Dynamat install results? Was it worth it?
 

Who has put Dynamat in their car? Was it worth the effort?
Did you just the rear?
Did you do the front?
Roof?
Doors?
Anyone use a similar product?

Thanks,

Dennis

Dynomat
 

Thanks for the info and pics. Looks like a lot of work. Was it worth it?



I saw on a TV show once where they were building a high end Hemi Cuda and while they had the body on the rotiserrie, they used bed liner to spray the entire bottom. I'm wondering if this might help. Obviously not on a rotiserrie, but as much as possible on a rack. Has anyone used undercoating of any kind to kill noise?

More Dynamat!
 

Hi,
I had Dynamat installed in the back half of my Mini when I had the aftermarket stereo installed. The Dynamat made a very noticable difference in interior noise (reduced).

Several weeks ago, I added Dynamat in my doors (the areas that I could reach through the 6.5 inch speaker opening in the door panel). Again, a very noticable reduction in interior noise.

Last night, I used the last of my Dynamat in the right front wheel well. I removed the felt liner and put Dynamat just about everywhere I could from the Top of the wheel well back to the passenger compartment. The affect was more dramatic than I expected. The car is noticably quieter on the right than the left. The affect can be heard with the stereo on or off. When on, it sounds louder on the left side, ostensibly due to the decreased noise coming from the right. I'll definitely need to stop on the way home and get enough more Dynamat to do the other three wheel wells.

Next, I plan to have the floor of my Mini Cooper dynamated also.

So, to answer the question "is Dynamat worthwhile," clearly I believe it is. The affect to my ears is not subtle, but rather very noticable. Driving is also less fatiguing with less interior noise.
Regards,

Thanks for the report. Any useful hints on removing the felt liners?

It doesn't seem to matter how much Dynamat I add...............

















http://www.halloweencostumes4u.com/M...0003/68762.jpg



Wax ear plugs are much cheaper! We'll maybe not in this guys case

More Dynamat!
 

Hi,
Removing the wheel well felt was really rather easy. On my R56, there were two hard machine screws that required removal in addition to about 8 or 10 plastic anchors. You really only need to remove the screws and anchors that are on the half of the wheel well felt nearest the passenger compartment. There are two unexpected anchors on the underside of the wheel well where it meets the bottom of the body of the car. These must be removed before the Dynamat can be placed.

After the felt was removed, the rest was easy - just place the Dynamat as you would anywhere else on the car. Be carful not to Dynamat over any of the anchor holes as it will make reinstallation of the felt harder. Total time was under two hours.

I used about one 18 x 24 inch piece of Dynamat to do the one wheel well. On the way home from work tonight, I bought about 5 more sheets to do the other wheel wells and a few other areas.
Regards

Hey Robin...if you do this. Pictures please.

Thanks...:)

Front wheel well insulation
 

This is on a 2007 MCS Coupe with mud flaps.

Great job and thanks for pics. Are you pleased with the results? I think I'll do this mod when I rotate my tires. :thumbsup:

Nice job with the Dynamat in the rear Robin. How much does the stuff weight?

I haven't done enough driving with both sets of wheels to know for sure. I switched to my noisier (better grip) tires at the same time I did the change and haven't taken it across the really loud sections of road. It seems to have made a noticeable difference, but I can't say how much of a difference, yet.

With the front wheel wells, the entire rear, and a little underneath the car below the front seats and floor, I've use a Dynamat Bulk Pak. That is 36 sq. ft. and weights somewhere between 20-24 lbs.

Thanks for the info.

Don't overlook the inside of the battery box on an S - you can cut a bit of exhaust noise.

Also, the one thing about Dynamat and its competitors is that there is always one more place you could put it, so buy AT LEAST twice as much as you think you might need. If you wind up with any left over (unlikely) use it to double the thickness where it counts most.

I dynamatted the doors.
I did it when I was swapping out the chrome door handles.
I actually had to redo the whole thing since one side had the dynamat coming off and streaking against the window when it rolls up and down.
I had even used a roller.

Tip: Don't put too much of it on the door.

Anyone remove the black plastic that covers the fire wall to put Dynamat on the fire wall?

I've use 36 sq ft and have run out. There are still a few things I'd like to do.

Me too. I've got to buy some more, because I'm all over the great how-to tip on doing the front wheel wells- Thanks for that one.

