thisisntjared

ive heard from some audi/vw friends that they fill their frames with a insulation like foam for chasis regidity.

i surf and ive used this filling material so i know it works in keeping things very rigid when encased in another material, which reducing harmonics of the surrounding material. however, i know that should the car get into an accident, the parts that were filled will not be repairable.

i was thinking of pumping up my front subframe, since its easily replaceable. does anybody have any experience? maybe some intelligent comments. if not i will probably be doing a write up in a few months... when i get around to it

spock_rocker

i dont really have any comments, except ive been thinking of the same thing. so ill be subscribing to this thread! thanxx

Nicram

I was thinking of doing it to my rear fenders area behind the panneling to reduce the road noise. I think it is a hood idea. Cheaper and lighter then dyno-matt

thisisntjared

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Nicram &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was thinking of doing it to my rear fenders area behind the panneling to reduce the road noise. I think it is a hood idea. Cheaper and lighter then dyno-matt</TD></TR></TABLE>i never thought about doing it for noise reduction.....interesting...

i think i will be doing this sooner than later

thisisntjared

bump for prime time viewing

mek9fast

i know a couple of people were doin it with there 240's back in the day, i believe it was suppose to increase rigidity, but at the same time there are so many other things you can do like stich and seem weld you chassis. once the foam expands inside the frame rails i believe its suppose to reduce flex and what not.

bigcalidave

The foam has ZERO structural strength. The forces applied to the STEEL you are filling is really high. It will reduce noise and vibration very well, and yes, it doesn't weigh very much. I use it in spl cars occasionally. Only reason I don't like it for a street car is if you get a dent in a body panel that is filled with it, you are SOL on repairing it. Except for bondo... But you can never weld or do a paintless dent removal on it again. Seam welding is the best way to make a unibody stiff. Spend the time, get a crud thug and clean off all the seam sealer, and weld it all.

gunnis

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bigcalidave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Spend the time, get a crud thug and clean off all the seam sealer, and weld it all. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I thnk I would also try this before using foam.

OMG WTF

Ive seen video on Spoon doing it to their cars. You dont fill in the door panels or anything, its for smaller areas such as the door sill and frame rails.

mek9fast

ive seen people fill their rocker panels with it as well

thisisntjared

i dont know man, have you seen what foam does for surfboards? fiber glass bends and cracks sooo easy, but with the foam its instantly rigid and will snap before bending.

i have a hard time it does absolutely nothing

Brodie Bruce

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont know man, have you seen what foam does for surfboards? fiber glass bends and cracks sooo easy, but with the foam its instantly rigid and will snap before bending.

i have a hard time it does absolutely nothing</TD></TR></TABLE>

How much force do you apply to a surfboard before it actually breaks? Not as much as your car generates as it rolls through a corner.

SixguN

Never heard of this stuff. Where do you get it? How much is it?

OMG WTF

any boating supply store. I dont know the exact price but i know its very expensive.

cyb

Hey guys. If you have any interest in doing this I would suggest getting a "foam pack." it's probably the equivilant of 20 of the expensive little cans. We use them to repair refrigerated semi-trailers.

Contact me if you are interested. I can get you a good price on that stuff. jonathan@utilitymtairy.com

Padawan

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bigcalidave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The foam has ZERO structural strength.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This isn't true, and I believe a lot of people in this thread are confusing the insulating foam found at hardware stores (or other types of foam) with true automotive-grade structural foam, which is used in a number of OEM applications to increase chassis rigidity and reduce NVH levels.

thisisntjared

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by xavenged7x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How much force do you apply to a surfboard before it actually breaks? Not as much as your car generates as it rolls through a corner.</TD></TR></TABLE>a few thousand gallons of water

i will be forgetting about the homedepot 'solution', so how much does the automotive stuff cost?

what are nvh levels?

96accordlxf22b2

why do u want to do this at all? get sum strut bars......better suspension.seam weld it..........i wouldnt foam it unless ur going to d1 and need to do everything in moneys grasp to stay competitve

Padawan

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i will be forgetting about the homedepot 'solution'</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, the Home Depot variety will only end up making a mess. While it would likely reduce NVH (Noise, Vibration & Harshness) levels , it would not measurably add to chassis rigidity.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by thisisntjared &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> so how much does the automotive stuff cost?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Autoseal is the foam recommended for repairing a chassis where OEM foam was originally used by the manufacturer. It was also used by Sport Compact Car on a project vehicle, with positive results. It's not inexpensive, but shouldn't end up costing much more than a typical strut tower bar.

96accordlxf22b2

i wanna see a write up on this man seems tight lol seriously what exactly are you going to fill like doors and ****?

thehatchninja

seems like a good idea.

b18ccivics

there is other threads on here about foam stiffening a chassis, if i remember correctl nissan has it and you can buy it at a dealer. just any kind of foam will not work, so people that dont know what they are talking about please dont post.

96accordlxf22b2

so b18 do i just go into nissan service counter and ask for foam or is there a nmae i can say and they sell to me also how much is it?

thisisntjared

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 96accordlxf22b2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i wanna see a write up on this man seems tight lol seriously what exactly are you going to fill like doors and ****?</TD></TR></TABLE>yea me too, i did a couple searches on ht and found NOTHING. searching on other forums lead to discussion but no solid facts.<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Autoseal is the foam recommended for repairing a chassis where OEM foam was originally used by the manufacturer. It was also used by Sport Compact Car on a project vehicle, with positive results. It's not inexpensive, but shouldn't end up costing much more than a typical strut tower bar.</TD></TR></TABLE>thanks for the link and info!!

Frozen E

on a sound deadening note, all my body panels in my car are filled with pink fiberglass insulation. If you knock on the quarterpanel of my car you don't hear a tin can sound. It's more of a thud. It quieted things down a whole lot too. And I swear that my car warms up much quicker in the winter as well.