how bad is road noise with no carpet

[2000Cherokee]

i am thinking in the spring i may pull my carpet and just duraback the interior.. im getting sick of having damp wet carpets everytime i go out wheeling and if i just duraback it i can just shop vac the water out and wipe it up and not have to deal with damp and soiled carpets.. plus im going to be running tube doors on all 4 doors. so ill be getting more water and mud in the interior..

Has anyone else done this with there DD? im not real concerned with road noise. hey its a jeep, i care more about function than comfort. ill just turn the radio up.. plus the only traveling i do is from my house to school and then to work.. no highway driving at all..

are there any other things i should be concerned with?


Thanks

mike D

[Jes]

Mine is a daily driver andI removed the carpet because it wasmoldy and nasty.
The road noise is horrable but the real issue is the heat. In the summer the AC can't keep up with the heat radiating off the transmission tunnel and the floor above the exhaust gets really hot.

[goodburbon]

I did it out of necessity. and I learned these things:

dont leave anything on the floors above the exhaust, and if you do dont touch it till it has a chance to cool. my wife tried to show me how hot the dog leash got and I ended up with a clip shaped 1st degree burn on my arm.

I now cant hear anyone on my cellphone.

you can't even hear the original xj wind noise.

you're gonna want some thick rubber floor mats.

the creases and crevices and places for dirt and mud to congregate multiply.

to get the interior "clean" I have to pull out the seats.

the center console floats above the tranny tunnel, and will neve sit flush again.

you can tell when your u-joints and cv joints are going bad a lot quicker.

you will hear your t-case and start to worry.

but once you get used to it its fine.

[mack]

if BingBing will chime in here, he has no carpet, i think he said that one of his feet melted off...:laugh3:

[scottsxj]

it is loud. Hopefully once i get a day of nice weather im going to bed line it and get some thick rubber mats to hopefully take away some of the noice. Oh and while your at it you will prob have to fix rust. I found two decent sized rust holes when i pulled my carpet out. As fas as heat goes it isnt to bad for me, i dont really notcie it in the summer cause i cruise with no dorrs and in the winter i use it to warm my hands, so its nice.

[Kejtar]

If you want to go without carpet look for a thread from just over a year ago. There is a paint out there which has ceramic particles in it and it should provide you with enough thermal insulation. Thing is... the paint is not cheap.

[afd516]

Mine is just bare metal. It depends on how hardcore you are. I like mine a whole lot better w/out carpet. I have the two 3'' drain holes up front on both sides of the tunnel and it makes it very easy to clean out. I also redid my exhaust to get the heat out from under the floor board.

[Jes]

Mine is just bare metal. It depends on how hardcore you are. I like mine a whole lot better w/out carpet. I have the two 3'' drain holes up front on both sides of the tunnel and it makes it very easy to clean out. I also redid my exhaust to get the heat out from under the floor board.

How "hard core" do you have to be?
How do you redo your exhaust to "get the heat out from under the floor board"?

[Kittrell]

How "hard core" do you have to be?
How do you redo your exhaust to "get the heat out from under the floor board"?

Drop it 5 inches, come on Jes, you knew that.............:twak:

[Jes]

Drop it 5 inches, come on Jes, you knew that.............:twak:

Is that like a transfercase drop kit?
Where can I get a exhaust drop kit?

[Dirk Pitt]

Molded vinyl carpet replacement (http://www.auto-interior.com/jeep1.htm#Cherokee)

[afd516]

You can be as hardcore as you want to be. I dot consider myself to be that hardcore. I just have a love of the offroad vehicle and I do what I think is necessary(sp) to do what needs to be done. Other people that see my xj might consider it to be hardcore.

I will post a pic of my exhaust tommorrow. It will be easier to see than to explain. :laugh3: BTW it not dropped.

[Grifter144]

i have had my carpet out for some time now.and i have the meijer cheapy truck bed liner ready to go in when it warms back up this spring. other than that i found set of silverado racing floor mats(freebie) and they absorb alot of heat and sound noise when combined with my stock mats..it nice though cuz i can take em out to dry after i wheel if they get wet or if i forget to take em out before i wheel...my girlfriend doesnt seem to mind the noise to much...so it cant be that bad....

Maier

[Kittrell]

Is that like a transfercase drop kit?
Where can I get a exhaust drop kit?

Jes, I am pretty sure P.U.V. can hook ya up.

I will post a pic of my exhaust tommorrow. It will be easier to see than to explain. :laugh3: BTW it not dropped.

Well this has been nothing but a big tease.

[xjj33p3r]

The most annoying thing about not having carpet is the excess heat from the tranny tunnel and engine *not so bad during the winter... it'll work faster than my heater* :D, and the fact that I can hear all of my poly bushings squeaking constantly. Haven't had a chance to wheel without carpet, but we'll see how much fun that'll be soon enough.

[Jeffro600]

A friend of mine gutted his CJ and drove it around bare and it was pretty loud...kinda like driving around in a tin can. He had the whole floor covered fairly thick with rhino lining and it cut down on the resonating noises ALOT and seemed to dampen alot of the road noise too.

But since your going to be running tube doors, i kinda doubt youd notice any extra noises without any carpet.

[C85D4x4]

SRY!

[C85D4x4]

SRY again......

