Anyone used the above product or V-Comp or... in conjuction with sound deadening?
The guy at Raammat says that it is diminishing returns. he says just use a panel damper and 1/8" closed cell foam. Of course the guys that sell the other stuff say it is better... In therory it should be better because you have still air then another barrier. The only problem being the thickness - will it fit behind the panels? It is 3/8" thick and I doubt it is that flexible. Will the results be that much better. I read somewhere that covering the inside of the car with 3 layers of spectrum gave amazing results because you can get it everywhere with 100% contact.
Anyway experience ultimately speaks. You spend hours researching for the best but in practice is that really what will work on a mini?
Anyones experience on this would be most appreciated.

 

I have been using this http://www.soundprooffoam.com/automo...dampening.html with very good results, have done the boot, under the rear seats the doors and also removed the rear panels in my 04 MCS, the results are excellant, almost no Vibration at all and I now can use my bluetooth and actually hear what the other person is saying

 

Here are a couple other sites with info:

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi

http://www.soundprooffoam.com/quiet-barrier.html

It seems that the idea is to put vibration damper on panels, and then a barrier suspended above the panel. The closed cell foam provides the suspension. Foam alone wont block much sound. You'd need too much to be practical in a car.

I found that Dynamat Extreme by itself was not enough. I've added MLV under my floor mats. That helps. I think the carpet is sufficient to isolate it from the panel below.

I've also used it with foam on the plastic compartment that separates the engine bay from the windshield wipers and battery.

This is an attempt to reduce the noise coming through the fresh air port in the firewall. Wheel wells are also important. I've put Dynamat and MLV in the fronts.

In the rear I have a custom rear seat delete boot enclosure that is insulated with MLV.

I've not been able to do the doors. Wish I could.

 

I have also read about putting the foam ontop of the Damper panel, but have yet to try that. My car had alot of vibrations coming from the rear and this stuff worked well in that area and also the doors, which by the way took all of 30 Minutes to do both sides as the panels come off easy.

I have yet to do the front wheel wells, but I still have 10 feet or so left of this stuff and will do them as well as under the seats when I can find the time.

 

Interesting. I noticed Robin that you didn't put foam on the exterior panel behind your rear speakers. Maybe you added that after you took the pictures. That alone would make a huge difference to those speakers. What MLV did you use under the rear carpet and mats?
JRoca. You didn't use any sound absorber then? You say it made a big improvement where Robin didn't notice much after using Dynamat. Interesting. Do you think the product you used is better?
GK

 

I have no Idea if the stuff i used is better then the dynamat, I used this as I know it works on Aircraft and it is easy to apply. Also everyones car is a bit different, as I said I had a lot of vibration coming from the back and the doors, so adding this without a doubt made a big difference. I had been looking at adding foam but this stuff seems to have cured most of my issues, and I still have a few other areas to do. I will work this project for a few more months slowly as I dont have much free time, but I want the car as quite as possible before the Dragon in April, so it gives me time to work on it and hopefully get in a few of my friends cars and compare the noise and vibration level

 

Report on the results and good luck!

 

The Dynamat was done before I learned about Sound Deadener Showdown, or Second Skin. I did stuff some "Acoustic Thermal Insulation Batting" behind the side panels. Not sure how effective that stuff is. It may help some, and doesn't weigh much.

This is what my previous project looked like:



That cabinet has been removed, along with the Infinity Kappa speakers, and replaced by a wall. This is where my new Image Dynamics rear speakers are now located:



There will be a panel between the speakers that seals off the boot area. It is Baltic birch plywood and 1/4" MLV.

I used an MLV I got from a building supply before I found Sound Deadener Showdown. I bought a 4x8' sheet of 1/4" MLV. That is twice the thickness of the MLV from Sound Deadener. Not sure it is twice as good, but it is twice as heavy.

The wall that separates the boot from the front seats is also 3/8" birch ply with 1/4" MLV. Because the wall and lid will close off the back, I don't need foam or MLV on the rear floor or sides.

 

That is a awesome set up!!
The insulation look slike the stuff the factory uses on some of the rear panels, I may try some of that under the rear seat ontop of what I have done already and maybe stuff some in other places.

 

As far as I can tell, no one on this forum has tried the Luxury Liner Pro. I will be the pilot pig for this one, except I will be using the Luxury Liner, not the pro. I ordered the Damplifier Pro and the Luxury Liner. I plan to do the doors, the floor from the firewall back, the rear sides and the inside cavity of the 6X9s. If I have any left over, I plan to do the hatch also, but if not, I can fit that in later. I have a sound pressure meter, and will do before and after measurements, perhaps on video. If so, I will publish it on YouTube. At any rate, I will publish my findings here also. This has been a very good thread, and many thanks to Robin and JRoca for their suggestions and advise.

