roof panel foam injection?

[cleatus]

so my second post ever...

1. has anyone tried filling the open cavities of the roof panels with foam? (like Good Stuff)

2. think it would help with the heat transfer?

3. think it would help with sound/rigidity?

the only concern i had was if the stuff expanded too much and bulged the roof....any other thoughts on this?

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[Speedy_12139]

Yeah! This.... I'm glad someone asked this!

I've really been thinking the same. I would almost wanna get a window surround off a wrecked JL, and try a few different products, and see what works best. If anything at all.

But JL's are still fairly new, and for me to get a spare window surround + windshield to play with, on the cheap, maybe the freedom top panels too.(basically cheap enough to justify potentially destroying it) it's gonna be a while yet ahahaha

I really dont think it'll make all that much of an improvement, as i'm sure the manufactures would have tried it already, and found if no negligible difference, it wasn't worth the cost. Or maybe they haven't, because "its a jeep thing"

Ever consider an additional "weight" issue. Im sure the lbs/sq-in, especially above your head, probably arent the best things for stability? If there's even going to be a weight difference of anything substantial. Then again, there's dudes with rooftop tents driving around.

Honestly, at the end of the day, it's still shaped like a brick, and I highly doubt, FCA, or now Stellantis, have the same kind of engineering $$ racked up in a wind tunnel like Mercedes does, and would put the additional sound dampening materials in a G Wagon. IF Jeep did, it would be the same price as one.... and we're already bitching about the price.

 

[Renegade]

I did it on a CJ (maybe Scrambler, I can’t remember) hard top years ago. It expanded, causing the interior ceiling to bulge, and made it heavier.

 

[cleatus]

i figured if i did it, i would lay weights on the panels to help keep them from bulging.

 

[Munkey Boy]

Weight wouldn't be an issue, you may add a couple pounds total to the entire top but nothing noticeable.

Your best bet is Great Stuff's window and door foam, it's designed not to expand "much" so that it doesn't pooch the jamb causing issues operating. The problem there is that it won't likely get to all the areas you want to fill so insulation efficacy is negligible. Using a gap filler will definitely bulge/crack, it MUST expand somewhere. Even with weights I would bet money that you will have issues with it deforming, that shit needs a serious hydraulic press to counter it's strength. Yeah, it's that strong.

The noise mitigation is almost futile with the tire noise and the fact that this thing is as aerodynamic as a cinder block.

The biggest issue I see is that spray foam insulation is some of the worst stuff on the planet to work with, just looking at it gets it on every surface and any nearby hands. Nasty to remove, and probably why they don't bother with it at the manufacturing level except where it is absolutely necessary.

IMHO spray foam is a good idea, but really too difficult to control to make it worth the effort. At $5 to $10 a can it may seem like a cheap, obvious, and easy solution, but I've used it enough in construction to know that it has it's specific uses and it will argue, and in some cases violently fight with you if you try to tell it otherwise. Additionally, the thickness of the material making up the tops, assuming that it is very thin for cost's sake, will be another factor that cannot be controlled with the pressure of the foam. Even the window and door stuff, cracking is likely the result more than bulging with the fiberglass.

Personally I'd just stick with a headliner and some good padding, nicer look too.

 

[869 KPH]

Do you know what a cross section of one of the panels looks like? Would it even accept the foam?

As for experimenting, I bet a trashed JK panel is easy enough to find and play with.

 

[Hothead Headliners]

We haven't tried the above options, but we do sell headliners that would help with the issues you're trying solve with both heat and sound regulation.

-Mark

 

[Kevin_D]

We haven't tried the above options, but we do sell headliners that would help with the issues you're trying solve with both heat and sound regulation.

-Mark

And they work just as he said!
A snap to install, too!

Kevin

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