Coverking Topliner - Review & Install

[Tom C]

Finally had a weekend of no rain and installed the rear section. Really happy with the results and the weatherstripping was a PITA until I figured out what orientation to put it in. The kilmat did add some weight to the top towards the front. Not as bad as the TJ hard top but I did notice the difference putting it on solo.

Looks sharp.

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[saintpauljeff]

Finally got the topliner installed on the front freedom panels... the passenger side holes lined up great, the driver's side was not so great. A little disappointed in that aspect, but it looks mostly decent. Like others, I used some 3M tape on the edges to hold it extra tight on those spots.

 

[Viper501]

Finally made a little more progress on getting the back half of the top done. Removed the top and flipped it over to get started. Took out the OEM Mopar headliner and Velcro strips in no time. Wiped down the fiberglass with denatured alcohol and removed the leftover adhesive. *NOTE* do not use red microfiber and alcohol or you get a pink tint.

I had three full sheets of sound deadener left after the front freedom panels were done. I used two full sheets in the center with cut outs to hopefully allow the antennas to still function. I then split the third sheet into four pieces to start filling in the remainder until I receive the next batch of deadener.

The rollers were a big help over the old method I used for the freedom panels. Definitely worth the wait to get them.

I’ve popped the top back on until the additional sheets arrive. More to follow….

 

[mx5red]

Finally made a little more progress on getting the back half of the top done. Removed the top and flipped it over to get started. Took out the OEM Mopar headliner and Velcro strips in no time. Wiped down the fiberglass with denatured alcohol and removed the leftover adhesive. *NOTE* do not use red microfiber and alcohol or you get a pink tint.

I had three full sheets of sound deadener left after the front freedom panels were done. I used two full sheets in the center with cut outs to hopefully allow the antennas to still function. I then split the third sheet into four pieces to start filling in the remainder until I receive the next batch of deadener.

The rollers were a big help over the old method I used for the freedom panels. Definitely worth the wait to get them.

I’ve popped the top back on until the additional sheets arrive. More to follow….

Is that your garage??

 

[Viper501]

Is that your garage??

The only thing better than owning a boat is having a good friend who owns a boat.

 

[mx5red]

The only thing better than owning a boat is having a good friend who owns a boat.

That guy looks like a good friend

 

[Viper501]

That guy looks like a good friend

Awesome friend. One of the best people I know. I pay him back by exercising his kids (cars).

 

[mx5red]

Awesome friend. One of the best people I know. I pay him back by exercising his kids (cars).

That sounds like a win-win?

 

[Viper501]

 

[PDACPA]

Thanks for the pics. You definitely added way more sound deadener than other installs that I have seen and I want to do the same. This and a bed cover are my next two projects and the pics really help. Where is the Satellite antenna located? The white section you left exposed in the middle of the curved section of the top?

 

[Viper501]

@PDACPA Yes. When you take the top off you’ll see two antennas on the top of the roll bar. I should have taken pictures of those. One resembles the stick on Sirius / XM antenna and the other is a bit larger and I assume it is the GPS and U-Connect interface. I erred on the side of precaution since I want to preserve the reception of the GPS and U-connect (Sirius / XM is not something I use / care about but tried to future proof things just in case. Once the sound deadener is on I do not want to think about trying to get it off. If I had not used the aluminum backed material I would have gone right over the whole thing. However, I think there is plenty of coverage as is.

In applying the sound deadened I kept going back and looking at where the large surfaces were that had a hollow or tinny sound. Tapping your fingernail, or the tip of the tape measure, on the fiberglass helped identify what needed to be covered. I also wanted to get as much heat reflection as possible. I figured while I was there I may as well do it right.

One thing I forgot to describe above was the plastic trim piece at the top of the back of the main top. It is a PIA to get off and I ended up breaking one of the plastic stanchion stand offs. It is a two piece design but it is joined together by a clip so it all came off together. I’m debating whether I replace the trim or just see how it works first. I am leaning toward not worrying about it right now and see if it makes noise.

 

[staying_tuned]

I am leaning toward not worrying about it right now and see if it makes noise.

Add a strip to the backside of the plastic trim piece, it will keep any potential rattle subdued unless you’re running an aftermarket sub.

 

[GladLad]

When I was young I was an audiophile dork, not so much a bass head but I obsessed about dynamics, staging, pressure etc. It would be hard to reproduce consistency with audio cabin intrusion reduction via db reader on a Jeep. I find it impossible to believe that any hard square panels adhered to any vehicles roof would achieve a 20db drop. For sure HH would never even attempt to claim that.

A 1db drop is a 7% reduction in sound energy. Once the science is understood behind it, it's easy to grasp that claiming any sort of treatment (even stacking 10 roofs on top of each other) to an isolated area of a vehicle could possibly reduce cabin noise by 20dbs is truly bonkers : o ) It would be near impossible to achieve that with a full on gutted vehicle job with roof, trunk, floor, door panels, firewall etc.

That said, the CK liner alone will offer little detectable sound deadening. What it does offer is a means to allow one to layer quality sound deadening material beneath it while offering a better than OEM look & feel when done.

I may have mentioned it in the video but if your goal purely revolves around achieving moderate deadening in a buttoned up and easy to install package, I'd rock HotHeads for sure. If the goal is to achieve the highest possible level of sound deadening with an OEM finish, to my knowledge the CK option is the only one. It's night and day.

I didn't watch the full video, but it sort of looks he mis-reported the average decibels pre and post headliner. The average seen in the video (lower left of his phone) is 91 pre and 78.5 post. Still a big improvement, but not a 20 dB change. However, we don't know when he turned it on, at what speed and what not, to affect that average. Or why he quoted a random number he saw instead of the average seen on the meter.

With such good coverage, I sure hope you took a pre-dB reading

 

[Viper501]

Add a strip to the backside of the plastic trim piece, it will keep any potential rattle subdued unless you’re running an aftermarket sub.

Great idea. I may do that on everything as I move through the truck.

 

[Viper501]

With such good coverage, I sure hope you took a pre-dB reading

I will leave that to the audiophiles. ?

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