sounddeadening installation

[Gasser64]

So what kind of difference did you see? Would you call it a 50% reduction in unwanted noise? Maybe higher?

[Baba Ganoush]

I've used the cheap stick-on foil w/foam duct insulation available at Lowes with great success for heat issues. Of course it was one of a few layers including Dynamat.

I've also used the spray-on 2 part Lizard Skin, sound and heat layers, if the car is gutted it's the best choice. No messy butle to worry about later.

Places like doors and quarter panels don't need complete coverage for good sound deadening. A few squares eliminate the "tin can" effect.

[jluv]

I have two vehicles that both have an insane amount of sound deadening. The Explorer has a ton in it, but I really got carried away when I did my F250. I just kinda started messing with it, and then it became an obsession. Hard work, but fun, and I do love the results.

Gutted the entire interior of the truck, including the seats, carpet, door panels, rear panel, pillars, seatbelts, headliner, parts of the dash, etc.

I stuffed dense upholstery foam into all of the open spaces in the A, B, and C pillars, under the rear window, behind the kick panels, and around the perimeter of the roof where the extra bracing makes "pockets", for lack of a better term.

I then covered EVERY surface with at least one full layer of deadener. I have a combo of Dynamat Xtreme, Stinger Roadkill, and FatMat. This includes the doors, floor, roof, pillars, etc. No area went untouched. Some areas go two layers, like the transmission hump, the firewall, and the back panel below the window. I even put a layer under the door sill panels where all the wires are run.

The doors got four layers - one on the inside of the outer door skin, one on each surface of the inner metal that the panel mounts to, and a layer on the panels themselves. I came as close as possible to sealing up all of the holes in the door itself (the part behind the panel). I then added a layer 3/4" ensolite foam on the entire inside of the outside skin of the doors, and then a later of 1.5" acoustic foam (think egg crate stuff you see in studios) on top of that. Then, before putting the door panels back on, I put one more thin layer of thin closed cell foam (like 1/8", I forget the name of it) on the surface that's right behind the door panel). Finally, the panels went back on.

The floor was the biggest project. After multiple layers of the standard rubber-butyl aluminum deadener, I then covered the entire floor in a 1/4" layer of rubber mat made from recycled tires. This was all trimmed and taped down for a smooth fit. Then, I covered the entire area again with a 3/8" heavy rug mat material. It's like carpet pad, but much heavier and more dense. This, too, was trimmed and shaped to fit perfectly. To finish the floor I custom ordered a new high-pile luxury carpet that has a heavy rubber backing on it and it's own carpet pad. There is well over an inch of material from the metal floor to where you touch the carpet itself. So soft you could sleep on it.

Every pillar, panel, and dash piece that I had taken out got a layer of the FatMat before going back on. That includes both glove compartments and the overhead storage thing.

I have components in Q-form kick panels, which are notoriously thin, so I went to town layering them with almost three full layers on the backside before mounting them.

The roof got the sound deadener, and I had the headliner covered in suede, but I did not add any material to the back of the headliner panel itself. That's probably the only missed opportunity to go completely overboard.

The underside of the hood got a layer of Dynamat Xtreme and then thick hoodliner.

I even put a layer of deadener on the inside of my custom sub box and then a layer of the acoustic studio foam mentioned earlier. Just because.

It's way overkill, and I'm sure some of the stuff I did was past the point of diminishing returns, but It's like a bank vault in there, and I dig it.

[Gasser64]

That sound deadener showdown site says multiple layers of the butyl rubber (dynamat) stuff doesn't help. According to them where most people go wrong, is thinking that applying multiple layers will net you better results, when you really should do one layer with a thick aluminum backing, and then your closed cell foam and then your mass loaded vinyl. Then spay the "sludge" under the wheel well, do the firewall, and the bottom of the car. Never read anything about upholstery padding in the a-pillars.

[jluv]

That sound deadener showdown site says multiple layers of the butyl rubber (dynamat) stuff doesn't help. According to them where most people go wrong, is thinking that applying multiple layers will net you better results, when you really should do one layer with a thick aluminum backing, and then your closed cell foam and then your mass loaded vinyl. Then spay the "sludge" under the wheel well, do the firewall, and the bottom of the car. Never read anything about upholstery padding in the a-pillars.

Ya, I spent a lot of time reading every sound deadener thread I could. I followed the advice and do have all of that stuff mentioned, but then I just kept going. (The MLV is the stuff I used last on the doors before putting the panels on. I couldn't remember the name for it.) I put the upholstery foam in the "pockets" to get rid of hollow open spaces. It certainly can't hurt anything.

