Headliners, man. Headliners.

[Chillswitch]

First, a little about me: I spent 10 years working on cars, 5 of which at Lexus and Toyota dealers. My last job I was restoring Porsches, working on SCCA class Porsche and BMW race cars, and the occasional Ferraris and Lamborghinis. We also sold used cars. Some needed LOTS of work, and so I've done a few headliners. Still with me? Good. :P

So most headliners I did were in 90s Corollas or basically any VW ever (some of you know EXACTLY what I mean).

Well let me tell you something about the twins' headliners. NOT THE SAME! Holy crap I was in over my head. Here's why:

1. The backing material is MUCH thinner than anything I've ever seen before. The foam was also a little more firm and not quite as thick as well, but that's not exactly important. Basically, it's a cheap headliner. I always thought the factory material felt a little like a cheap camel jacket dyed black.

2. Those contours are ridiculous. Like I said, I've done a few and headliner pockets and ohshit handles are easy... But our headliners are almost W shaped with some sharp angles. It's not easy to do at all. In fact, I screwed up (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED lol)

Next time, I'll pay someone to do it!

[Turbo95eg6]

Good thing I was sitting down when I saw that...

[Thorpedo]

Your headliner has a cameltoe. Props.

[Chillswitch]

^ LOL. No joke.

I heated up the glue, stretched out the fabric and made it... well, more manageable. The damage is done. I'm so pissed I don't even want dinner anymore! lol

I've got a friend that's building an FRS race car. I'm gonna hit him up for the headliner. Haha

EDIT: It's worth mentioning that's suede, so the picture of the whole headliner looks odd because suede always reflects light in strange ways. only that front passenger corner (near the chair) is ruined. The rest went VERY well, unfortunately. Also, dynamat (or whatever your brand of choice) is wonderful on the roof!

[Stang70Fastback]

So if I didn't want to remove the headliner, but just wanted to add a little deadener to the roof, how difficult would it be to do this without damaging the headliner?

I'm aware not much actual SOUND penetrates the roof, so I'm talking more about a few squares of dAmplifier or something to add a little mass to the roof skin so that rain will sound just a bit less tinny.

[Chillswitch]

You have to remove everything the headliner touches: the light, the microphone and the plastic trim at all six pillars. Then you have to get it out of the car! All in all I had mine out in like 30 minutes, but it may take you longer depending on experience. I'll add pictures of what I did to the roof later, but I did it for the exact same reasons! Small amount of insulation used as well. Makes a BIG difference.

[s2d4]

What's the reason for the mod?

[Chillswitch]

I reupholstered the headliner because I didn't like the material, but I put some insulation on the roof to reduce noise inside the car. I can tell a difference even without going anywhere yet. I'll be putting all back together today.

Once you remove the headliner, all that's there is the roof skin which is thin and vibrates quite a bit at high speeds (I drove around with my hand on it from the inside). It should also be quieter in the rain too!

[Thorpedo]

Keep us posted on the soundproofing effect while driving. This may be something I'm interested in doing.

[Chillswitch]

Well folks, I'm happy to report that soundproofing the roof may have been the greatest thing I've ever done for that car. I used an aluminum foil self-adhesive repair tape. Guess what? It's made of tar and aluminum just like dynamat and the rest of them. It's $16ish for a roll 16" wide, 25 ft long:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/USEAL-USA...2AF6/202086180

Contrary to popular belief, you really don't have to cover every square inch of the roof. After a while there are diminishing returns, and insulation is expensive. I used half the roll, maybe. This is good, because I plan on doing the area below the quarter glass (around the speakers and the exterior skin) and the door skins as well--at another time, of course. Remember, this is just above your head. Ear level. So I don't think that doing the doors/other panels are going to be quite as rewarding, but I have been wrong before (see above about the damn headliner fiasco lol)

Soundproofing the roof improved the wind noise at high speed as well as reduced general noise coming in the vehicle at low speeds and stop lights. This did not affect engine noise or road noise (crap pavement, crap tires, etc). It improved conversational speaking levels as well as amplified interior rattles (change in the cupholder, anyone?).

If I were to do it all over again, I would. And here's how I would do it: Once you have the headliner loose, leave it in the car!! Taking it out of the car is incredibly difficult; it doesn't fit well through the doors. The dashboard gets in the way. So move the seat bottoms all the way forward, lay the seat backs as far down as they will go. This will allow you to get maybe 2 feet of clearance to apply some soundproofing to the roof without too much hassle.

I hope this helps. I'll be more than happy to answer questions! Good luck guys!

[Stang70Fastback]

This was exactly my plan. I don't need to remove it. I just wanted to know how easy it would be to get enough clearance to reach in there and stick some dAmplifier to the roof without bending/creasing the headliner. Good to know!

[SloS14]

If you didn't heat up that glue, it's likely to fall.

[White64Goat]

Somewhere in the DIY section is a complete write up on removing pretty much the whole interior.

I had an acorn drop on the roof once and I thought someone had dropped a lug nut on it. It was damn loud...........

[NWFRS]