Autofoam- Chassis Foaming

[doramon]

Ok i know this has been disscussed in two threads already... But after all the discussions....any users who can give their opinions on it right now....after using for a couple of months...."long term reviews" la

 

[Silver]

Yes... Yes... I also would like to know... Any good ah this Autofoam?

 

[LCP]

I did it last year, but not to my E36, it was done on my Satria, so, am I allowed to give a review here since it's not related to BMW? Heh heh...

 

[theCROW]

die2 i thought autospa
LCP can lah satria still a car wat

 

[LCP]

Errr, my Satria isn't exactly a car anymore, it's an unedible rojak of parts....

Anyway, got the whole under-frame and subframes foamed, together with the B-pillars, the panels behind the B-pillars and door sills. This is the structural foam, for chassis stiffening and not intended for noise insulation. The foaming process took quite a few hours, it was a special trip made by KL Auto's Desmond to Penang to foam some cars, mine included. The foam took quite a while (1 week) to fully dry out, but basically most of the stiffening was in by the first two days.

Here's the driving impression: Immediately after foaming, the car actually felt soft, maybe because the foam has not fully set yet. Gradually over a few days, the steering response became more and more responsive, and for some unknown reasons, the perceived body roll during super-quick lane change (tugging at steering wheel kinda thing) seemed to be greatly reduced. The suspension and steering simply became super responsive.

I'm on Hotbits coilovers (not anywhere near the best around) with 4.5kg/mm springs in front and 2.5kg/mm springs at the rear, stock standard anti-roll bars front and rear, very neutral cornering. The neutrality did not change with the foam.

All in all, the handling simply became more responsive... the difference can be clearly felt.

Be careful though, for the 1st week or so, be prepared for stalactites-like growth from all available orifice beneath the car that the foam can possibly squeeze through as it expanded and hardened... Simply need to peel them off with your fingers.

 

[doramon]

by the way how much did u pay for it bro?....am thinking abt foaming the chasis

 

[Slide]

I too was interested but when i went to check it out i was not too convinced. The structural foam even when left to harned, i still relatively soft. You can easily make a dent in it by just standing on it. So, if it's so easily deformed, how would it strengthen the chasis? IMHO, for sound proofing, yes it would work, but that's about all it would do.

 

[doramon]

ok ok...good more comments pls

 

[LCP]

Can't remember exactly how much I paid, but in the region of RM1.5k to 2k I believe. It takes a long time to really harden/dry. Yes, it may still be peelable but apparently it only works when surrounded by metal, as in a tube-like structure. When the foam hardens, it expands and takes the shape of the cavity that it is in. It is the hardening and expansion within the structure that gives the structure additional rigidity.

Well, as of today, it's been more than a year, my Satria is still as fun as ever to chuck around... only problem is I need to rebuild my Hotbits coilovers, all are leaking now, due to poor and super uneven patchwork on roads all over Penang...

 

[Slide]

Imagine this, you have a metal tube. How does putting something softer than the surrounding metal into it make it stronger? Wouldn't the metal tube have to give first before the foam? Now if the foam were stronger than the metal, then i would say it would work. my 2 cents, i'm not an engineer so maybe one here can give their opinion on this.

 

[jsen]

my B pillar there gives out rattle annoying sounds each time im goin over bumpy roads... will the foaming helps to eliminate those noise, or watever noise in the car ?

 

[Vanquish]

Xiao Ding Dang,

It all boils down to what you want, really. IMHO, if it's for the new ride and it's mainly for NVH reduction/suppression purposes, 1 1/12 rolls of Raamat is the way to go. I'd advise you to atleast try a couple of rides which have been Foamed to gauge how much improvement does the technique actually yields.

Cheers,
VaN.

 

[wglee]

I didn't do it to my E46, but went ahead to try Autofoam on my Proton Saga Iswara Aeroback. I thought the Iswara would be a suitable candidate as it is hardly the last word in chassis rigidity!

I foamed my Iswara's B-pillars and door sills but declined to foam the chassis rails as I was concerned that it may affect the car's pre-determined crumple zones. I wanted to but could not foam the A-pillar as it might foul the radio aerial and ancillaries in there.

I'm not sure if it's illusory, but I do feel that the Iswara is sturdier now and it seemingly feels better in the ride and handling department.

 

[DanPromote]

Imagine this, you have a metal tube. How does putting something softer than the surrounding metal into it make it stronger? Wouldn't the metal tube have to give first before the foam? Now if the foam were stronger than the metal, then i would say it would work. my 2 cents, i'm not an engineer so maybe one here can give their opinion on this.

it depends on what foam u are talking about, if u use the soft foam used to package fedex boxes then sure la it will be weak, but the foam used for aftermarket automative purpose is hard after curing process and has very high density. It is just like an empty metal bar which you may bend easier but one which has high density hard foam will be much harder to bend.

 

[doramon]

is for the new ride la vanquish

 

[fabianyee]

I too was interested but when i went to check it out i was not too convinced. The structural foam even when left to harned, i still relatively soft. You can easily make a dent in it by just standing on it. So, if it's so easily deformed, how would it strengthen the chasis? IMHO, for sound proofing, yes it would work, but that's about all it would do.

the foam u played with may be not hardened within a structure ie tube... What happens is that when it's left to hardened unrestrained, there'll be air cavity. but if it's cured within a 'container' it forces out the air and the structure would be stiff and not soft...

 

[Slide]

I also took a look at some of the structural foam that is used to increase the rigidity of the chasis. It was sprayed into a section of a car's sill. I was albe, with my fingers to push in a section and leave a dent in it. Not strong enough to do any good, i would think.

 

[LCP]

wglee, I think what you felt is for real. I was a bit skeptical too, but after a week the car really felt very different.

 

[LCP]

Anyway guys, I used to have the datasheet of a type of structural foam offered by Dow Corning (a huge US company), it is actually OEM in some car models, there are crash test results there with and without the foam. Now I can't remember whether I did save the datasheet, or has the email been deleted...

If I remembered correctly, the time taken for the crumple zone to crumple was extended a bit with the foam, in my opinion this translated to a longer time to disperse the crash impact meaning lesser stress on the occupants during the crash.

 

[fabianyee]

My experience with the foaming is positive... I did only the B-pillar and door sills (the inverted T section)... Can really feel less flex of the chassis when taken long fast sweeper, like the Subang Jaya turn off from the Federal Highway.