2008 Ford C-max install

[szubek]

I always wanted to do a proper install but never went for it with any of the cars I did own. With new car I lost excuse that I've been using with previous second hand ones - " I wont be using it for long so what's the point". As I was googling the net for some inspiration I came across this forum. That was a ... well .... exactly what I needed. Got hooked on this stuff. Another couple of months took me choosing deadener - in Poland where I am from, Dynamat is considered as the best but it is highly overpriced so off I went with research. To make long story short - went for CAE Vmax and ordered directly from them. Since there is no CAE dealers anywhere in Europe the offered me very good pricing so I bought over 100 sq. ft. (still .. shipping did double the price)
This is my daily driver so I have to do it in pieces and will probably take very long. Here it goes what already been done.

Sorry for my English.






I was surprised at the amount of factory deadening that was there already. It is very thick and rubber like not the usual hard baked on stuff so I didn't put any mat over it.






Do You see that cell phone on the wheelwell ... guess what .. Did put all the panels back on leaving it there .

[margarine518]

Nice work so far! Did you have to call the cell to find out where it was?

[szubek]

actually, I didn't realize it was there till my wife called me. Then she went ... 'why didn't You answer???' ... and all that ... we married man have to listen sometimes

[szubek]

Another hard working day.. and rear doors are done.
Removing door panels was a struggle, luckily nothing got broken, just one scratch on the paintwork ( very close to panel so I don't mind that)




these actually made me laugh. Factory stereo at it finest by Fomoco (ford motor company that is). Not going to use rear fill so the stay.




Done. Didn't cover factory deadening, as I said before it is pretty thick.



Few words on cascade Vmax mat. This stuff is amazing. Extremely easy to apply with very strong adhesive which actually bonds even better after a while. If something goes wrong You can remove mat and reapply it again without worrying about adhesive. Have checked few pieces that I have repositioned in the trunk and the stick like ... well .. glue. It is clean, absolutely no mess when applying, no sticky goo, it just stays where You want it to. Highly recommended.
The whole trunk and spare wheel area was done with just my bare hands (screwdriver handle in some corners) absolutely no cuts mind You. When doing rear doors got myself 1 dollar worth roller and it really made my day. Matting went twice as fast.


to be continued

[Obelisk6800]

Looks good so far. I need to finish installing sound deadener in my car. How much does that material normally go for and how would you compare it to something like dynamat extreme?

[szubek]

According to some test results available at CAE page it outperforms dynamat in wide range of temperatures but then this is CAE testing their competition. You choose what You want to believe in. Speaking for myself .. I am happy with it. Did use extreme a while ago and it was bit messy and had to be very careful when applying - no turning back. But what really stack on my mind was price I had to pay for extreme here in Europe. For the price of Vmax You would have to shop around. Their suggested retail is near 300$ for 52sq.ft. but I've seen it cheaper online ( in USA vmax and extreme are similarly priced I think).
What else got me convinced by CAE was good and honest advise. When asked them about putting multiple layers on the floor they told me to use another product that would be cheaper (compare to going multiple) and better for that application. Saving customers money, I like that.

When I use up all Vmax and still have something to deaden will maybe order some of their vb2hd which is all vinyl.
If only I had money to try all the products from all manufacturers and nice measurement equipment, rta and more cars ... got carried away

[Beat_Dominator]

Very nice progress, any photos of the whole car?

[szubek]

Update time...
My install slowed down to a crawl. Had few family events and didn't really have time to work on car. Driving without panels is no fun and wife starts nagging (love her).
On weekend started doing front doors... and it took me longer than I would thought. Over 10 hours labour just to do one side. Here come the pics





















The victim

[Beat_Dominator]

Lots of work ahead of you eh? Keep it up.

[CJ8501]

Jak tam w Polsce?


Nice to have a fellow Polska on the forums.... and your English is damn good compared to anyone else I've spoken with that is fresh of the boat....

[szubek]

Originally Posted by Beat_Dominator

Lots of work ahead of you eh? Keep it up.

Yeah, I bet. If I knew before how much work is ahead of me I would never get myself into it. Now I am like.. addicted to it. Can't really stop. Left to do are roof, floor and of course firewall which is going to be a major pita.
So far I was doing it all by myself but now my brother offered his help so maybe it will go a bit faster. All gear is ready to install, speakers are breaking in, hope to finish it in August. call me optimist.

