Quieter interior?

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underworld1001
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Location: Austin, TX

Quieter interior?

Postby underworld1001 » Fri May 11, 2018 8:58 pm

Just a quick question on if anyone that has any recommendations for a quieter interior. If any one has undercoated underneath their vehicle, did it help a bit with some sound absorption? I know in previous project cars, I'd use some window flashing from Lowes/Home Depot that reduced the sound a bit. Before anyone asks, no, never got the tar smell when it got hot (100F+/37C+). I know tires play a part as well. Mine are pretty worn down and might pull the trigger on some LT Cooper AT3's or BF KO2's. Both are pretty quiet tires despite their aggressive patterns.


DanJetta
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Postby DanJetta » Sun May 13, 2018 11:54 am

I bought a Jetta wagon a while back and the dealership sold me on an expensive rubber spray-on undercoat that was supposed to make the ride quieter. There was zero difference in road noise.

There are rubberized stick-on matts that glue onto the floorboard under your carpet that get solid reviews. A bit expensive and they add a bit of weight.

Tires probably make the biggest difference. I currently have Firestone Destination LE2s which are noticeably quieter than a comparable set of Michelin LTX.

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underworld1001
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Postby underworld1001 » Sun May 13, 2018 1:14 pm

Thanks Dan. I have some Cooper HTPs on there right now that are barely starting to hit the wear bars. Was thinking about getting some BF Goodrich KO2's on there, but I never really go off road, though I'd like to. If anyone has the Cooper AT3's how was the interior cabin noise?

I've thought about undercoating for the sound, but was on the fence about it since I wasn't sure if it was worth the effort.

patrickm
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Re: Quieter interior?

Postby patrickm » Fri Nov 16, 2018 3:31 pm

underworld1001 wrote: I know in previous project cars, I'd use some window flashing from Lowes/Home Depot that reduced the sound a bit. Before anyone asks, no, never got the tar smell when it got hot (100F+/37C+).
havent found the pathfinder too noisy, but i can +1 the method above as viable. I've done this on two convertibles when replacing the carpet over the years, and it's relatively inexpensive and worthwhile. i should have done some of this when pulling the rear trim panels off to replace seatbelts, but didn't.

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smj999smj
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Postby smj999smj » Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:35 pm

Back in the 80's and 90's, undercoating was often sold as "soundproofing," which is bit of a stretch. Using Dynamat (or similar) on the floors, under the carpet and on the inside of the doors and rear hatch will help, but it gets expensive doing large areas.

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ShipFixer
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Postby ShipFixer » Tue Dec 18, 2018 7:05 am

Undercoatings don't do much, and tar based damping products will suck if it gets hot. Recommend butyl rubber (I like Second Skin Audio). I've damped and insulated most of my Pathfinder and it's about Camry-quiet now. In order of biggest bang for the buck:

- Damping the front fenders. The body-on-frame construction means these are unstressed, and boom like a tympani drum over the smallest of bumps. Biggest improvement by far. Once you cover about 50% of the area (aim for the middle, and knock on the panels to see if you are killing resonance yet) it's going to be pretty quiet.

- Foam in the front fender wells. Hard to get an effective barrier with thicker products like Luxury Liner between the plastic fender well and the metal, but it's possible.

- Damping the roof. I actually haven't done this (the roof cover is pretty big and time-intensive to take out) but there's lots of thudding that comes through here. Again, big, unstressed metal panel (no sunroof on mine) and experience says it'll make things better. Also, you don't hear rain afterwards :-D

- Sheets of Luxury Liner over the rear cargo area. I have had the entire interior taken out for damping, but there is effectively no way to get a good sheet of foam plus mass loading over it. So I got lazy and put two sheets of this stuff across the cargo area as kind of a mat. Kills a lot of road noise coming in from the floor. I usually have my rear seats completely folded for mountain bikes, so I have lighter sheets of neoprene foam that will go over the second row folded.

- Damping and an insulating blanket in the hood to replace the OEM insulator. Absorbs road noise and a lot of engine noise.

- Damping and foam in the rear hatch. Lots of road noise comes in through the back door. I no longer hear my bike rack clinking and whatnot.

- Damping, sealing, and foam in the doors. Not much noise reduction here, but noticeable improvement in stereo audio quality. Doors are heavy enough that it's not a crazy improvement like it was in my old Sentra.

- Damping rear floor and interior wheel wells, plus some foam. Not a lot of noise reduction honestly. The metal is pretty thick and already doesn't resonate much.


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