When I turn up the volume or bass level to around highway listening volume (I'm talking 'reasonable' volume, not deafening), the 6.5" speakers cause the doors to vibrate and buzz a lot, which messes up the sound and image. Has anyone else had this problem? What did you do to fix it or dampen the vibration?

'09 Clubman, HiFi system, Focal fronts.

 

eDead is your friend.

 

I think the vibration comes from both the metal part of the door, and the plastic part that the speaker is mounted into.

Would putting Dynamat or eDead on the plastic help or should it always be put on the metal? How complicated do you think this would be considering the whole "window situation" with the Mini?

 

Neither is very easy on the doors of the 2nd gen MINI's.

I would also make sure that all the clips on the door panel are new if they are not then it will allow it to rattle some. As they can get funny shaped and scrapped up when they pull out.

Also make sure that all the screws are tight that hold the door together. There are alot of them and if any are loose it could also cause a problem.

EDIT: another thing to look at is the speaker wires are they bouncing off the panels at higher volumes, i have had this happen in my Dodge Pickup, I had to tape them down.

 

fixed my buzzing rattle with foam weatherstripping tape where the big c-shaped trim piece contacts underneath.

 

That's good advice. I'll check the screws, the clips, and tape down the wires.

lacning74: Weatherstripping could work... where did you put it specifically?

 

I ran the foam weatherstripping tape across the metal of the door where the entire bottom of the C-shaped trim piece contacts. Just below the inner plastic skin that holds the speakers. When I had my bass up of my new front JL speakers, that's where I was able to stop the buzzing by pressing down on trim. The speaker placement and design of the trim piece is just asking for the lower edge to buzz IMHO if you push some decent bass. Or course, no one would ever notice unless they upgrade from the weak OEM speakers.

Anyway, now that I installed the BASS600 in the trunk, I don't need to work my fronts that much anymore. I'm kicking myself for not installing it earlier. Love the full range I'm getting now.


(pic from OutMotoring's thread)

 

Adding a subwoofer is the biggest change in sound I experienced on the Mini. I can't believe how much bass I was missing!

 

I wonder if the Dynamat Dynaxorb would help. I've just installed them in my doors behind the 6.5 speaker location, but still working on the amp install, so haven't tried them.

 

i removed the door panels and removed all of the pop-in clips. Then, put a piece of 3M medical tape across the top of every mount point with a 'slice' for the clip to go back in. Once I re-installed all of the clips, they never rattled again.

 

I took my car in twice for buzzing and rattling in the door due to the speakers. I listen to talk radio and the damn buzzing from the voices were enough to DRIVE ME INSANE...I couldn't even use the radio! Music wasn't much better.

The dealer did fix the problem! They had retrofit kits they installed in the door. They put black felt soft tape around in many spots and they put gray felt in between the door panel and the door on the plastic friction pins that hold the door panel on (they didn't fix the buzzing lock pin, I did it myself by wrapping it with some extra black felt tape).

If you are having trouble with the doors buzzing, ask the dealer to fix it! They also fixed some rattling in my overhead switch console, too. Now if I can get the creaking/rattling left and right side vents fixed the car will finally be quiet!!

 

bartski, how did the medical tape help? Was that what you pushed the clips into, or did you use that to anchor the clips?

Robin, any word on the Dynaxorb?

 

Although I've finished wiring the doors, I'm still working on the rear seat delete floor, wall, rear speaker mounts, amp installation, and boot top...

So, haven't tried them. I'll have changed so much, I doubt I'll be able to give any realistic account of what they accomplish. My doors didn't vibrate or rattle to begin with.

 

Has anyone used sound deadening material like Dynamat on their doors to stop the plastic and metal from rattling? How difficult was the process? Was a lot of Dynamat required?

 

Besides a small patch behind the lower speaker, putting Dynamat on the outer skin of the door requires removing the window mechanism. I've heard that is difficult. I've not attempted it. My main desire would be to stop noise coming through the door. Dynamat alone wouldn't do a lot for that.

My suspicion is that any rattling in the doors is due to a loose part, or a failed or missing snap rivet.

If the rattling is coming with heavy bass, it might be best to move the bass out of the doors with an X9331 connector channel swap for non-HIFI MINIs, or a new amp for HIFI MINIs. I'm going the new amp route.

 

Thanks for the info Robin; I'm mostly concerned with eliminating the vibration and buzzing (road noise would be a bonus) through the doors from the speakers... maybe I'll wait until I see how the felt-tape-and-screw-tightening approach goes. The window mechanism sounds tricky.

How exactly would adding an amplifier reduce the rattle caused by bass?

(My Mini has the HiFi system with Focal fronts)

 

The HIFI amp is sending all the bass to the 6.5" speakers in the doors. With your own amp, you get full range to the rear 6x9 speakers, and (with a decent amp) set the high-pass filter to not send the deepest bass to the door speakers. You could tune it to just the point where it no longer buzzed.

 

Just fade the sound about halfway to the rear of the car and turn your bass down if its maxed.