Originally Posted by CJ8501

Jak tam w Polsce?
Nice to have a fellow Polska on the forums.... and your English is damn good compared to anyone else I've spoken with that is fresh of the boat....

Thank You. I am just kicking myself because my English used to be much better, now I am all rusty. Well, time flies. Things in Poland go very well if one don't look on politics. They just bunch of...
So, You have polish roots, do You?

[DaleCarter]

Your English is better than many of us who ae native speakers. certainly better than my Polish.

I had the pleasure of attending a wedding last June in Szezcyn. I enjoyed your country very much and the people were great. I was disappointed that I had to go back and deal with Berliners on my way home haha Berlin is beautiful, Belriners....not so much.

[tr0y_audi0]

nice detail, That car will be super solid lots of deadning going on here..
keep the Pix comming
Oh Welcome to DIYMA

[szubek]

Originally Posted by DaleCarter

Your English is better than many of us who ae native speakers. certainly better than my Polish.

I had the pleasure of attending a wedding last June in Szezcyn. I enjoyed your country very much and the people were great. I was disappointed that I had to go back and deal with Berliners on my way home haha Berlin is beautiful, Belriners....not so much.

Szczecin You say... I live in Gdańsk which is 200 miles away but I used to have girlfriend form Szczecin and I met her in London. World is small, isn't it?

Originally Posted by tr0y_audi0

nice detail, That car will be super solid lots of deadning going on here..
keep the Pix comming
Oh Welcome to DIYMA

It is going to be over 100 feet of Cascade Vmax but I will be getting some of their vinyl heavy duty mat so in total ..around 150 feet. I wouldn't go that far but the more is done the more engine noise is profound. It is addictive I tell You that. Thank You for the welcome.

[szubek]

Just received ship tracking number for the cascade vinyl mats. Should be here in couple of weeks. I really want to be over with whole deadening deal. I want my car to be complete again
In the meantime ... gear pics to give You idea of what it is coming to be. Budget wise.

As close to factory as I could get



It lacks in processing department so it is going to be paired with kenwood kac-x4r



And last but not least... very popular choice lately PRS Pioneers



Need to work on that dash to make it fit nicely

[quest51210]

awesome choice all around and i like the look of that headunit compared to he factory deck. how do you like that kenwood? what amp for you sub duty or did i miss that?

[szubek]

Originally Posted by quest51210

awesome choice all around and i like the look of that headunit compared to he factory deck. how do you like that kenwood? what amp for you sub duty or did i miss that?

As I didn't get to install it yet I can't say much about that amp except that it is small .
At the moment I am planning to go subless just 2 way active and then will see how it sounds. Or maybe passive and then bridge the other 2 channels to drive sub... or.... .

[szubek]

.... during the weekend weather didn't allow me to continue with deadening, so decided to stay indoor for some dash fun.
Double din fitting kit that I've purchased from ford obviously didn't fit with my head unit not to mention dash itself.. had to sand it quite heavily to get that thing fit in. Got myself sheet of abs some super glue and started slowly building it up using ford fitting kit as a template.




It was real pita .. but then I made some of abs sludge (acetone dissolved abs) and it worked like a charm.




This thing is dry to touch after just minutes but takes at least whole day to fully cure and then it is solid. I was using pretty thin solution and did apply it with brush

After first sanding



I am also considering gluing this two things together but then need to work something out with screws that will get covered/will lose access to.

tbc

[szubek]

.. Driver side door is deadened partially .. just the outer skin. It took me even longer than the passenger side. Running new wires was a hideous task .. with almost no access behind steering wheel column and dash. To get my hand there I decided on removing front seat to give me more space to work in and to deaden that side of the floor as well. Forgot to take pics of the door.



Footwell area deadened as far as I could get my hand in.. up to the pedals. That white cotton thing covers entire firewall and goes all the way to the windshield.

[daGwagon]

very nice so far, im anxious to see the dash piece
so correct me if im wrong, the "C-MAX" would be a focus wagon in the states or is it just a diffrent car altogether
keep up the good work
-Garrett

[Gambit7]

Cool trick with the acetone! Can't wait to see how that comes out!