There are lots of opinions out there. Some people will say that you only need to cover like 25% of any surface in the first place. I've done stuff that way and honestly feel like the overboard approach with 100% coverage and multiple layers makes a difference. At the end of the day, adding mass to those surfaces lowers the resonating frequency and also keeps more of the energy created by a huge system from escaping or being absorbed by vibrating panels. Adding multiple layers of different material on the firewall and floor made a huge difference in road and drivetrain noise. The acoustic foam helps with back waves from the drivers themselves.

I know it's way overboard, but I didn't replace or leave out any recommended steps - I did all of those mentioned above and and then more of my own.

I haven't sprayed anything under the vehicle yet, but I've though about it.

[EW]

First, the Amazing part of the F250 was the results. No tire noise, very little road noise. The turbo could just barely be heard.
Second, as a 25 year customer and seller of sound deadener, I say more is better. For example, if you you cover the floor of a Tahoe with 25-50% coverage, there will be only a small amount of difference in the amount of noise the floor makes when struck. If you do 100% coverage, it will still ring somewhat. 200% coverage will really knock down the noise but IMO 100% coverage and then a mass loaded vinyl with foam bonded to it would be a better choice since each material blocks a different frequency range. A 25% to 50% covered vehicle will not be as quiet as a 100% covered car with multiple materials. Also, many of these 25-50% coverage people say additional coverage only decreases the interior noise by 3-6dB. That is a huge amount. Do you know what would it take to make your stereo 3-6dB louder? Plus the quieter car yields less driver fatigue, better sound, better phone call audio, etc.

25-50% coverage is better than nothing but with the amount of work it takes to gut the vehicle, just do it right and get better results.

[Gasser64]

First, the Amazing part of the F250 was the results. No tire noise, very little road noise. The turbo could just barely be heard.
Second, as a 25 year customer and seller of sound deadener, I say more is better. For example, if you you cover the floor of a Tahoe with 25-50% coverage, there will be only a small amount of difference in the amount of noise the floor makes when struck. If you do 100% coverage, it will still ring somewhat. 200% coverage will really knock down the noise but IMO 100% coverage and then a mass loaded vinyl with foam bonded to it would be a better choice since each material blocks a different frequency range. A 25% to 50% covered vehicle will not be as quiet as a 100% covered car with multiple materials. Also, many of these 25-50% coverage people say additional coverage only decreases the interior noise by 3-6dB. That is a huge amount. Do you know what would it take to make your stereo 3-6dB louder? Plus the quieter car yields less driver fatigue, better sound, better phone call audio, etc.

25-50% coverage is better than nothing but with the amount of work it takes to gut the vehicle, just do it right and get better results.

That right there makes it all worth it imo. Long trips are a bit nicer when you get out of the car and you aren't as tired/drained.

So what you'd recommend, for MAX deadening, would be 200% coverage, and then the foam and the vinyl?

[Z06killinsbf]

Don't forget jute backing, people often overlook this product but it works wonders when combined with the above ingredients.

[EW]

Large flat panels will benefit from multiple layers of butyl product(like the rear wall of a pickup truck). Otherwise, I would just cover everything with one layer and then add the Stinger Carpet Pad to the floor and rear wall. Add peel and stick foams to the roof and doors. The roof foam can be pretty thick. The door foam would need to be thin for the panel to fit back on. On the hood, I would use one 4sq ft sheet of butyl and then a Hoodliner panel.

[snacksnack]

a decent read about quietening your ride up.

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/home

[fordracing19]

a decent read about quietening your ride up.

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/home

Repost!

[snacksnack]

Repost!

Doh

[abecx]

I got my car back today. I had 4 boxes installed ( 144 sq. ft ) @ Texas Audio. Installation price was a bit more than I anticipated at $85 for 15 hours ($1275) worth of work. I supplied the materials. I haven't gotten to drive it much yet because there is traffic out. You can definitely tell the audio has less trouble getting its point across. The bass is a ton cleaner. Hopefully driving on the highway is a little quieter, although i think most of that noise originates because of the wind.

Was it worth? I doubt it, I've normally done the installs myself but only on doors and trunks, so never this much dynamat before. I think in total with the shit i bought it was about $1700. If I would have done it myself, probably much worth it.

Not sure why these images are sideways, I don't feel like editing them. I didn't get any pictures of the trunk, but its there too.
ok i lied, i edited them.

Now I really want a fucking sub, I already have the factory kicker sub/amp, but want a little more now.


Interior


Headliner


Outer Door Skin


Inner Door Skin

[BMCSean]

I'll hook you up on a sub and amp! For real, diamond audio 1000watt amp and 2400watt planet audio 12.

[abecx]

After driving around, it made a huge difference, jackie noticed it right off the bat. I am happy camper