When I was remounting my radio and pulled up my center console, I noticed that the insulating foam ring and the inner rubber shift boot were missing on my car. Do these parts cut down on noise and heat coming into the cabin or do they not make much of a difference?

 

I haven't done any back to back comparisons, but when I had things apart to regrease shifter and again later to do clutch, it struck me that these pieces probably do cut down significantly on noise and perhaps moreso heat.

 

Everything I've seen (heard), they do indeed make a difference in the noise.

 

Thanks guys, I was wondering if it had an effect as my car has some drivetrain noise coming generally from that area, nothing abnormal or scary sounding, just a little louder than I would like lol.