fla

By the way does anyone have a spare glovebox cover or dash binnacle, in any condition for sale? Basically for me to try on..

Good shout Graham. Actually a really good idea as if i mess it up i can always stick the old cover back on

Would you mind posting a picture please James? Sounds like a good way to do it.

Perhaps not a bad idea! Saw it on a few higher end cars and thought it looked quite nice

thanks Sean. I agree, although its more a question of getting a fold in at the top when you bring the material into the profile. Maybe i should start in the recess and work outwards as opposed to putting it on the flat and working it into the recess?

Well I'm looking to start covering some of the interior trim in faux suede - glovebox cover, dash binnacle, lower dash etc. I thought I'd start with the glovebox cover as it looks fairly straightforward....and straight away I'm stuck! Ideally looking to avoid stitching pieces where possible as i have no idea how to use a sewing machine. Any suggestions for the recess in the glovebox lid? The top is ok and I've cut the fabric on a bias to give some stretch. Cleaned the lid with white spirit and surgical spirit. Thanks Hasan

Just an update here (6 months later!) and as Fender suggested the standard solution is best. I have ended up using a spare side trim piece and routed the leads through that as per a normal manifold setup. Much better than using the previous three-cable plastic spacers. The whole bay needs a proper clean and tidy up so this will form part of the "resto" work

Here are some pics from earlier today

Thanks James. No its an ebay one that seemed to be about the right size. I'll try and get a photo shortly

No not at all James. Do excuse me if i'm going over things that you already know: essentially the constrained layer (dynamat, damplifier etc) stops panel vibration and looking from the outside in this is usually the first layer of soundproofing carried out. Contrary to opinion, it doesn't actually do much for road noise, which is mainly airborne noise or conducted through the chassis. What is then required is a decoupling layer (closed cell foam) and then a sound absorber (open cell foam) and finally a barrier (mass loaded vinyl) to block any noise. The problem in cars is the limited space under carpets, door panels and door skins. Putting them in another sequence wont be ideal - in my industry (Oil & gas) we use a similar setup on pipelines as acoustic insulation. You could apply the OCF above the MLV but usually it wont be as effective as having the MLV as the outermost layer. OCF is certainly a good idea in the roof if you can find the space there - its a bit tight with the sunroof but there is a square of foam there that could benefit from being upgraded with a newer product. I have also put some damplifier on the roof skin to reduce the drumming noise when it rains. By all means give me a bell if you want to bounce any ideas around. Like Dox, i'm sadly in my 50s now too, so road noise reduction is of more importance than before! Hasan

Very kind of you to offer JF - I'll try and get some photos of mine shortly and post up. In fact if you could advise how I could modify the jacket I already have that would be great. I think the issue with mine is just too many cables connected to the battery connectors. I actually have the Golf Mk5 earth board in the garage but need to work out how and where to install it!

Tbh I haven't had much experience with the paint on solutions like silent coat. I found the following helped: Single layer of damplifier or any constrained layer damping material on about 1/4 of each of the doors and rear quarter panels. 3mm closed cell foam to isolate a mass loaded vinyl layer under the carpet. I haven't taken my dash out but if you have I would certainly extend the CCF and mlv layer up and behind the dash. I've also got some heavier open cell foam but I'm in two minds about using it in the door cards. The advantage is that it will help with absorbing airborne noise but being open cell it might hold some moisture that gets through. Then again that might not actually be anything at all. I didn't stick the mlv to the CCF under the carpet but on hindsight it would have been better to have done so. I also stuck the adjoining prices with duct tape as close as possible to each other to reduce the risk of noise leakage through the gaps I do feel that the firewall allows a fair amount of noise through but until I get the dash off and upgrade the soundproofing it just remains a theory. The other thing I would suggest (and what I also need to do)is to check all the door seals inner and outer, as well as the sunroof seal. Hope that's of some use James. Incidentally I used tecsound50 as the mlv, and some 3mm and 6mm CCF from eBay. I'll dig out the reference shortly.

Anyone fitted one? If so, do you have any pics? I have been trying to make it as neat as possible but find the jacket folds a lot on the sides and the main harness across the battery fouls a lot making it really awkward to seat the battery properly. I've got an uprated loom and the relays in a separate box which i was hoping to pop into the jacket. Welcome any tips or pics. Thanks Hasan

That certainly looks good James. Rims look good - Borbets are they? I would stick with them but, like you say, lower it a few inches

excellent, thanks

Great pics Shaun, although yours is boosted isnt it? I'm looking for a good place to mount the can - only had it about 7 years in the box! - but if there were the space at the front that would be ideal. The fittings i have are only for a 16mm hose though - where did you get the 19mm fitting? Hasan

thanks very much for that Sean & Keyo

that looks stupendous! Need some sunglasses to look at it. Absolute credit to your efforts Shaun.

whats the best way to remove the actuators? I've removed the two screws at the front, the connector is a bit of a pain but how is that operating rod removed? Do you remove it from the lock mechanism or from the actuator? Thanks Hasan

Many thanks for that. I really do like the look on 17s i have to say, but thats valuable input so i think I'll be shifting over to 16s. Looking at OZ Superturizmos...

That helps, thanks. Perhaps we could say 17s to 16s is not as significant in comfort as 16s to 15s? Hasan

Slightly different to the title, but what are comfort experiences of 16s vs 17s? Is it significant? I know there's an improvement, just interested in sort of quantifying it if possible? When i had speedies it was way more comfortable even on harsh PI springs, and did handle better, but imho looked severely underwheeled. So 15s are not really under consideration..

Any update pics James?

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Old thread - did anyone here buy this?