Sound Insulation for Figgy's California Insight

We all know that there can be a teensy bit of road noise coming from the back at highway speeds or on a road surface that isn't smooth as a gentle summer breeze. I didn't want to do anything that would not be removable or that would be heavy or cost anything substantial. After a little on-line research, I quickly realized that stuff like dynamat wouldn't fit the bill. So, with those parameters in mind, I stalked around the house trying to find something that might give decent sound insulation and not cost me a bundle.

As I was rummaging around, I realized that nothing is much cheaper than garbage, and decided that using garbage as sound insulation would fill the cost parameter requirements. Now I just had to fill the light weight and removable requirements. With that in mind, I scoured the house for garbage and came across my old futon from graduate school which I have been meaning to throw away for years and years. I was prepared to find that it would be musty, dusty and stinky, like most garbage. I was pleasantly surprised to find that when I unzipped the inner sacking it was fresh as the day I bought it and could easily be pulled apart and cut to fit any space requirements. It was light weight, and it kept clumped together so it didn't lose fibers or dust into the car space.

Garbage in, quality out:

Pack in cavity, leaving air circulation in back and front of it to avoid smothering the battery too much and blocking the air vents.	Put a few inches on each side of cargo box, again leaving the front open for air flow to the battery and to not block the air vents.

I also put a generous amount directly under the spare tire, tore a hole through it for the hold down screw, and put the tire back in screwed down tight. This bottom padding has no real effect on air circulation since it's normally filled up anyway and has the Honda felt pad there in the first place.

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