Review: Proton Waja Auto Foam-ed

Part of life as a motoring journalist is having to re-adapt to one’s own ride after returning all the glitzy test cars to the manufacturer. Though ours is a glamourous job to look at, our pay is not. As such, most of us tend to make do with very modestly-priced rides when we are between test cars. Fortunately, I am sufficiently satisfied with my own car that there were only relatively few occasions that I returned to it feeling distinctly a downgrade from what I was reviewing.

Whatever you might say about Proton’s build quality, you cannot deny that thanks to input from Lotus to its ride and handling, its cars possess above average handling competence. This is why my 2007-vintage Proton Waja Campro with manual transmission remains very much an enjoyable drive in my books, even if it has a few quirks which I have to live with.

Test car for the Auto Foam project: 2007 Proton Waja Campro 1.6E

Although the Lotus input endowed the Waja with a chassis of world-class design, the same cannot be said of its NVH insulation package. At whatever speed you care to mention, the Waja is just full of noises – road noise, wind noise, engine noise, you name it. It’s deafening. Which is why, when Desmond Chong of KL Auto offered me a chance to do a review of his flagship product Auto Foam, I was more than happy to take his offer up.

KL Auto’s premises off Jalan Ipoh

My years in Autoworld Forum have made me already familiar with the concept of foam injection into the chassis. Forummers have been talking up the merits of this product ever since I joined as a forum member back in 2002. Having said that, however, my familiarity with the product is only passing, and I was certainly caught off-guard when Desmond explained to me, in highly technical terms, how the foam must be injected at strategic parts of the car for best effect.

The Auto Foam treatment package given to my car consists of the Comfort Package, which sees foam injected into various parts of the undercarriage, amounting to RM880. Additional treatment of Auto Foam worth RM300 were also injected into the C-pillar, while Wurth/Acoustiplast SP sound insulation sheets worth RM500 were lined along the rear speaker deck, spare tyre well and under the rear seats. Finally, the Roar Killer package worth RM380 was injected into the wheel arches as well as the A-pillar.

Checking sound levels in the car.

After his men were done with their jobs, Desmond invited me to sit inside the car, that time still parked in the workshop, with the engine idling. He implored me to step on the accelerator and asked if I could hear any difference. Honestly, at that point in time, I had almost zero idea what he was blabbing about. I felt some difference, but certainly not at the levels he was describing. But I wasn’t expecting to feel anything yet, because we have yet to hit the road, which I was looking forward to.

Shortly after leaving the compound of his workshop, and on the pockmarked surface of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, I began to see what the man was talking about. Traffic was heavy, so there was no chance of testing the improved handling that he promised. But, on came a pothole, I drove over it, and the suspension thumped it off far greater confidence than I was accustomed to. Before this, every pothole or bump which I failed to avoid or slow down for would have threatened to dismantle my dashboard.

Foam was injected into undercarriage.

The improved ride can be felt most dramatically on pavement-brick surfaces, where less of the harshness caused by the joining lines of the bricks make their way into the cabin. You still feel the suspension at work, but they certainly aren’t transmitting too much of the road’s harshness back into the cabin.

When I stopped at the traffic lights, I noticed that music coming from the rear speakers have a ‘purer’ and crisper sound about them. Now, I must clarify that I have almost zero qualification in reviewing audio equipment, but I can promise you that my stock audio system definitely sounded better than before.

Roar killer injected into A-pillar and wheel arches.

Also suppressed, and impressively so, are resonance vibrations transmitted to the dashboard at certain RPMs, especially at 1,800rpm. When I first drove out of KL Auto’s premises, I noticed that the resonance vibrations were almost completely gone. Weirdly however, after a few day’s of curing, some of the vibrations have returned, but still at a level lower than before. So, that’s improvement nonetheless.

Recently, I drove the Waja to Singapore in a family trip, which doubled as a highway test run for the Auto Foam package. Although the Waja has great inherent composure at high speeds, its stock insulation leaves plenty to be desired. As soon as the speedo crosses into triple-digit territory, you’re better off switching the radio off, because even if you dial the radio volume to the high settings, you’re unlikely to be able to hear anything. And bear in mind the Waja I have is already a significantly improved version compared to the initial batches.

Foam was also injected into C-pillar

Going through the tarred and concrete surfaces of PLUS Highway, I noticed far less intrusion of noise when cruising at higher speeds. Over some of the concrete pavements there were still intrusions of tyre noises, but for the most part, the only source of noise coming into the cabin was the engine. On occasions when it was safe to do so, I allowed the car to coast on free gear at 110kph, and it was peacefully serene. The difference is extremely impressive.

Desmond also pointed out to me that I should feel significant improvement in my car’s outright handling. From my experience thus far, the car’s high-speed stability and cornering poise remains impressive. However, as there was little wrong with the Waja’s road manners in stock form, I felt that improvements in this area were minimal, until I realized that I was taking most sweeping bends one gear higher than before. Bends that used to need fourth gear, can be now be handled in fifth.

Ride comfort improved tremendously; handling improved too, but only discernible at higher speeds.

Having driven the Waja for three years, my biggest complaint of the car has always been its excessive noise level and also its slightly out-of-whack ergonomics. The Auto Foam injection helped address that first problem, and improved things on a few other areas which hardly even bothered me before this. It hasn’t transformed my car into a Lexus, but you can’t expect something put together for less than RM2,000 to give you RM300k’s worth of ride quality.

To conclude, the Auto Foam package fitted into my car, which is permanent and non-reversible, has produced some pretty impressive effects. Noticeable improvements have come in terms of ride comfort and also noise insulation, making the whole car feel a lot more solid and refined. Claimed handling benefits were also felt, but mostly at higher speeds.

But do you know what’s the sad part? Once you get started, you’ll tend to want more. Be prepared with deep pockets if you want to get into Auto Foam-ing.

KON

See also: Autoworld Blog >> Blog Archive >> Auto Foam – Chassis Stiffening & Soundproofing Solution Explained
Talk about it: Autoworld Forum > Car Cafe > Soundproofing, Noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH)