TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed May 30, 2012 10:51 am

So I have been researching for sound deadening materials for my 70 Karmann Ghia restoration. I have just purchased 50sq ft. of 80mil sound deadening material from GTMAT. Has anyone heard of them? The pictures and quality looked very comparable to dynomat and fatmat. At the price of 100 bucks I though it couldn't be beat. It says lifetime warranty and 100% money-back guarantee. Just wanted to know if anyone has used this? www.gtmat.com. I will be the guinea pig if noone has tried them. And will post pics before and after installation.

Wed May 30, 2012 11:26 am

I have used Dynamat in the past and it seemed to work, it's just expensive though. I haven't tried the gtmat. Let us know how it works.

Wed May 30, 2012 2:22 pm

looks about the same as Rattletrap by Fatmat. This is what I used...
http://www.fatmat.com/bulk/rattletrap/50.html

Wed May 30, 2012 2:39 pm

yup, they basically have the same exact dimensions, thickness, etc. and even the price. How much of the car were you able to cover with the 50 sq. ft.? Did you do multi-layer or just single layer? Any info you could provide would be great. Also I plan on doing the entire floor pans, should i still put some form of rubber padding or tarboard on top of the material to give more cushion for the carpet, or will the deadener be plenty?

Thu May 31, 2012 2:17 pm

Yes, those two items look very simaler.
I put it everywhere. I filled the stampings in the pans and then covered over the whole pan, pic is stage one...

I covered the complete rear firewall down to under/behind back seat, the tunnel, and under the package tray. I covered the rear wheel wells. I covered the the whole front firewall. Ill try to take pics and post them tomorrow.

Thu May 31, 2012 2:43 pm

pics would be appreciative, I was just going to lay a sheet on the whole pan and use the roller to push into all the creases. But I would like to see how much you were able to cover. Since you said you had the 50sq ft kit. Do you think you will need more?

Thu May 31, 2012 3:19 pm

I bought the 50 sqft and ran out. bought 25 sqft more and ran out. My BIL bought the 100 sqft of fatmat and had extra he gave me, thats what i am working with to finish it up.

Thu May 31, 2012 3:59 pm

Here's a thread you might find interesting. See 2nd page as well.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=437629&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:26 pm

If I had it to do over again, i would buy the 100 sqft pack and if any left sell it or pay it forward. I havnt filled in the top of the rear firewall yet because i may be mounting my fuel prussure reg on the reverse side, i dont want to mount over the fatmat. Pics

Mon Jun 18, 2012 9:06 am

FRNKNSTNGHIA wrote: So I have been researching for sound deadening materials for my 70 Karmann Ghia restoration. I have just purchased 50sq ft. of 80mil sound deadening material from GTMAT. Has anyone heard of them? The pictures and quality looked very comparable to dynomat and fatmat. At the price of 100 bucks I though it couldn't be beat. It says lifetime warranty and 100% money-back guarantee. Just wanted to know if anyone has used this? www.gtmat.com. I will be the guinea pig if noone has tried them. And will post pics before and after installation.

Oh please do tell me how this GTMAT worked for you. It is SO much more affordable than the other brands. I have a rather large car that I am going to be putting this in (1966 impala 4 door) and I'm trying to keep my cost down.

They say on their website, thousands of satisfied customers, but I searched for an hour and found not a single review.

I'm always scared of that "you get what you pay for" saying. I've been burnt before, but also pleasantly surprised too.

Mon Jun 18, 2012 5:43 pm

The GTMAT has worked very well. I have only done the floor pans so far. But doing the coin test, it went from clank to thump. So definitely the sound proofing is noticeable immediately.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 2:28 pm

Sweet! Glad to hear that.

I just bought 100sq foot of their 80mil sound proofing. Should have it by this weekend (Thursday according to them).

Since I can't drive the car at the moment(front end basically disassembled and 4 bad tires) I reckon I will fire up the engine and make some noise before and after, maybe make a little before and after video.

No interior in the car other than the windows, dash, and steering wheel. Thinking a video before, one after the deadner, and one more in about 2 weeks when my carpet arrives.

I'll post back whether it's good for me as well or not. Thanks for the reply.

Wed Jun 20, 2012 8:39 am

I should have bought the 100sq ft because I do not think the 50sq ft I purchased will be remotely close to finishing the whole car. The good thing though is, when you buy the GTMAT they give you a coupon for $5 bucks off and if you send them a photo with the GTMAT installed another $5 bucks off. So if I buy another 50sq ft. it will be the same cost as buying the 100sq ft.

Mon Jun 25, 2012 6:42 pm

Got mine in this weekend. 100 sq foot was enough to do the entire floor, doors and trunk. I didn't do the roof, I have attic insulation (Reflectix) up there and on the firewall. I still have some GTMAT left over too.

