Ok, hear me out... I realize the Iron Duke is noisy, but my daughter is nearing the end of her restoration stuff on her Fiero (we're still like 8 videos behind), and she formally gets her drivers license in December, so I want her to have all the videos recorded, and everything possibly done to it before she starts driving it and possibly wrecks it (God forbid, but you never know).
One of the challenges that we decided we were going to tackle, is trying to improve the exterior sound of the engine. Not the exhaust, but the actual sound that the engine makes. A lot of the upgrades she's made, like the harmonic balancer, going to a serpentine system, better accessories, etc., are all part of that. We've also added better sound deadening both inside and outside the car. It sounds quite good, to be honest. But I'd like to take it a step further...
Has anyone thought of some kind of sound deadening material that can be applied to the inside of the valve cover? If this is a really stupid idea (and all the obvious reasons are ... obvious), I understand. But the 2.5's valve cover is basically a piece of stamped steel, and almost acts like an enclosed speaker to help resonate the valve train clatter. I'm just wondering if there isn't something that could be stuck to the inside of the valve cover, like a couple of strips of Dynomat that could help reduce the resonance? Obviously... it would need to be something that wouldn't melt, or detach, etc.
Just throwing that out there... anyone have any thoughts? I realize it may seem silly / overkill... but it's the small details that are sometimes the most fun.
Ok, hear me out... I realize the Iron Duke is noisy, but my daughter is nearing the end of her restoration stuff on her Fiero (we're still like 8 videos behind), and she formally gets her drivers license in December, so I want her to have all the videos recorded, and everything possibly done to it before she starts driving it and possibly wrecks it (God forbid, but you never know).
One of the challenges that we decided we were going to tackle, is trying to improve the exterior sound of the engine. Not the exhaust, but the actual sound that the engine makes. A lot of the upgrades she's made, like the harmonic balancer, going to a serpentine system, better accessories, etc., are all part of that. We've also added better sound deadening both inside and outside the car. It sounds quite good, to be honest. But I'd like to take it a step further...
Has anyone thought of some kind of sound deadening material that can be applied to the inside of the valve cover? If this is a really stupid idea (and all the obvious reasons are ... obvious), I understand. But the 2.5's valve cover is basically a piece of stamped steel, and almost acts like an enclosed speaker to help resonate the valve train clatter. I'm just wondering if there isn't something that could be stuck to the inside of the valve cover, like a couple of strips of Dynomat that could help reduce the resonance? Obviously... it would need to be something that wouldn't melt, or detach, etc.
Just throwing that out there... anyone have any thoughts? I realize it may seem silly / overkill... but it's the small details that are sometimes the most fun.
Thanks!
inside? i would use a coating like cermacoat or such. otherwise make a foam and plastic engine cover and be careful about the placement.
I was asking around, and someone gave me the idea about welding plates on the inside. This could absolutely work to help reduce resonance on the valve cover. It may seem ridiculous, but it could actually make a big difference. 1/8" plates in two places across the flat areas of the valve cover on the inside would solve this problem for sure, and it wouldn't be a clearance insue.
I'll buy a used valve cover so I don't screw up the one she painted, and then clean and take some plates in there to see. It might distort the metal a little though is what I'm thinking. Nothing some plastic filler and sanding won't fix.
Follow the lead of the MFGs and use insulation on the outside of the engines. Most engines today under the plastic covers have insulation on and over the top of the engine
Cadillac used thick wall cast valve covers to reduce valvetrain noise on the 4.1/4.5/4.9 and Northstars. The 3800's used thick wall plastic valve cover for the same reasons.
