Fire Wall Question

[sowise]

Has anyone removed the pad or blanket on the firewall? I was looking around my engine bay today and never really noticed it was there. Just wondering if there was any extra noticeable noise with it removed or interior heat. Are there holes or pass throughs that could be patched/plugged or welded if it was removed?

Any flex in the stock hood with internal hood padding removed?

Oh and I did try the search just didn't find anything on either item.