Dynamat
 

I plan to have more dynamat installed. I would like to do the floor of the car but saved it for last (I really don't want to get in over my head - might just have my local shop do it). I also agree with the comment to buy twice as much Dynamat as you think you'll need. I have used the equivalent of a bulk pack doing wheel wells, doors, the sub enclosure, and a few other spots and still have more to do.

Also, speaking of my local shop...when I had my system first installed, I used Al & Eds in Costa Mesa, Ca (LA area). As I mentioned in other posts, they really didn't know what they were doing. Since then, I have been using Beach Auto Sound in Huntington Beach Ca. These guys really are Auto sound professionals. If you're looking for a shop, Beach Auto Sound is hard to beat.
Regards,

Just installed via (KingPin in Wilsonville, Or.) complete interior doors, headliner, back floor, hatchback and rear panels... but not front ... used Cascade Audio (Bend, Or.) products... reduced hwy noise by about 50% and in city 100% also made Mini feel more solid and stable ... Will probably go back and have front floor done as well ... which should reduce hwy noise further ...

Definitely have them do the front wheel wells. It makes a noticeable difference.

More Dynamat!
 

I just completed dynamating the real wheel wells of my R56. I was a bit surprised by how much Dynamat was required - about 10 sq feet for both rear wheel wells!! The rear wheel wells are surrounded by the passenger compartment so almost all of the wheel well required Dynamat. I haven't had a chance to tyr it out yet so I'll report back later. I'm expecting good things...
Regards

BTW - The rears are much easier to do than the fronts

Dynamat and Rear Wheel Wells
 

OK folks...this is the real deal. By far, the most effective noise reduction I have done to date is the Rear Wheel Wells - Bar none. If you only want to do one thing for noise reduction this is it. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, instead, completely dynamat to rear wheel wells. You will not be sorry. I spent about 1.5 hours to do both. Best noise reduction yet!!

If you read my earlier posts, you will see that I was planning to have Beach Auto Sound Dynamat the floor of my car. Well, no longer. After completing the rear Wheel Wells, the most noticable noise is coming from the roof (wind) and the engine compartment. I now will focus my efforts on (1) the engine hood, (2) the fire wall, and (3) the roof (headliner). No doubt, more to follow.
Regards

This is just what I was hoping to hear. I'm glad you all feel it wa worth it. I guess I will start in the back and work forward, eventually getting it all.

Dynamat Floors
 

Well, I couldn't leave well enough alone. Since I still had a lot of Dynamat, I went ahead and did the floors.

After disconnecting the battery, I removed the back seat and the front seats but left the center console in the car. I really didn't want to get into removing all those extra parts that might be more difficult to reinstall correctly. This method required me to use a lever to prop up the carpet to get to the floor sections. I was able to dynamat the entire floor from the back seat foot wells forward to about a third of the way up the fire wall. Of course, I was not able to get more than about half way up the center hump where the emergency break is located. This job took about 4 hours and a lot of back breaking work and about 20 square feet of Dynamat.

The result - not as much noise reduction as expected. It did help, but not as much as the effort that was required. Ranking my Dynamat jobs from most effective to least effective would be as follows:

1. Rear Wheel Wells

2. Front Doors. Doing only the area of the door that can be reached through the door speaker location achieves about 75% of the noise reduction benefit. Doing the rest of the door panel returns the remaining 25%.

3. Boot, rear interior quarter panels and underneath the rear seat

4. Front Wheel Wells

5. Floors.

If someone wanted to get the largest effect for the least time, money and effort, I would recommend Dynamating in the following order: (a) all four wheel wells, (b) Front doors behind the speakers only, (c) easy to reach boot areas and underneath the rear seat. I recommend doing underneath the rear seat only because it is such a large flat area and is so easy to get to. The rear seat comes out without even needing to remove a single screw. You could test the results after each stage and stop when you're happy with the results. Naturally, the more Dynamat you use, the more noise reductions you will achieve and only you can answer the question of how far out on the curve of diminishing returns you are willing to go.
Regards,

BTW -
There was an electronic component in the "hollow" underneath the front passenger seatunder contained in its own black plastic box. I have satellite radio but not dynamic stability control. Under the Drivers seat was a piece of white styrofoam in the same "hollow" area. When I Dynamated the floors, both of these were removed and Dynamat installed underneath.

Thanks for all the posts in this thread. Very interesting and helpful. I'm planning on doing the wheel wells first.

Another question: Did you guys consider any other brands of damping material (Second Skin etc.)?