Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension How to stiffen up the structure

This is what Demon said to me in a PM:

"I just used a good industrial expanding foam sealant from Home Depot.

This stuff was very thick to begin with. High pressure exanding urethane.

It definitely firmed up the unibody. I noticed it right away.
It also brings with it a bit more vibration, but IMO that's a minor trade off.
Some may say it just gives a better 'Road Feel'"

Not having checked on prices, I can't say for sure how much cheaper the HD stuff is, but at least with the Foamseal stuff, you know you have the right foam, and the guesswork is gone. It's the same stuff spec'd by Ford for the Mustang, as well as by Lexus and Infiniti for various cars.

And, if you get the wrong stuff, there is no going back

To me this is worthwhile doing. Stiff structure means a lot to both racing machines as well as the production vehicles.

So was there a tutorial available as to where to inject the foam in our Contours? That info will save tremendous amount of time.

Where is Demon, btw?

where exactly do you fill the foam?

The frame rails.

Hey, cool your jets. I was kidding. That's what this symbolises.

Back on topic, I am just saying that if it's $60 more (and I was a student too -- twice, as well as working for Foot Locker for a year), why not go with the stuff that you KNOW is the right stuff, rather than take the risk with something that, once it is in there, ain't coming out EVER.

Demon didn't/couldn't give me the name of the foam he used. He just said it was the most expanding, highest PSI stuff that he could find at Home Depot. To quote (and I hope he doesn't mind me quoting a PM):

"I used a hard durometer self expanding polturethane foam.

I filled every rail and hole accessible from the bottom.
*basically the 2 major uni-frame rails under the cabin and the 2 small rear rails."

Now, this is all well and good, but understand the risks of such things. Many of the expanding foams available expand so much that they tell you not to use then near windows as they can apply enough pressure to distort the window frame and the headers. Do you want that to happen to your car, especially since once it sticks, is difficult or impossible to be removed?

I cannot pretend to be an expert on the topic, but I did my research on this a while ago. I decided against it for the reason that I live in Ottawa, and corrosion is a problem. If you have any corrosion started where this stuff has been injected, it would be difficult, if not impossible to repair.

And by the way Kremit, I bought my SVT because I liked it, but also because it was way cheaper than my other options.

Kermit, Phil,
I hate to see you guys sour over differences of opinions. Can we focus on the hardware modification only?

So here is my take on Phil's concerns:
* need to use the right foam, too much expansion a concern
* need to use the right foam, corrosion a concern
* current CSVT perfect as is, no need for foam upgrade

Kermit and others:
* which is the cheaper alternative foam?
* where do we inject the foam?
* how much difference will this really make?

What I gathered so far(mainly based on Demon's experience):
* Home Depot stuff ok
* inject through holes on the bottom
* front two rails and rear two rails

My addtional thoughts/questions:
* what about the rocker panels that runs from front to rear?
* what about the A/B/C pillars that provides the torsional strength?
* what about the front subframe that control arm is attached to?
* when foam is injected should the car be off the ground so after it hardens it is preloaded?
* shouldn't we look for minimally expanding foam(max density and hardness)?
* who else has done this besides Demon?

Read some information here!

And here!

Also here!

last one!

The links are the same ones that Todras found in the first posting I found.