I'd have to say an astounding yes! My system sounds awesome, but that is probably more due to getting new rears installed than anything else. But today, I decided to not "rock it out" on the way to work - Just drive it hard and pay attention to road noise. It really does seem to be reduced - I hear the engine more than anything else. And this may be psychological, but the car feels more sturdy and sound.

I also added some boot stripes and a new "Cooper" badge to "boot", so the car is looking better as well!

 

Did you apply any Dynamat to the boot floor or below the rear seats? The photos show onlt the rear sides.

 

Whooooops, now I see that you did put Dynamat in the boot! For some reason, only the side photos showed up on my computer at first. Later the other showed up. I'm impressed with the work you did! Quite a nice job. Now you've got me thinkin'.

 

Yeah the site has been a little weird lately - sometimes the pictures show up horizontally instead of vertically.

Thanks for the kind words - I really do think it made a huge difference.

 

Are you going to do the rest of the car?

 

I plan to do the front and rear wheel wells next. Just need a free weekend.

 

Hey everyone! Just got done with my install. Fat Mat on the rear, as well as moving the amp over to the boot. Here's the link to flickr!

And for those that want to know. YES it helps a LOT! Well worth the effort. Time to do the wheel wells next.

 

Great job, it is quite labor intensive, but it does make a difference. I still have my wheel wells to do myself. I am sure there is some road noise that can be quieted a little. However, I think a combination of products will work best for the wheel wells as you need to quiet airborne noise as well as sound deaden panels.

 

I'd really like to do the doors as well (got a couple rattles) but that's too much work for what it is... : / Anyone have a guide on how to dismantle the doors?

 

The doors did make a difference as well and are really not hard to do. On top of the mat for the outer skin add some closed cell foam right behind the speakers and this really helps them out. It does take some time, but worth it.

 

Alright, i'm thinking that we'll end up doing that this coming week once i get some more parts in. Does that interfere with the window at all?

 

when soemone gets done basicly doing the hole car. Can you tell me how much dampaner you used

 

I can tell you that we used exactly 42^2 feet for what I did (south of the B pillar).

 

~45 sq ft of the dampening mat includes the sides, as well as the doors, and below the boot, and under the rear seats. Also includes the rear hatch.
~10 sq ft of a diff mat dampening as well as heat for the exhaust tunnel, underneath

~6 sq ft for a fiberglass mat with a thicker Al backing also in the exhaust tunnel and over the first layer of mat

 

soo 100^2 ft should be more then enough to cover the hole car?

 

Did you mean for an R53 (which is shown in your gallery)? For an R56, I've seen several posts that described the R56 door as being very difficult, like there isn't much to cover on the inner skin, and the entire window mechanism must be removed to access the outer skin.

 

I would think so.

Professional audio shops have had problems with R56 doors, and had to have a MINI dealer fix it.

 

Yes I was referring to an R53, and sorry for not being more specific on that point. A quick glance of the Bentley was all that was needed to take door panel/card off. I expected the 2nd Gen to be very similar as it is in other ways.

Still, I would consult the Bentley and I am sure it has enough info to get the job done without damage.

Every little bit of the mat seems to help. On my 1st Gen I put down around 10sq ft in each door including the outer and inner skin. It sounds like for a 2nd Gen the mat used could be much less. Do what you can though, you will hear the difference.

 

Yeah, I think the ppl in this post have it right. Install it where you can and it will all help. I'm looking for a jack and some stands so that I can do the wheel wells this weekend. I'll also be taking out the seats one more time to install the dsp, so i think I'll cover the entire floor board as well. If there's time I'll do what I can on the doors, but that's a BIG maybe... I already broke the lock mechanism once and got the dealership to replace it (thankfully for free).

I also need to locktite the screws holding the speakers to avoid rattles and work on a lexan window for the dsp. I've got a busy week ^^

 

Crutchfield has a deal that gets you 2 sheets of 10x10" dynamat. With speaker purchase. Would behind the speakers be the logical place or would this just dampen the bass sound. Looking to gain some of the thumpa back via the f/r channel swap on the standard system.

 

how about QuietCar, especially for the wheel wells?

 

You really can't get the doors too well... sadly. It would probably help, but from my experience, it won't help too much with bass response. Look in to one of the covers people use to keep water out of the speakers. I think that might help more...

And also, stick to regular dynamat-like material. It works VERY well :D

 

For a first gen car, the doors are somewhat easier to do from what is described above. On that car doing the doors with mat and closed cell foam behind the speakers had noticeable improvement in the sound quality.

Also as previously described, the doors are much more difficult to do on a second gen car, so the gain to pain ratio is just not as attractive.

As far as those speaker baffles go, I have had several shops advise that they are only for moisture protection and have no real value in terms of sound quailty improvement. Several reputable online sources verify that info. I have also found sources selling the baffles to claim any and everything.

 

While I was under the car two days ago, installing my rear brake lights in the blanks where the rear fogs would go... I started to look at how the wheel wells were constructed. After getting over how utterly poor the construction looked, I realized that there must be zero noise dampening there, and decided that was the next on the to do list.

I have a quick question for those who have worked down in the wheel wells;
Is it more benefitial to dynomat the felt covered plastic wheel wells on the backside, or should I look to dynomat the other side, on the car itself?

Thanks, in advance.

 

Butyl rubber vibration damper mat, like Dynamat works well to sound deaden via adding mass to thin panels that vibrate and thus resonate a noise. So, perform the 'rap' test on any panel you think may be vibrating/resonating to determine if, in fact a panel needs some mat. If you do that on the felt wheel well liners you will find that it is quiet so mat will have little to no value. Now do likewise on the sheet metal wheel well, some areas will sound thin, hollow, or tinny. Mat will be of much greater value in those areas.
Dynamat is expensive so don’t waste it in areas where there is no benefit.