I read a thread on here about using Home Depot's "Peel and Seal" as an alternative to Dynamat. I've never been a big fan of dynamat's price. Seems that one is paying too much for what you get.

So I went to Home Depot today and headed for the Roofing material section......

Didn't find any "Peel and Seal" but I did find "Tite Seal" as pictured below.

I bought 6 rolls @ $8.98 each....and ended up using two rolls to "dynamat" my new door panels.....

Used up another roll today to further dampen my trunk door. I have a UUC exhaust and find the drone a bit on the annoying side when cruising on the highway @ 3000rpms..........


So the other day when I was tweaking my stereo, I noticed two GAPING cutouts in the metal on the lip of the boot (I should have taken pics) but basically it's located right above the exhaust, at the rear most part of the boot.....and you have to take off the center trim piece above the bumper to see it. Anyways, I triple-layered this "Tite Seal" and man, what a difference! No more drone!

I also covered the entire surface of the door panel this time instead of just doing the oval shape.....and overall I've reduced the noise in the car drastically. The stereo kicks a bit tighter and I'm super happy with the results of this stuff.

Dynamat trunk kit (20sq ft) is going for $80 on eBay here.

One roll of this stuff is 4" x 33' = 11 sq ft for $9.

It is thinner but heck, even if you TRIPLE layer it, it still comes out cheaper!!! This stuff is like 5 times CHEAPER than dynamat

Someone mentioned smell - I smelled that "new tire" smell for sure whilst putting it on.....But I didn't smell anything after installation.

It's got he same metal surface as Dynamat Extreme (and this version doesn't slice your finger if you're not careful).

So my advice regarding "Dynamat" - it ain't worth the price......Check out your local Home Depot and pick up some "Tite Seal"...... Does the job real
well for way, way, way less.

 

IIRC correctly, on my '02 those two cutouts had corresponding grilles in the center trim piece, I think they were covered with foam or some similar material. I always thought (probably incorrectly) that they were some kind of air return ducts for the ventilation system, but maybe they were there for sound purposes! I probably had that center trim piece off 7 or 8 times for different stereo twiddling that I was doing.

 

Yeah, they are covered by foam and have a grill on the trim piece....and it's purpose I think was to bringin the exhaust sound into the cabin!

 

So did you just cover them with the tite-seal like the lid on a tub of yogurt?

 

yeah I think the opening is 3" wide and the TiTe Seal is 4"...and that's the part I tripled layered.....

 

So how hard is it to get the center trim piece off? The plastic piece you are referring to is on the car itself, not the boot (that opens and closes) right? That would be great if your mod quites down the exhuast a bit from the interior- it was pretty noticeable? Thanks!

 

Th e center trim piece has two plastic screws holding it in...and you have to pull away at the rubber seal that prevents water from entering the boot...And then it's like a pull up and towards you kind of motion....as there are 4 yellow clips that hold the trim piece to the metal... Be careful, make sure you line up the yellow clips before slamming down cuz they break super easy.

 

LordOfTheFlies- cool, thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot and post pics and results when I get it done (next weekend). Thanks again.

 

JBSF3,

Where are the pics and results? Heh heh.

 

It's just something I heard so it may be nothing more than folklore. I heard the vents were there and in other cars as well to keep air from compressing in the cabin in the event of air bag deployement. Like I said. I just heard this so I have no idea if is it true or not.

Other than that. I have some of the Tite Seal stuff and it did great for cutting noise down when I covered the doors in my 03. I'm waiting until it gets warmer and plan to do the same plus a little extra on my 06. Good stuff.

 

What I've heard on MINI2 (or maybe it was here on NAM) was that the vents are for exit ventilation. If they become blocked (such as with MINI's boot box accessory) and the windows are closed, the air conditioning may work poorly because of the lack of airflow. However, I wouldn't doubt that their position was deliberately chosen to help bring in the sound of th exhaust.

 

Without photos, I'm not totally sure what is being referred to here... But, if it's the vents in the rear boot area, they do indeed make a difference! While driving, hit the air recirculate button, and listen carefully... the sound level will drop. I always do that when I have someone with me, like my wife (I have a louder than normal exhaust). However, if on a rainy day, recirc makes the windows fog-up, so I don't use it...

 

 

Thought correctly! Thanks for sharing the photos. The flaps that open/close for the air recicirulation system are what you covered-up, if understand correctly. Might need to crack a window to prevent or clear any internal fogging-up...

 

Haven't had any issues with that actually. Noise reduced, music enhanced, droning almost gone, and tighter bass!



This stuff is great to work with...All you need is somewhat warm temps...makes it stick that much better and makes it easier to mold around weird edges.