I own a c and v....... both terrific. Gas bills used to average $265 a month......now less than $60...amazing. I added a little pizzaz with medium burl wood on door arm rests and dash of both cars...really pops! Both cars are different, but equal. The v is our road car and c is our in-town runabout. The v is a 5 and c is a 4.....so a lot of the dislikes mentioned by others are solved in these series. We are averaging 46+mpg in the v and 54+mpg in the c. Get that, "averaging" !!!! The sound deadening problem was very easily solved with the new 3M 8840 pads....just layed two $14 full pads (2 parts per full pad) side by side under the rear mats of both cars, face down (adhesive backing up..did not remove the backing). These new pads are incredible and it seems the majority of sound entering the cars come up through the rear deck...problem solved. In the future, I can remove the pads and reuse them in other cars down the road.
Thank you for sharing 1911Tex. I just put my order in for two of these 3M pads on Amazon. I plan to test decibel levels before and after installing them. We will find out how many decibels $30 worth of 3M 8840 Sound Deadening Pads (2) will buy me. At this price any improvement will make me happy.
Wife and I used to spend $900+ monthly on fuel on my truck and her Armada. Now its under $300...with 3 cars.
We have a v and a c too, but the 2012 base model v and 2013 c2. Couldn't be happier with both, and coming from 10+ year old cars, the tech in the the lower models was more than enough for us!
When I checked out the 3M data sheet, the 8840 pads are only about 1/16" thick and are designed to be adhesively attached to metal panels to deaden their vibration. It will be interesting what effect these pads will have when sitting on top of a carpeted surface. I think that a heavy rubber cargo mat would be more effective as a sound barrier in the cargo area. For example, the Lloyd Rubbertite custom fit cargo mat for the Prius v is made from a dense flexible rubber/plastic material.
Donrim: Why would you set the 8840 pads on top of a carpeted surface?? They work very well as described in this initial entry of this thread. I first had a heavy cargo mat, but did not lesson the noise from the rear deck area. If you prefer, adhere the MMM pad under the hard rear deck lid. I set mine on top of the hard rear deck lid face down, with unpealed adhesive layer face up (for reuse later). I still used a formed rubber mat on top of the carpet area to protect from spills, etc.. These MMM mats are heavier or as heavy as the rubber mat you are describing.
By carpeted, I meant the thin fabric surface that covers the floor panels. The 3M pads are meant to damp resonance and vibration in metal panels by being attached to the panel intimately with the pressure sensitive adhesive. They are made of 1/16" thick composite of bitumen, mineral filler, and elastomer (~6 lbs/sq. yd.) This is basically a rubberized asphalt which is similar to what is sprayed on auto body panels in strategic areas for maximum effect with the least added weight. The cargo area floor panels of the Prius are not significantly resonant by nature. The primary metal damping function of the pads is not utilized placing them on top of the fabric covered floor panels. In this application, something heavy and non-resonant will help block noise passing through the floor. The relatively thick rubber mats I mentioned weigh more than the 3m material. Of course, you can adhesively layer a second or third layer of the 3m pads on top of each other for more effect......
How about posting photos of the "burl wood on door arm rests and dash of both cars." Would like to see what it does to the C since the blue accents that come with the C3 are ugly.
Quick note: Amazon currently has two ads for new 3M 8840 pads, one for $13.96 and the other for $14.54. But before you order two of the $13.96 versions, understand that the $14.54 box has ten (10) of the pads versus one (1) of the pads in the $13 option.
