DIY Inexpensive sound dampening

[lovemyraffe]

I can't take all the credit for this, I did get some inspiration and help from BlueCrush (thanks, Brian).After listening to my wife complain about the road noise in the car for the past few years, I finally decided to do something about it. However, being on a budget, I couldn't afford Dynomat, FatMat or anything that was specially designed for this so I improvised.I picked up about 90 square feet of 5/16" carpet pad from the Home Depot as well a spray adhesive that doesn't eat foam. I applied it to all the door panels as well as under the carpet.The most difficult part of this was removing and replacing the interior. I wasn't expecting spectacular results, but I am extremely impressed with this and how well it works.

[cptnsolo77]

Great post! The Vibe has a awefull lot of road noise. My stepdaughters Caliber is way quieter on the road. Does the carpet pad seem to dampen the road noise?

[lovemyraffe]

The carpet pad makes the whole cabin quieter. I really am amazed at how well it worked.

[Zimm]

seems like a good idea, but if it gets wet, man is that going to stink!

[Serj22]

ingenious, but what I usually do is go to autozone and get engine heat and sound dampening rolls that are about 20ft long by 3ft for $20.00 and it works amazingly.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Zimm »seems like a good idea, but if it gets wet, man is that going to stink!If it flooded, it would probably stink, but a little water from wet shoes won't make a difference.Quote, originally posted by Serj22 »ingenious, but what I usually do is go to autozone and get engine heat and sound dampening rolls that are about 20ft long by 3ft for $20.00 and it works amazingly.That would be another great inexpensive way to do it.

[keithvibe]

Quote, originally posted by Zimm »seems like a good idea, but if it gets wet, man is that going to stink!x2 depending on how much water comes in contact with it, it will also grow mold

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by keithvibe »x2 depending on how much water comes in contact with it, it will also grow moldYes that is a possibility if you don't get the water out. Under normal circumstances this should not be a problem. Even with the winter snow that we get, there is such a minimal amount of water that gets into the cabin of the vehicle that I'm not concerned.

[ou.grizzly]

I thought vehicles in the past came with padding like this? Awesome write up!

[keithvibe]

they came with wool padding. this is foam.

[lovemyraffe]

It was inexpensive. I will have to see how it holds up with some use. I don't foresee any problems, and will keep everyone informed of how it works out.

[Zimm]

the good news is that if you ever decide to go for a walk around the inside of your Vibe, you have undoubtedly the softest, most plush feeling carpet in all of Vibedom!

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by Zimm »the good news is that if you ever decide to go for a walk around the inside of your Vibe, you have undoubtedly the softest, most plush feeling carpet in all of Vibedom!That's the first thing my wife mentioned when she got in, "Ooo, it's so plush!"

[A Psycho Martyr]

lol...nice!

[cptnsolo77]

How has this been holding up for you? I was thinking of doing this with my door panels.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »How has this been holding up for you? I was thinking of doing this with my door panels.So far it has been great. It is much quieter in the cabin. I started with the door panels and it made such a big difference I decided to do the rest of the car.

[cptnsolo77]

Thats great to hear! I bought a new pair of speakers a while ago & realized there is so much road noise, its hard to appreciate the new speakers. I have to turn up the volume so high to drown out the road noise.I dont want to blow my eardrums out....LOL.

[rAERRK]

if only i had the nerve to take apart the interior to do this

[bskrishna]

did any one look at this on mohttp://matrixowners.com/index....87751seems to be a nice fix as well

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by cptnsolo77 »How has this been holding up for you? I was thinking of doing this with my door panels.DO NOT use this in your doors... If you do, you will have mold issues FOR SURE.. This is an OPEN CELL foam, meaning that it can EASILY trap water and hold it.. For any sort of WET app, you need CLOSED CELL FOAM.. (Second Skin Overkill for instance, or neoprene)

[KNINE]

And where does one get Second Skin Overkill or neoprene?

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »And where does one get Second Skin Overkill or neoprene?Second Skin for starters.. lolhttp://lmgtfy.com/?q=second+skin+overkillNeoprene...http://lmgtfy.com/?q=neoprene

[KNINE]

Anybody could do that.

[KNINE]

Okay, help a dummy out. I'm interested in insulating my doors. Is the sound deadener supposed to go inside the door, or on the door directly under the interior panel? I saw it both ways on line and I'm confused.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »Okay, help a dummy out. I'm interested in insulating my doors. Is the sound deadener supposed to go inside the door, or on the door directly under the interior panel? I saw it both ways on line and I'm confused.Both... Much depends on HOW FAR you want to go... I have it EVERYWHERE, but I'm after something different than you.. Most like yourself would do well with a "door pack" a lot of manufactures sell.. As little as 25% coverage with "mat" style products (peel n stick)Then there is MLV products (Mass Loaded Vinyl) that act as a "blocker" to physically block sound (where a mat product deadens, not blocks)and finally foam.. Foam does the least amount of work, but also quells high frequency noise, so the effects noted above are normal, AFA actual sound deadening, not much happened... (above)

[cptnsolo77]

Ok....foam is fine but it needs to be "closed" cell foam. Is that too specialized a product for Home Depot?

[paul]

3 M UNDERCOATING spray i wonder if it helps? sounds quick fix to me