Hey guys -

Been doing a LOT of stuff on my car (mainly paint/body related, car is running like a dream) and tonight I pulled the rear side hatch plastics out. This is the plastic panels that surround the stock toolkit on one side and the jack on the other.

Mazda originally had glued in some foam rubber backed by a rubber liner to cut down on road noise. That is all no longer stuck in there and some of it is pretty torn up and beat to hell.

I'd like to find a good product that can stick on the panels and help reduce noise that's clean and professional looking. I don't know if Dynomat or one of those types of materials would do the job that I'm hoping. Basically, I'm looking to make it like new again in a way.

I don't have a crazy big sound system or anything, and I'm not planning on that. I just want to fix an old part in an appropriate way .

Any good ideas?

Thanks,
Dale

 

I always figured the stuff they glued to the back of those panels was designed more to prevent rattles than anything else. That said, I've used some upholtery foam and a little silicone adhesive caulk to on the back of those plastics where needed. It gives it a little more support than the OEM material.
If sound insulation against road and exhaust noise is what your looking for, I'd apply dynamat or similar to the metal panels in the hatch area and spare tire well. I started this process last winter and even though I only got about 75% done, I noticed alot of improvement.

 

Hmm, interesting. Has anyone tried the panels with and without the foam backing? I wonder if that's the case.

Dale