Phil

 

Keep us posted, I have not yet been able to get to the front of my car and i am curious how yours will come out with the dual layer, plus you will have the meter which is alot better then my ears. 20 plus years of being on MD 11s and MD 10s have made me somewhat deaf you can say, HA !!

 

Peporter,

A couple of thing to bear in mind. Most of the 'deadening shops' are just that. They sell sound deadening material and other products. After speaking to various people and having studied sound (Architectural) I would be inclinded not to believe all you read.
Here's what I know.
Deaden only 25%-30% of panels. This is not the main cause of noise inside a car. I.E. don'd waste your time covering the whole interior metal.
Use barriers (MVL) as continuously as possible. Luxury Liner Pro will work well but it may not fit everywhere because of the foam. The foam helps to deaden the sound and make the MLV work better. Keeping the MLV seperated is best - if it was possible to sandwich it between two layers of foam that would work well. It is though a barrier and sould be as continuous and have as few a gaps as possible.
I believe that Luxury Liner has an open cell foam bonded to the MLV - be aware that this should not be used where it will be in contact with moisture. That can be anywhere is a car but especially near the exterior metal in very cold conditions....CANADA. or inside the doors.
Check in with 'Sound Deadener Showdown' for the best practical out of the box thinking.
I have spoken to people that supply the main sound insulation businesses. They make these products for washing machines, dshwashers, architectural applications and they all agree that deadening is pretty usless by itself and most people way over deaden and don't use enough barrier material.

Good luck with your project. I'm not far behind you.

 

As GregoryK said, Luxury Liner is open cel foam. This is not the best choice for a car because it can hold moisture cause mildew. The Pro version uses closed cell foam, which is the better choice for cars. I think the extra money for Pro will be the more economical choice in the long run.

I've done a few tests with a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter and found it wasn't very useful. Road noise varies considerably with the road surface so it is difficult to get precise measurements. I also found that changes which seemed significant to our ears (a friend helped with the tests) did not show significant changes on the meter.

The comments that GregoryK made mirror closely the info I picked up from Sound Deadener Showdown. Don't cover the entire surface with Damplifier. The SDS page has some good instructions and examples.

Good luck with the doors. If you manage to do them, please post a how-to.

Don't forget the front wheel wells. I think they are important.

Take a look at the port in the battery compartment and see if you have good ideas about how to deal with that sound leak.

 

Large cork?? LOL

 

Good LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

peporter,

Did you finish the install? How did it go? Do you have any pictures you can upload for us? I'm thinking of doing a similar install and would be very curious to see how it worked out for you. Please give us an update!

Thanks

 

The install isn't complete. I have the car stripped from the front seats back, including the passenger side front seat. I put down a layer of Damplifier Pro in the pax side floorboard, followed by a layer of the Luxury Liner all the way back to the front of the rear seat mount. Subjectively, I can tell a difference in the interior noise. A lot of the interior noise comes from the rear vents along the sill of the hatch floorboard, and the cavity that leads to the rear tailights acts as a resonating chamber. Am treating it with Damplifier Pro, and will construct a wall out of the Luxury liner to seal it off, yet provide access to change out bulbs. Looks like an application ripe for LED tailights and turnsignals. The bad thing about how things stand now is the interior looks like a war zone, but the good thing is I can note first hand what needs attention with the Damp/Liner. If you are going to do this, try to get a competent friend to help. The padding under the carpet is about 2 inches thick, and is very difficult to hold out of the way and lay the Damp/Liner. And, I'm sure a second set of hands would have speeded taking things apart and been much easier. I am 6'4" and don't fold into position easily.

I got the Focal 690CA1 6X9s' installed in the rear easily. I laid a slab of Damp on the outside body panel, followed by a Dynamat 11500 Dynaxorb spker Kit, with the speakers mounted over a Dynamat 10415 speaker kit. The toughest part was getting the new wires to the speaker threaded through the rubber boot. I hooked them up to the stock unit(non Hi-Fi) and they sound great. The new wires will eventually connect to the Kenwood XR4S I have mounted in the cavity under the pax seat. Next up is the power wiring (thanks Schatzy and Robin) from the battery down the pax side to the XR4S and on back to the boot for the Kenwood XR1S for the 10" sub. It's in a custom box and comes just below the sill and takes up the entire boot floor. I will take pictures and post them. I did the sound levels with my trusty Radio Shack SPL meter, and have a base line established for before and after noise level comparison.....also known as the ******** meter. More to come!

Phil

 

Wow, sounds like you've got quite a project going! Thanks for the update, can't wait to see what it looks like when you've finished it up.

 

When it's finished, it will be a total stealth installation. Unless the hatch is open, you won't even be able to tell if I have a sub back there. The only way is if you hear me coming....and by the by thats a BS meter...heheh.