[C85D4x4]

O Yes!........road noise.......i know all about running w/o carpet

it sounds like a BIG OLD trash going down the road

And watch out for RUST!!!!
thats y i pulled my carpet

There was a point were i could see all 4 tires from inside of my jeep :-P

http://tinypic.com/i1dx7s.jpg

http://tinypic.com/i1dxc6.jpg

[freerider15]

Well I've been driving around with no carpet and no muffler for a while now, and its....bearable. I will say that I can feel the heat form the tranny tunnel coming in. It all depends on how comfortable you want the vehicle to be. I can stand alot of noise and such, I just turn the tuned up higher :D. But I have been trying to get mine trail lined, just cant find a compressor. I am goign to put a magnaflow muffler on so for me, once thats done it will be 100x quiter than before, but still no caddy ride. I have heard of some guys putting aluminum, tin whatever type stuff that is above the cat and muffler on newere XJ's above the tranny in the tranny tunnel to get rid of some heat? Anyone done it or think it would work?

[afd516]

[QUOTE= Well this has been nothing but a big tease.[/QUOTE]


I don't get off work until 7am wed morning. I will try not to keep you waiting to long.

[2000Cherokee]

as far as rust im not to concerned since my jeep is a 2000 it should not have to much..

road noise on my rig should be real good since im going to be running bias TSLs and tube doors in the summer:party:

plus im going to probably get a drain plug or two. and line it pretty think with duraback

[stupidfast]

lol hey! the floor of my MJ looks like that under the pedals as well! i wont be running any carpet either. im going to patch the holes and then line the floor with undercoating. cheap. i have no idea how well it will work, but for $10 i got two cans wating to be sprayed on. ill let you know if its a dissaster or not. good to know the tranny tunnle heats up tho, cuz my heater dosnt work right now. lol yay

[BRIANHO13]

as far as rust im not to concerned since my jeep is a 2000 it should not have to much..




Mine is a 98 and has rust, better check it.

[smccollamjr]

stupidfast, be careful with the undecoating. I used some rubberized undercoating in the cargo area and under part of the rear seat. I put my carpet back in and cut a piece of truck bed mat to lay in the cargo area on top the carpet. While pulling a 19' camper this past June (85+ degrees, cargo area loaded, running a/c at high speeds through hills of WV) I smelled something really nasty. When I got home I found a place under the seat and another in the cargo area (under the bed mat) where the undercoating had melted my carpet. I'm sure it was due to hot exhaust, probably a plugged cat. I've replace the cat and everything behind it and added a muffler heat shield from a '97+ XJ since, but haven't had that kind of load on it to test it.

[afd516]

Here is what I did to solve my heat issues. It works great. This is a trail rig so no cat but I am sure that it can be modified for a DD.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/afd516/DSCF1348.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/afd516/DSCF1351.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/afd516/DSCF1350.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/afd516/DSCF1349.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b6/afd516/DSCF1348.jpg

[Timber]

I'm not sure I get it. How does pulling it so close to the body solve heat issues? Or is it the removal of the cat that did it?
EDIT: BTW, I like how you pulled everything so tight. I might have to copy that when I replace my muffler this spring.

[goodburbon]

maybe it was the ford 9 inch that helped it?

probably the lack of cat, cause I think the paint on my floorboard would burst into flames with the pipe that close

[hotrod22]

I put Durabak in my 95, put some heavy duty rubber floormats in, made 2 heat shields for the muffler and cat out of 1/8" aluminum sheet, its all good. Heat is not that bad, noise is worse, overall, I would definitely do it again! No more worries about messing up the carpet.

[afd516]

I'm not sure I get it. How does pulling it so close to the body solve heat issues? Or is it the removal of the cat that did it?

Well, the removal of the cat probably helped. I can not recall but if I remember correctly the cat and the muffler were right against the floor board. So removing the cat and putting the muffler on the upslope of the exhaust over the axle took the heat away. The pipe bieng that close doesn't produce hardly any heat because air can get around it easier that it could the cat and muffler.

Hope this gives some idea of a solution to you guys. It works. I have melted shoe souls, my brother's jacket, and my wife's purse. I have not melted anything since this was done. :)

[stupidfast]

im lucky here becasue i have an MJ. the noise wont be as bad with a smaller cab, and the heat is easy to deal with. when you have it off, take a plate of aluminum (disapaites heat very well) and screw it in under the cab with a few washers as spacers along the areas that get hot above the exhaust. grind down the tips of the screws so they arent so sharp, and cover it with silicone so they wont vibrate out. i just pulled that out of my ass, but hey, it would work

[2000Cherokee]

well if everything works out. i wont have to do this becuase i am hopefully going to pick up another XJ:party: may be trading my 92 stealth straight up for a 94 cherokee:)! just need to find out how much it will be for me to put basic insurance coverage.. but since im only 19 it may be high and i might not be able to afford it:(

[Fred85]

i've been riding around the past week without the rear carpet section (or for that fact, my entire rear is gutted) after coating the entire rear with liquid sound deadener

things i've noticed:
*leaf springs squeek occasoinally (never noticed it before)
*rear speakers seem more vibrant and dynamic
*definately increased road noise, especially when it's wet outside
*much easier to break the rear tires loose, lol

no problems with exhaust heat yet, but this is a 2001

[MudDawg]

Nothing but paint on the floor of my Heep...very noisy, very hot in summer. But it's a Heep...and I only drive it to the offroad park and back.

[bajacalal]

Good question, my road noise was bad and I still need to paint over the floor with herculiner.

But, I found there is a hole (put there by the factory, about 1.5 in) thats under the drivers dash, to the right and covered by that rubberized foam... I plugged this hole with some durable rubber dampening material- its the type of mat they use on gymnasiums and weight rooms glued on with acoustical sealeant and it worked GREAT. Much less noise.