Reducing Cabin Noise

I know this has been a topic discussed ad nauseum, but I need guidance. Most of the projects seems to focus on accommodating an upgraded sound system.

I'm not upgrading to a megawatt sound system; I just need to reduce the road noise coming in. What parts of the car should I Peel n' Stick/Dynamat?

I've read about tires and will get the Michelin Defenders. I read about jute, but not interested in mold potential, even though I live in a dry climate, or negatively affecting finished carpet fit. And I read about adding an additional line of weather stripping around the doors, but the sound is coming from other areas.

I'm okay with losing a couple mpgs for a quieter ride, especially on long distance road trips.

Am I on the right track to focus on tires? And then dynamatting trunk area and doors?

 

Thank you.

 

I'll start with the spare tire area and do one door next weekend, and then plan to do one door per weekend until my road trip. Each week I hope to hear a difference.

In my gargantuan truck, I can easily hear my kiddo from the 3rd row during our weekend jaunts to the mountains, easily 130-mile round trip on the highway.

 

Spare tire area and three doors (inner AND outer panels) are done! What a difference. Right now, with one door left, I can already hear that the noise has altered a bit...it's less noticeable. I will do last door next week and get better tires the week after.

 

Thanks John. I thought of getting Michelin Defenders, but they seem a bit pricey right now. Although...they do have an attractive warranty (90k) and have consistent high ratings and feedback. Any thoughts on other brands I should check out? Where I live, the temp swings from winter through summer can range from singles F digits to mid-90's F, with summer afternoon rain.

I'll have to get tires sooner than later. I just measured and realized I measured incorrectly the first time. I thought I had about 1/8 left, but I have 1/16 left.

 

Michelin Defenders installed yesterday. What a difference healthy tires make! The tires that came with the car were down to wear bars. I still have one door left to Dynamat. I'm not an audio technician, but it seems that multiple frequency levels are being altered and this results in what I am experiencing as sound deadening.

I applied material to both inner and outer door layers. There's a YouTube video of someone doing just this same process, but he broke off the styrofoam attached to the exterior door panel. Don't do that. It's simple to unbolt styrofoam, apply material, and then reattach styrofoam. My philosophy is that if the piece is there, it's there for a reason.

So, now, the majority of noise is coming from engine bay and under seats. I might attempt to squeeze in more research on the seat area AND install a sound barrier under seats before my road trip. This is my first choice only because anything having to do with the engine bay seems more complicated and intensely process-oriented (read: accessing nooks and crannies to clean and cut Dynamat to form) compared to unbolting seats and peeling back carpet layer. Regardless, though, I'm very pleased with the results so far.

If anyone has already done the sound project under the seats, I wouldn't mind skipping the research and just jumping right in, following your process !

 

John, thank you! I thought I came across it beofore the server update and was trying to find it again.

 

Holy crumbs! I remember this post, and now have a better understanding and appreciation of the process and result. Thank you!

 

I haven't seen any post so far that recommends replacing weather/vapor barrier. Should this be a necessary step?

 

I did both inner and outer panels, so I'm going to forego the replacement of the vapor barrier.

 

Ah...I'll be adding barrier then. Glad I asked.

 

Sound deadening/dampening project completed a week ahead of schedule! Topped off project with new Michelin Defenders, too! My kiddo told me that there was no need to yell anymore.

There are already so many better documented posts out there that there's no reason to clog up this thread, but I will say that there were some things I stayed focussed on in the process that made a difference in my time and final outcome.

1. Plan to take your time, and then add another hour for each door.
2. Always lay your tools down in the same spot over and over again.
3. Use a small container to hold screws, bolts, fasteners that are removed from the door.
4. Work in a cool place (this especially helps when removing the black silicone adhesive beading on the vapor barrier from the metal).
5. Pinch and pull the black silicone beading to remove. Try to stay close to the door surface after each short pull.
6. Save the vapor barrier to either reuse or use as a template, depending on its condition, after removal.
7. Measure out the same amount of Dynamat (or whatever you are using) for the rear doors as well as the front doors for equal weight distribution.
8. Measure twice, cut once.
8a. Use titanium blades on your box cutter.
9. Keep a lot of lint-fee cloths available for surface clean up before sticking material on. Do not reuse cloth. When soiled, toss aside and grab a clean cloth.
10. When applying deadening material, start at the bottom and work horizontal layers up...like house siding.
11. Make a template for Dynamat (or whatever you are using) for areas with odd angles, bolts, wires, etc.
12. If the roller is hard to get into smaller grooves, grab a pair of leather work gloves and use your fingers to get into hard-to-reach grooves to press material down.
12a. Start on one end and push material into grooves as you go toward other end.
13. Since the interior door panel is off, cover the inner skin of the outer door. Just do it.
14. Do not break the styrofoam piece off of the interior...just unbolt it, apply material behind it, then reattach styrofoam.
15. Do not cover holes in door; you may need access to window hardware later.
16. Reinstall, or create new, vapor barrier; attach with black silicone adhesive.
16a. Do not use the tube; use a caulking gun...much more uniform bead. The tube was hard to manage, trying to maintain consistent pressure and uniform bead.

My car's front doors have JBL speakers near the side view mirrors, and when I removed them before sliding interior door panel up and off, the clips that keep the speakers snugly in place came off. They are small metal clips that slide over a black plastic piece on the speaker. I was able to reattach speakers without the metal clips, but there is a very slight play without the clips. Just a heads up on that one.

Very pleased with the results.