Prius Prime detailed sound proofing procedure.

This is the guide for sound proofing the Prius Prime.
I used the company named Second Skin to purchase materials (About $450).
This project is for someone with moderate or higher mechanical skills.
Lots of measuring and cutting.
I definitely felt reduction in road noise.
You still hear it if road is more porous. However for 85% of driving now it seems you are in Lexus
Do this at your own risk, I am not responsible for any damages!
Took me 3 days on/off working on the project.

Tools:
- Utility knife (with new blades).
- Trim removal tool set (helps but not required).

- Tape for measurement.
- Pencil or marker for marking.
- Flat piece of wood to make longer cuts.
- Cardboard or plywood for underlay when cutting LLP.
- Flat head and Phillips screw driver.

Prep:

Need a large ventilated open space so car door can be fully opened.
Large space to cut pieces of LLP.
Plenty of time.

Sound proofing material. Vehicle Sound Deadening Materials for Noise Reduction, and Thermal Insulation. Call 800 679-8511. | Second Skin Audio, Made in the USA.

Damplifier PRO (DPRO) - tiles with tar adhesive, very thin. Reduces vibrations in metal skin.
Luxury Liner PRO (LLP) - 3/8" thick sound barrier, spong like material and rubber layer pressed in.

You stick the LLP with spongy side facing DPRO. Rubber layer should face inside of the cabin.

I did 4 doors and front floors.
I will post 5 replies covering each:

1. Door panel trim removal.
2. Install the Damplifier PRO (DPRO) tiles.
3. Install Luxury Liner PRO (LLP) sheets
   
4. Driver floor install.
5. Passenger floor install.

CAUTION:
Wear gloves (sharp metal edges) and long sleeve (You will get sticky goo all over your arms/hands when installing LLP).
Leave the area around drain holes alone (I cut out the spots), don't cover it (See the pictures).
Attached pictures have more details in the following posts...

 

Door trim removal steps.
Front doors are very easy... See step-1 through 11. More details in the pictures.



For rear doors require extra step.

 

Install the Damplifier PRO (DPRO) tiles.

CAUTION: Wear gloves while cutting tiles.
After backing paper removal careful with sticky side as it's hard to remove once it touches the surface.

- Cut proper sizes and stick to the outer skin of the door.
- You do NOT have to cover 100% surface, 60-75% is more than enough.
(Guy said you need only 60% area covered to be 90% effective).
- Use the wooden roller to press in the tiles.

 

Install Luxury Liner PRO (LLP) sheets.

- I debated installing this on the inside panel (see the picture).
I decided against this because of thickness of LLP (3/8 inch) and clearence to install the plastic inside trim on top of it.
Also SecondSkin guy suggsted installing LLP right on top of DPRO to be more effective.

The small opening in the door does NOT allow installing large one piece.
Instead I had to breakup the door in 4 sections (see the diagram).
This allowed me to pass the smaller cuts through the door opening.

Measure pieces multiple time before actually cutting the LLP.

Spray the contact adhesive on both surfaces then stick the tile.
Press the LLP in and hold it for 30 seconds and it will stick.
Apply aluminium tape (bought from HD) on the joints where possible.

To put back things - reverse the process.

Pull out electric wires and door handle through white plastic barrier.
Attach vapor barrier.
Attach plastic panel, attach 3 screws and put the arm rest pieces back.

 

Driver floor.
I just pulled back carpet enough to install the material, instead of whole carpet removal.
NOTE: Driver floor attachments are different than passenger side.
I cut one large and few small pieces for driver floor.
See step1-15 for details.

 

Passenger floor.
Hardest part is cutting the old insulation out. Need sharp new blades.
Careful of drainage hose.

 

That concludes the installation posts...
Hope someone will benefit from this.
I know I am enjoying my more quieter ride now.
BTW: Sound insulation in Prime is good but more light weight. Also there was not much in the doors which makes a big difference.

Robert

 

Starship... I have not sprayed anything in wheel wells. On Prius Prime window glass is double pane and you don't hear any wind or other sound. Once I sound insulated door panels it really makes a big difference.

 

Thank you all. For me it's all about learning. I have maintained 03 Acura MDX thanks to a forum and done so many jobs because someone else took the trouble to post instructions/pictures. PriusChat is a great community, I have found so many answers for my Prius...

 

So after driving the car on my commute 35 miles each way on varying road surface, my initial enthusiasm was dampened a bit.
The doors and floors definitely help reduce the road noise. Still on porous roads it was back like before. Since I had some material left over I opened up the driver side wheel well. See pictured below it's very easy few 10mm screws and several push/pin fasteners. I took out the whole plastic liner and padded it with Luxury Liner PRO material. Rest of the area I covered with vibration dampening tiles (Damplifier PRO). I also bolted large LLP piece to wheel wall (the LLP is too heavy to stay with adhesive).
Anyways this was a significant step. I have not done passenger side wheel yet and I can clearly notice lack of road noise in the front.
If I were to do this again I would do wheel walls and doors... I probably have quietest Prius Prime and least MPG efficient one with extra weight

 

Yes the spray type material would work best.
Check out the second skin web site I listed in the first post.
They sell spry kind material and also putty type that you can spread it.
One thing to keep in mind, vibration tiles are important in the fender wall and other areas.
Also see the 2nd picture, the area around text 'This is driver....' and white line have no sound barrier.
I think that's the biggest noise leak.
You can't spray anything there, instead you should spray the back of plastic liner.
Good luck...

 

I would definitely start with wheel well first, doors 2nd, floors last.