Puma Rubber Matting System

**dawsey** · 11th April 2013, 03:59 PM

[QUOTE=Loubrey;1891966]Hi dawsey,

That is some tidy work!

I'm afraid I would have ended up paying someone to do that and then its debatable whether I would have ended up with that level of quality!

Hi Solmanic,

I guessed as much. I considered the must cheaper option of gluing my own replacement rubber on, but those seat box corners is what did my head in and to achieve a 3D corner in DIY that would have met what I wanted would have been beyond my skill set to be honest.

Cheers,

Probably helps that I was an upholsterer for 20 odd years..anyway real men can sew..

**Loubrey** · 12th April 2013, 10:52 AM

Well here we go with the photographs for those interested.

These first ones are obviously the seat box section showing the front, side and the all important high wear corner. The mould is very "sharp" on detail and IMo looks better than the shiny black OEM stuff.

The last photograph is the works upside down showing the trace line for one of the under seat access hatches. All optional access flaps are traced (LHD, RHD, Wolf, Snatch etc), but not cut through to give you the option for fitting.

More to follow:

Cheers,

Lou

**Loubrey** · 12th April 2013, 11:01 AM

The next set of photographs of the seat box:

The first one shows the optional LHD handbrake cut out as well as the Wolf and Snatch's battery cut off switch. Those will not be touched at this stage and the trace cuts are not deep enough to cause "creases" on the other side.

The second shows the thickness of the mat. As stated before, the two sections weigh 32.2 kg and looking at the mat thickness its easy to see why!

The third photograph is the handbrake access I'll be using. The instructions say to remove the HB lever before fitting, and I"ll have a closer look when I get there. I've never taken one off, so advice will be appreciated!

Cheers,

Lou

**Loubrey** · 12th April 2013, 11:14 AM

The tunnel and foot well section:

Driver side and passenger side foot wells as well as a close up of the edge detail.

The whole section and a close up of the passenger side of the tunnel...

Knowing Land Rover for a few years now I anticipate the tunnel to be a bit of a beast with aircon pipes etc.

Cheers,

Lou

**Loubrey** · 12th April 2013, 11:31 AM

And lastly for this batch, the underside of the foot well and tunnel section:

The grey stuff is the acoustic and temperature resistant layer and the round holes are the typical fixing cut outs if needed. It's listed as being non porous, mold resistant and non flammable. The MOD bolts their matting down I understand...

Car's in for its last warranty service this Monday, so I reckon I'll start stripping and fitting on the weekend of 20 - 21 April 2013.

Photos to follow.

Cheers,

Lou

**patclan** · 12th April 2013, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by Loubrey

And lastly for this batch, the underside of the foot well and tunnel section:

The grey stuff is the acoustic and temperature resistant layer and the round holes are the typical fixing cut outs if needed. It's listed as being non porous, mold resistant and non flammable. The MOD bolts their matting down I understand...

Car's in for its last warranty service this Monday, so I reckon I'll start stripping and fitting on the weekend of 20 - 21 April 2013.

Photos to follow.

Cheers,

Lou

They look very sturdy!!

**noyakfat** · 12th April 2013, 02:44 PM

Hi Lou,

Sure it cost a pretty penny, but this stuff certainly looks the goods! It has a very professional finish and looks very robust in construction. Thanks for posting. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product once you've fitted it to the vehicle.

Cheers,
Nige

**Loubrey** · 12th April 2013, 02:52 PM

Hi Pat and Nige,

Yeh, very thick and heavy. With the mold oil and the anti-mold coating its pretty hard to carry around!

Exmoor Trim claims it to be the only Land Rover and MOD approved matting system on the market... I would have liked it as an option when I bought the car!

Cheers,

Lou

**defender_i_hardly_know_er** · 12th April 2013, 08:32 PM

Let us know if you notice any improvement in reducing the cabin noise?

**Loubrey** · 13th April 2013, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by defender_i_hardly_know_er

Let us know if you notice any improvement in reducing the cabin noise?

I will post once I've fitted them.

A lot of factors affect the cabin noise though and as I've come from 300Tdi to Puma, already know that it's the quietest Defender I've ever driven.

Some other factors that affect the noise levels:

1. Tyres - every brand and every pattern has different Db levels. I regularly swap between my General Grabber AT's on OEM alloys and my BFG KM2 MS's on ZU alloys, and I'm always astounded how quiet the Grabbers actually are.

2. Tyre Pressure - hard tyres resonates more than softer tyres which will affect your cabin noise level. The old adage of a tight drum being louder than slack one...

3. In wet and on dirt road 90% of the noise comes from the rear wheel wells where the thin aluminium skin amplifies any noise. Options here would be rubberised coatings on the underside or acoustic carpeting inside

4. Transmission - This is in my opinion the only place there might be a difference in noise level and I'll do a Db check with the iPhone today (swapping back to the Grabbers later today) and compare after I've fitted the matting what the noise level difference is.

Cheers,

Lou

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