Sound Dampening

[etlsport]

id be weary of sound deadening my hood, and front of my vehicle in general, i like to hear my engine and listen for those all important ticks and whines and squeals etc, especially on the VX

[kpaske]

I don't care what you do, unless you drown it out with pure audio volume, you'll always be able to hear your engine and exhaust to some degree.

As far as bang for your buck goes, I think buying a large amount of a decent product is the best way to go. Cover as much surface area as possible, especially in the big echo chamber behind the doors.

Most of what is marketed as "sound damping" material does most of its work by reducing vibrations, so covering all of the large flat surfaces in the rear is the first place I started. The brown bread reduces vibrations, and I've got a foam/rubber based sound barrier product from the same manufacturer as a second layer over the floor in the rear to help reduce the sound from the road and my PV muffler.

I've got a very loud system. On full blast, standing outside with the doors closed, you can just barely make out the highs and lows, but it's not even loud enough to hear the vocals in most cases. Open that door and you can probably hear it from 500 feet away. Regardless, I still hear plenty of engine and exhaust noise unless I turn it way up. Remember, the glass windshield and windows will always allow some of the audio waves to pass through.

Oh, and BQuiet has a completely different, high-temp product designed for use under the hood.

[etlsport]

thanks for the info, i was worried about not being able to hear my engine well enough to hear problems, ive never used sound dampener more than a square foot behind speakers... looks like i may be doing the front of the VX as well now

[WormGod]

Hard to say since metal loves to carry vibration. You do any little place in the back, you may as well do it all. Wish I had a better solution for ya, heh.

[SkidPlate]

Yeah, it is quite a task taking out the whole interior to apply this. But in my opinion it was well worth it. With the rear seat removed, the difference was dramatic. Everytime you close a door or hit 50+, the lack of noise is very satisfying.

And I would agree that this not only reduces road and wind noise but makes the overall ride experience feel much tighter. Almost like it's a new vehicle.


Oh, and B-Quiet Ultimate is the replacement for Brown Bread, and can withstand high temperatures, such as under the hood.

I would say go for it, I love it. YMMV

[kpaske]

Oh, and B-Quiet Ultimate is the replacement for Brown Bread...

That sucks, because IIRC, Brown Bread was rated higher than BQuiet Ultimate or Extreme. I'm guessing they dropped it because they were losing money on it - it really is much better than comparably priced products from other manufacturers.

[crager34]

Not sure if it was a good deal or not, but I purchased four 18x32 sheets of Dynamat Extreem shipped for $80. Gonna start small.

[SkidPlate]

Not sure if it was a good deal or not, but I purchased four 18x32 sheets of Dynamat Extreem shipped for $80. Gonna start small.

Let's see, that's about 15 sq ft @ $80 which is a little more than $5 a sq foot.

You can get B-Quiet Ultimate on eBay 50 sq ft @ $109, works out to a bit more than $2 a square foot. Plus you get a roller..which is crap, so no value there.

I've never used Dynamat so I can't say if it's really worth two and a half times what B-Quiet is, but I'll take my chances.

EDIT: Forgot the shipping for the B-Quiet; $25. So that would make it $2.68 a sq ft. Unless I suck a math.

[crager34]

Yeah... I know there are less expensive products and that is why I started the thread. Seems like Dynamat is a tested product in our community (as our others), so I wanted to go with what seems to be the best.

Thanks for all the opinions and info.

[Whaleboy]

I ended up using e-dead V3 by elemental designs.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/edv2/pro...products_id=54

I believe I used almost 4 gallons with 2-3 coats thru most of the interior (including around/behind dash).. This was about 2 years ago so I'm a little fuzzy how much I used. Needless to say the results were excellent. Sounded almost as quiet as my friends older model bubbly lexus SUV. Could've made it even more quiet using a few extra coats but after removing all the paneling/carpet/dash I was in no hurry.

I spent a few months researching all the various sound dampening products. I wanted the best bang for the buck as I wasn't gonna waste a huge amount of money on something as silly as sound dampening material.

E-dead was eventually what I settled on. Most of the people that seemed to really have a good grasp on acoustics would repeatedly suggest liquid sound dampening products and e-dead especially. There was another in the same price range but essentially comprised of the same chemistry. Many of the numbers I would read and test results pointed to liquid dampeners being the superior type of sound deadener for in car use.

Pretty cool they sell it in black now, used to be only available in blue.

Certainly seemed much easier then dealing with dynamat, brown bread, and the like. I can only assume most people shy away from liquid deadeners due to their permenancy.. But after you apply the stuff trust me, you're not gonna want to remove it. EVER.

Just remember after all the fancy properties these so called sound dampeners have, the only real way to block noise is with MASS.

[kpaske]

When I did my research I considered liquid products also, but I felt the application would be messier, and the biggest concern at the time was fumes - I'm not sure about e-dead, but the liquid products out at the time all released fumes as they dried. I don't remember whether the fumes were harmful or if they just smell bad, but I decided on the best "roll-on" product I could find. In retrospect, I think the roll-ons are pretty messy too, so if they've worked on the fume issue (or that is not a great concern for you - it was for me because i have two young kids), i certainly wouldn't rule out liquids if i had it to do over. You're right - roll-ons are just as permanent - plus you'll never want to take it off. You can't reuse it, and if it's covered by your carpet or interior panels, you pretty much forget that it's there.

Crager - unfortunately, with only 15 sq ft, you probably won't even be able to tell the difference. No doubt Dynamat is an effective product, but you need a lot of it, which is why a lot of us sought out comparable products for a lot less money.

[WormGod]

I dont recall the name of the stuff, but I used a spray IN the tailgate. Thought it would be a good place to test it anyways. Sprayed on ok, but the nozzle clogged up far too often. It gummed up quite well in corners and such where products like Dynamat simply can not get to. Sealed corners up very well. Upon drying, it left a pretty good rubbery surface and almost reminded me of a fairly solid rocker shutz. The only down falls with the spray were the clogging nozzle, the need for protecting/masking off vehicle from overspray, and the cost of the stuff. Using it actually INSIDE of the vehicle would have been too risky with the overspray, and it leaves an afterspray stink for a couple weeks. Needless to say, the tailgate is about as solid as you can get now.

[etlsport]

used the b-quiet today from ebay on the tailgate and drivers side door, i didnt notice a huge improvement on the tailgate, it was pretty tough to get into all the little nooks, the drivers side door was greatly improved, the sound when it closes is a gratifying thunk, havent driven it yet, once i do the pass door hopefully ill hear a diff in audio and road noise

a warning.. id reccomend wearing gloves.. that foil backing gave me a few nasty cuts!h

[crager34]

Ok. I got the rear deck done, down to the back seat foot landing with 3 1/3 of the 4 sheets I had. It is actually a bit quieter in the cab. How do I know? I was talking with my mom and told her I was driving. We continued to chat for a bit then she said I must be parked, and I wasn't. So, you can "do it right" with just the rear deck, but if you want even more dampening, then do the wheel well humps, front doors, front floor, heck the whole car.

Of course having a PV1 muffler doesn't help the noise much, but again there is a different with what I have done. Most likely I will get more sometime to do the rest of the VX... ya know... to "do it right".

[Navigator]

Hind sight is 20/20. The VX is not a rattle box like some vehicles can be. Get the license plate kit first and apply it to the rear licesne plate. Also do not use any type of frame on the rear license plate and secure it directly to the VX. Blast your stereo louder than you can stand it then step outside of the VX. Listen for rattles. If you find any, then Dynamat that problem area. Chances are good you won't need more.