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Thread: Summit Ultra Heat and Sound Impressions

  1. #1
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    Summit Ultra Heat and Sound Impressions

    I ordered Summit Ultra Heat and Sound insulation mats recently and wanted to share my initial impressions, which are not positive. First off, the panels came folded in half or thirds which resulted in major creases in the soft rubber that is on one side of the aluminum. These creases from folding the panels for shipping result in bubbles and make it pretty much impossible to cut evenly or apply smoothly. In addition, one of the panels came with water damage. You can see the creases in the middle of the panel and the water damage in the photo below. Plus, when shipped there were straps wrapped around the boxes which dug into the edges of some of the panels folding up the aluminum and ruining the edge of multiple panels. Put simply, I would not buy this product again and recommend other builders use different products.

    IMG_1061.jpg

    I reported the above damaged panel to Summit and have not herd back from them yet. However, I did try to leave a review on Summit Racing's website for the product and was unable to. The website would tell me I needed to register an email address to post a review, though I have a user set up for Summit with an email address already registered and signed in.

    I started installing the panels last night and kind of regret it. I think I probably should have just packaged them back up and returned them but I am multiple hours in now and can't imagine pulling off the product I have already attached. Only thing I can really do at this point is provide the information for others so they don't make the same mistake I made.

  2. #2
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
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    Thanks for the review. Based on the majority of positive reviews on Summit, it would be easy to see why this would be a solid purchase. Sounds like your order was subject to shipping abuse. I would still pursue with summit to make it right.

    RickP

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    Summit got back to me and asked if I wanted a replacement or refund. Honestly, I used the product and I am going to have enough extra that the damaged piece will not be a hindrance, so I am not asking for replacement or a refund. I wanted to provide feedback more then anything. A small gift certificate would have been nice but I am not going to ask for anything since I did use it.

    I have done about 2/3rds of the interior of the coupe at this point and I am okay with it because I know I will be covering it up with carpet. I will say that the sound deadening seems to be excellent and makes a big difference. The panels are much more solid feeling and it was odd putting them back on and not having them rattle. Unfotunely, my clumsy self also managed to get that black tar like substance smeared on various parts of my recently brushed panels. Doh! I hope acetone will take it off once I am done.

    On the positive product review note, my wife handed me a tool today that saved me all kinds of aggravation. I had been trying to cut the stuff with various exacto blades. They were not working well and I was dulling and breaking them at an alarming rate but they at least worked better then a cheap pair of scissors that I just decided to throw away after about 6" of material cut. The magic tool to cut the tarry mess turns out to be a fabric rotary cutter. I will add a picture later but they are basically small ultra sharp pizza cutting wheel. Since the blade rolls as you cut, it does not get hung up in the tar too much. I can not recommend one of these enough if you are cutting this rubbery/tar like panels. Especially if they are creased and wrinkled like the ones I had. Those creases pushed the tar around and would always hang up normal blades when you try to cut through them. The fabric rotary cutter has made my cuts more clean and made me much much quicker. My wife told me they are cheap and she can get replacement blades for them as well. I need to get her a nice replacement one, but that will probably be cheaper then all the normal blades I would have gone through and it will save me hours.

    Also, that material you can see under the panel in the first photo is a semi transparent fabric paper. It has been great for making templates. You can see through it enough to copy the exact lines you need and you can easily fold it over the bends in the panel to get the exact size piece you need. After tracing onto the transparent fabric, I cut it out and transferred it onto the insulation panel to guide where to cut the insulation panels. My wife uses the stuff for transferring when she makes dresses but I feel like it works great for our purposes. I would recommend something similar if you are trying to be exact over bent panels. Being semi transparent really allows you to just lay it over the panel and trace out exactly what you need easily.

    To sum up, Summit ultra heat and sound insulation was a bit of a disappointment and I would not recommend it but at least my wife came into the garage and showed me a thing or two.
    Last edited by Tree; 07-13-2019 at 10:05 PM.

  4. #4
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    A couple of other tools to help with the peel and stick mat are a roller and heat gun.
    You can work on the wrinkles before and after installation. The roller is similar to those used for wall papering, if that helps in locating one.
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  5. #5
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    I am actually using a roller on every panel and tried a heat gun on one panel and it made the tar too gooey. The roller does help a lot and makes a big difference but where the panels were folded, the adhesive/tar has shifted and getting that even again is pretty much impossible it seems. Maybe I will give the heat gun another shot and just use it on the panel to roll as flat as I can get it, then let the insulation sit to cool off before trying to cut and stick it. I should finish it up today.

    Last night I made this mistake of trying to drill through the stuff for a couple holes that did not align when the aluminum panels were reinstalled. Two holes and the black tar ran up the drill bit and into the chuck of my drill. Spent about a half hour cleaning it out of the chuck so my drill was not ruined. I think I may go pick up a cheap drill to use for other holes in the insultation that don't line up so I don't screw up my good drills with the mess.

    Anybody put this type of product on the roof of a coupe? I had been thinking I would, but now I am worried it will get hot and gooey and start to come down with gravity. Thought some sound and heat insulation up there would be nice but I don't want to cause a mess. I was not planning on adding that until after paint though.
    Last edited by Tree; 07-14-2019 at 02:14 PM.

  6. #6
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    There are 2 types of the black sound/heat barriers. One is tar based and the other rubber. Rubber is better.
    20th Anniversary Mk IV, A50XS Coyote, TKO 600, Trunk Drop Box, Trunk Battery Box, Cubby Hole, Seat Heaters, Radiator hanger and shroud.

  7. #7
    Senior Member edwardb's Avatar
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    "Tar" has been used repeatedly in this thread for the Summit material. Summit's website says it's a butyl rubber compound. That's good. Tar-like but not actual tar, or probably more accurately described as asphalt based, which can give long lasting and unpleasant odors. I used Second Skin Damplifier Pro in my Coupe build. It too is butyl rubber. Sticky and gummy to work with, that's for sure.
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  8. #8
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    EdwardB is correct, the product is butyl rubber. I probably should not have used the word "tar." However, it is very sticky and gummy rubber. Reminds me of what they use to fill cracks in the road when it is hot out. It sticks to anything and has the consistency of thick chewing gum. The fabric rotary cutter has been a big find for cutting the mats and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone working with this type of product.

    This is the exact product I am using and it is about $12. https://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-19798...2&sr=8-15&th=1

    Capture.PNG
    Last edited by Tree; 07-14-2019 at 02:25 PM.

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