Steve J.

You can have a clean engine, but if your crumbling rotten hood pad looks like crap your engine bay looks like crap. A new hood pad is one of the single best improvements for dressing up the engine bay. If you don't like the look or the idea of the mylar pads and don't want to pay $70-100 for a oem pad, check out "Armaflex". It looks like the stuff used to insulate air conditioning pipes, only in sheet form. You might be able to find it at a local a/c supply. I bought a piece of 1/2" Armaflex big enough to do both sections of my hood for about $35 and was very pleased with the way it turned out. It has a smooth side but I think the rough side looked best facing out. It was easy to cut. Just lay the piece on your hood, smooth side down, and go around the hood pressing down with your palm or thumbs to create an indention in the rubber. Draw over the line left in the pad with a marker before it disappears. Then cut with scissors about 1/4" outside the line so there will be enough to tuck under the edges of the hood. (Search for other threads on "hood pad" for hood prepping and glueing suggestions.)

Big Dave

Did you make sure it can withstand the heat generated by an engine?

Andrew Schauer

Looks great- I'd love to hear how it's holding up in a few months. Excellent price as well.

Steve J.

Zim's has sold it as hood pad material for a long time with many satisfied customers. I got it from them, so I'm not really pioneering a new application. I think it will hold up as good as the oem pad material - we'll see.

Garth

A quick look via Google shows this for the thermal limits:

The recommended temperature usage range for AP/Armaflex Sheet is -70°F to +220°F (-57°C to +105°C) according to method of application. With full adhesive coverage attachment, the surface to which it is applied may operate to a limit of 180°F (82°C). When used for pipe insulation with adhesive adhering seams and joints only, AP/Armaflex Sheet can be applied to lines that will operate to a limit of 220°F (105°C).

Web Link

Steve J.

Looks like there is a high temp HT/Armaflex available, closed cell, resists oil, good to 150C, intermittent to 175C. Do we have any specs on the oem pad thermal limits to compare?

Mark

What - about 3 months! -

Randy V

That looks pretty good - much better than those silver 'space blanket' things I've seen around.

I re-did mine using the material supplied by 928 International - it's still holding up fine after 2+ years:

Thaddeus

Randy, is your car a right-hooker? Because the guy with the shades in your little icon is sitting in the passenger seat of the car if it's a US model...

John Struthers

Steve,
Looks good!
I'll give it a shot on Zack's 81'.His Red replacement hood is due a 'white out'.
So when we prep for paint the old liner goes..., and the Armaflex seems a likely
replacement. If it doesn't work out it's back to 928 Intl.
Thanks for the scoop.

PorKen

Thaddeus, Randy V:
Why do some countries drive on the right and others on the left? | Fixed.

Carl Fausett

Just a word about the Armaflex - it certainly is a nice looking closed cell foam, and is easy to work with, has excellent sound deadoning properties, and tolerates environments up to 200 deg F.

But - that isn't everything a hoodliner needs to do. I'm going to defend the "space blanket" comment somebody made above...

Steve, Please take one of the scraps of your Armaflex and put a match to it. If I am not mistaken, I think once it is lit on fire it maintains the burn. The silver insulative hood liners we sell are self-extinguishing. The moment the flame is withdrawn, they cease to burn.

Second - the Armaflex is thermally absorbant - the silver-faced hood liner is thermally reflective - if you have a dark paint job (blue, black, red) and live in a southern climate, this may be important to you. The hood fades from the bottom and the top as it gets baked from both sides - the reflective hood liner keeps the paint on the hood from discoloring and fading at a faster rate than say, the fenders, that do not have a heat source underneath them.

Just food for thought.

sweanders

On 944's from 1989 the hood pad material was skipped - is it really necessary in a 928?

redidrum

Gents,

Check out http://www.reflectixinc.com/

Todd at http://www.928world.com/staticpages/...40225195815926 used the Reflectix material and so have I on my car. I used high temp. contact cement and two layers of the stuff. Hood stays cooler and looks nice. Don't know exact specs., but, mine works very well for 5 months so far. .

Buy it at Lowes for $25.00.

Ron

Steve J.

I did the flame test on a piece of Armaflex. I couldn't get it to light or to burn - self extinquishing and flameproof. The primary purpose of the hood pad is for sound deadening. I don't want the engine heat to be reflected back into the engine compartment. As far as protecting the paint on the outside of the hood from engine heat - the same paint is used inside the engine bay and on the outside of the body. The paint inside the engine bay is fine so I don't think heat is really an issue. My priorities were looks, cost and sound damping. Others may like the shiny mylar look. I prefer the black rubber look. I used the pad from 928Intl. (like Randy) on my '87. It is a tiny egg-crate pattern. (The original pad is a waffle pattern.)