hood and sound insulation?

[cro320]

Is 3-pieced insulation under the hood necessary to have?
I got my car repainted and they removed it in body shop...what are the bad points of driving without it?

[John in VA]

All of the USA E30 cars I've seen have a woven fiber sheet attached under the hood for sound & heat insulation. It can't be a bad thing to replace what you're missing.

[nando]

it's sound insulation and supposedly as a fire retardant (falls off and smothers the flames in case of an engine fire).

It's not needed at all, I haven't had one for a while and it hasn't had any effect on the hood.

[StereoInstaller1]

Is 3-pieced insulation under the hood necessary to have?
I got my car repainted and they removed it in body shop...what are the bad points of driving without it?

Engine heat will kill your paint..get it fixed soon!

[ddavidv]

Total BS.
The engine heat will not hurt the paint. That is there for sound insulation only. Hundreds of thousands of cars built without hood insulation prove this.
And, it won't smother an engine fire. That thing will burn up like a newspaper.

[Asbradley21]

My e30 has just the three peices remaining(kinda) without the bottom sheet. My dad's e30 doesn't have either. I don't think it matters.

[StereoInstaller1]

Well, OK then.

My Dad was an auto body man for about a zillion years. He always said that was for protecting your paint from engine heat...maybe things have changed since 1950?

Dynamat sells a replacement sound deadener for underhood use, I forget what they call it...but when the car gets a respray, it is gonna get that crap. I hate the fiber thing, its ugly, plus there is no way in hell it absorbs much sound.


The Dynamat stuff is stupid expensive, so I am gonna get it with another brand name on it, but the same shit, I am sure.

Luke

[nando]

Engine heat will kill your paint..get it fixed soon!

no it won't. my hood isn't even metal, and my paint is just fine.

[kamotors]

i've been without hood insulation for 5 years and my paint is fine.

[StereoInstaller1]

see post above....

[ddavidv]

My Dad was an auto body man for about a zillion years. He always said that was for protecting your paint from engine heat...maybe things have changed since 1950?

Luke, usually your posts are right on but on this one I was surprised. Sorry, but Dad is wrong. ;)
Hood insulation only came into common use in the 1970s. Prior to that, it was very rare to see it on most vehicles except high-end cars. Open the hood of any 1960s common car or truck and guess what you won't see?
Now, cruise you local junkyard and pop the hood of any cheaper car like a Corolla, Hyundai Accent or Geo Metro. Same story.
Burning the paint from heat takes much more than the 250 or so degrees you'll typically find under a vehicle hood. That insulation is for sound deadening, period. Retaining heat under the hood would have no positive aspect to the engine's running and, in fact, could be viewed as a negative.

I've read this same incorrect belief on other message boards and after getting over I do my best to explain why it's not true. I guess I'm getting weary of repeating myself. Hope I didn't offend.

[TexasTerp]

BMP has an "Engine Dress Up" kit for for the engine, it comes in either a single sheet or 3 pre-cut pieces and it's like 40 bux. I have it on both my trunk and my hood, it insulates the sound pretty well for the price. I haven't had much problem with it.

[StereoInstaller1]

Luke, usually your posts are right on but on this one I was surprised. Sorry, but Dad is wrong. ;)
Hood insulation only came into common use in the 1970s. Prior to that, it was very rare to see it on most vehicles except high-end cars. Open the hood of any 1960s common car or truck and guess what you won't see?
Now, cruise you local junkyard and pop the hood of any cheaper car like a Corolla, Hyundai Accent or Geo Metro. Same story.
Burning the paint from heat takes much more than the 250 or so degrees you'll typically find under a vehicle hood. That insulation is for sound deadening, period. Retaining heat under the hood would have no positive aspect to the engine's running and, in fact, could be viewed as a negative.

I've read this same incorrect belief on other message boards and after getting over I do my best to explain why it's not true. I guess I'm getting weary of repeating myself. Hope I didn't offend.

Not at all, David. The 1950 thing was kind of a joke on the fact that Dad is fucking OLD!

Having heard the truth (which makes sense, too) I have repositioned my beliefs...R3V FTW!

I am still gonna do some kind of sound deadning on my hood though. Inside the front fenders, too.

[cro320]

Ok guys thanks.
Is it true that without insulation engine becomes more loud?

I repainted my hood and looks lovely, should be nice to save 50$ for insulation, that's price for it over here

[gearheadE30]

You will be able to hear the mechanical noise a little more, but only from outside the car. Inside, it doesn't make much difference.