It went on easy, the wooden roller snapped off the plastic shaft it rotated on. That's probably my fault as I was putting some pressure on that stuff. I just used my knuckle and the butt of a screwdriver to finish. It was really soft and flexible and didn't have sharp edges.

Just putting it on the floor made a difference in the way my doors sounded when they shut. I have no interior in the car right now, so the floor may have been vibrating some when I slammed the doors before. Once that stuff sticks, it is nearly impossible to pull off too.

I'm very pleased with it. I did do a bit of a sloppy job trying not to waste any. I did one door entirely with pieces I trimmed off of when doing the floor. I wish I had made it look prettier, used templates and stuff to make the pieces match, all the same, no overlapping, etc. That's the only reason I didn't post a pic lol.

My car is now 44 pounds heavier, but it doesn't matter, the door to the glove box weighs close to 4 pounds anyway, lol.

Tue Jun 26, 2012 12:10 am

trickyspark wrote: My car is now 44 pounds heavier, but it doesn't matter, the door to the glove box weighs close to 4 pounds anyway, lol.

Easy solution...go on a diet. You'll feel better for it and so will your Ghia. :wink:

Mon Feb 10, 2014 8:57 am

I realize this is an older thread, but has anyone tried using Frost king Insulation for this purpose? $18.77 for a 12'' x 15 foot roll, it seems very cost effective, and looks like it may be the same type of insulation other's are selling at less then 1/2 the price. You could even double it up at this price. I see other car forums are talking about it . Here is a link to what I am talking about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_28929-1410-FV516_0__?produ...onditioner

Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:16 pm

I believe the Frost King insulation is only effective for heat insulation. I don't think it would be very good at sound deadening. I looks like the same stuff that the PO put down in my Ghia, and it is very noisy!

This weekend I removed the carpet and this insulation from the rear engine firewall and deck (behind the rear seat) and laid down some "Peel and Seal" as recommended by members of my local VW club and elsewhere here on the Samba. I can't say for certain it made a big difference, because the car is still pretty noisy. Maybe not as noisy as before?

Mon Feb 10, 2014 12:17 pm

CiderGuy wrote: I realize this is an older thread, but has anyone tried using Frost king Insulation for this purpose? $18.77 for a 12'' x 15 foot roll, it seems very cost effective, and looks like it may be the same type of insulation other's are selling at less then 1/2 the price. You could even double it up at this price. I see other car forums are talking about it . Here is a link to what I am talking about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_28929-1410-FV516_0__?produ...onditioner

Yep, I used it on my doors and inside the rear panels when I was refinishing them and had them out. It was easy to use, and in my opinion, it works great--killed the "tinny" noise on the doors, I get a "Thunk" sound now when shutting them. I also don't have the "echo/hallow" sound when in the car, like when talking to passengers. I recommend it as far as a cheaper alternative.

However, I can't say it's any better/worse than the expensive stuff, as I haven't heard that to compare. Also, I didn't do the floors or anywhere on the pans yet, as that was going to happen when I replace my carpet somewhere in the future (When I get my car back from the body guy). I think that will be the true test.

Good luck.

Mon Jan 26, 2015 7:01 am

Brassneck wrote: CiderGuy wrote: I realize this is an older thread, but has anyone tried using Frost king Insulation for this purpose? $18.77 for a 12'' x 15 foot roll, it seems very cost effective, and looks like it may be the same type of insulation other's are selling at less then 1/2 the price. You could even double it up at this price. I see other car forums are talking about it . Here is a link to what I am talking about.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_28929-1410-FV516_0__?produ...onditioner

Yep, I used it on my doors and inside the rear panels when I was refinishing them and had them out. It was easy to use, and in my opinion, it works great--killed the "tinny" noise on the doors, I get a "Thunk" sound now when shutting them. I also don't have the "echo/hallow" sound when in the car, like when talking to passengers. I recommend it as far as a cheaper alternative.

However, I can't say it's any better/worse than the expensive stuff, as I haven't heard that to compare. Also, I didn't do the floors or anywhere on the pans yet, as that was going to happen when I replace my carpet somewhere in the future (When I get my car back from the body guy). I think that will be the true test.

Good luck.

I did a little more research on the frost king product. It seems many are using it for their cars. The Fatmat and the like are usually 80 mils thick. The frost king is 125 mils thick, at half the price for the foam based products.

Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:12 pm

Foam is OK if you are insulating from heat but it does absolutely nothing about stopping the sheet metal from vibrating which is the cause of noise.

The ones with the stuff that looks like tar works because once attached to the sheet metal it adds so much inertia to the sheet metal that it stops it from vibrating. Think of your sheet metal as a speaker cone, if it is able to move it will transmit sound.

As a good tip make sure you use a small roller and a heat gun to make sure it is attached. If you are doing your roof add a little 3M spray glue and let it get tacky before applying the mat overhead.

You also do not need to cover the entire area, once you can tap on the metal area and get that dead thud sound you are done.