Much like walking on a tiled floor in bare feet, once you put some foam thongs (flip flops for everyone one outside Australia) the surface temperature is isolated and no longer experienced.
The closed-cell foam used in Car Builders’ Mass Noise Liner which make it ideal as a two-in-one, drop-in solution for insulating cargo areas. The Mass Noise Liner will conform to the ridges in cargo areas, filling the highs and lows making a 2 in 1 sound deadener ready to take a floor coating or tool box.
To truly make Mass Noise Liner product the best it could be, above the foam layer sits a layer of mass-loaded vinyl. This is a dense, but flexible, product which works as a sound transmission barrier. Mass-loaded vinyl is the modern-day equivalent to lead sheeting, but doesn’t have any toxic elements or drawbacks.
The pairing of both mass-loaded vinyl and a closed-cell foam de-coupling layer is typically what can be found in expensive, high-end premium vehicles, and normally the ones renowned for being acoustically opulent.
Mass Noise Liner can be used as a premium second-stage carpet under-lay, or as a removable sound deadener. It isn’t only great under carpet in passenger areas, but also through cargo areas like the boot (or trunk) of a car or wagon. Thanks to the foam lower layer’s water-shedding ability it won’t soak in spills.
When installed in cargo areas Mass Noise Liner’s removable nature means it is easily lifted up to access the spare wheel; a far more practical solution for daily driven vehicles rather than traditional peel and stick-style insulation. A side benefit is the Mass Noise Liner’s pliable nature means it will also cover the heavily-corrugated drop-in plastic spare wheel wells fitted to most modern cars.
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If the cargo area can’t have insulation fitted, Mass Noise Liner can seal the boot (trunk) from the cabin in sedans or hatchbacks by placing curtain behind rear seat cushions. Mass Noise Liner will also dramatically cut out droning exhaust noise commonly experienced with V8s, flat-fours and flat-six engines, when installed over the cargo area.
Vans are another vehicle infamous for booming and vibrating acoustics, and they can benefit massively from the two-stage insulation blocking heat and vibration, and still have plywood or carpet fitted over the top to remain a perfect work or recreational vehicle.
Installation is simple for anyone who has worked on their own car before, and has access to basic tools, as you don’t need to handle sticky sheets of smelly tar-based insulation. Similarly, no exotic, potentially dangerous chemicals are needed to clean the original manufacturer insulation sheets off the floor – Mass Noise Liner can be applied straight over the top!
So, if you spend plenty of time in your car and want to make it feel like the latest European limo parked in front of Monaco’s casino, but without spending Sydney property prices, have a look at the Car Builders Mass Noise Liner.
To learn more about this dual-stage product, available from distributors around Australia,
