The DEFINITIVE Sound-Deadening Thread!!!

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

Alright, boys and girls... here is my $0.02 on the sound deadening/dampening issue. I am disgusted with the volumious responses given in which Dynamat is touted as being the greatest vibrational-stopper ever. WRONG! It's not bad, but there are many better, cheaper alternatives that will give you not as good an effect, but BETTER. I do not claim to be an expert in this category (or any for that matter), but I have done an extensive amount of research on all of these brands and have gained a great deal of information in my studies.

 

 

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WHY - We deaden our cars to defeat unwanted vibrations in the trunk, door, rear deck, etc. so that our cars don't sound like $20,000 peices of tin in a windstorm. Some of us do it to kill ambient noise from the road, wind, etc. Lexus inteiors are equipped with piezo-electric devices which actually serve to cancel out the ambient frequencies between 500 - 2000hZ. While we don't have that advantage, there is ALOT we can do to stop it. A well-deadened system will have a much richer bass and midbass sound & feel since the waves will be in our interior, not stuck in the nether known as our interior panels. Another great thing about deadening our cars is that we can reduce the heat inside the cabin since the deadener acts as a resistor against the energy in ambient air.

 

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DEFINITIONS

There are two types of sound deadening, which are as follows:

 

MASS LOADING - Involves adding weight to a particular panel of the vehicle to inhibit vibration/rattle. Somewhat effective in defeating ambient soundwaves, great for bass improvement. Pads and liquid deadeners work best for this application.

 

BARRIER LOADING - Involves adding an acoustical absorber as to absorb sound waves from ambient noise (road, engine, wind, etc.). Great for ambient noise, somewhat effective in improving midbass. Foams work best for this application.

 

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TYPES

 

PADS - Asphalt pads such as Dynamat, Damplifier, Roadkill, etc. Need to be applied to metal. Look for a thick pad (>45mils) with a nice heatfoil sheild (>4mils).

 

FOAMS - Ensolite, rattle pad, overkill, acoustical foam, etc. Can be applied on top of plastics and metal. Works best over an asphalt pad. Look for a closed cell foam.

 

LIQUID - eDead V3.0, Spectrum, Sludge. Works for both mass and barrier loading. Can be applied on top of plastics and metal. Works well alone or over asphalt pads. Look for a semi-viscous putty/paste. Much easier painted than sprayed.

 

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BRANDS

 

Here are a number of various companies whom produce deadeners. Many members have used many different brands. This list is in no particular order. Many of these brands are cheaper because they come factory direct, thereby eliminating the middle-man cost. Click on the brand name to link to their site.

Second Skin Audio

*This is my weapon of choice. Anthony, the owner of SS, can be reached on his cell phone at any time to answer your questions. Unrivaled customer service and frequently holds GDs on their forums.

eDead

*Highly affordable solution to deadening...but is teh ****.

Cascade Audio

*Expensive but worth every penny

Quiet Car

*No reviews available

Stinger Roadkill

*Very expensive, very effective

B-Quiet

*Another good alternative

Raam Mat

*Arguably the best mat available, esp. when layered

Brown Bread

*Good, but better can be found.

Dynamat

*Good, but not worth the price at all.

Fatmat

Peel n' Seal

*Used in the roofing industry. Stinks, doesn't work well.

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SURFACE PREPARATION

As with paints, you too must take measures to ensure proper adhesion of your deadener. A highly regarded practice is to first wipe the area down thoroughly with a degreaser to remove any oils that might lie on the surface. This is to be followed with a second wipe down of acentone to make sure the surface is bone dry. Make sure NOT to cut corners on this step!!!

 

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APPLICATION

ASPHALT MAT & FOAMS

(1) Using a heatgun, warm the surface of the adhesive side until it begins to tack.

(2) Firmly press your mat into the desired spot.

(3) Thoroughly roll over the mat with a heavy-duty roller. I'd recommend a rubber roller since it will contour a bit better to unlevel planes.

(4) For foams without the benifit of OEM adhesive, I recommed 3M Super 77 Spray Glue.

 

LIQUIDS

(1) DO NOT SPRAY!!!

(2) Use a quality 2" horse-hair brush and simply paint on.

 

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HOW-TO

Proper Door & Trunk Sound-Deadening & You

Upgrade the BIG THREE (worth adding)

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...got anything to add? ADD IT! Let's make this a good resource for people to come to with their deadening questions!

Click to read more...

 

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY OF DEADENERS!!!

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com

 

[twoohfour 10+ year member]

(1) DO NOT SPRAY!!!

i can attest to that... makes a gigantic mess and scarcely works....

Oh... and...

Make sure to plant those azalea bushes when you're done talking about deadening //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[iagrdshaka 5,000+ posts]

I just want to add something....

Dont use a hairdryer to attach the deadening to your panels and expect it to stay! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif Ive seen way too many people do this and then blame the deadening for it falling off. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

 

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

I just want to add something....
Dont use a hairdryer to attach the deadening to your panels and expect it to stay! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif Ive seen way too many people do this and then blame the deadening for it falling off. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif

You shouldn't have to heat a good deadener. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[DIPayton 10+ year member]

wow great post and lots of info. I have been doing as much research as possible on which products to get and everything and at a good price. I would like to do my trunk and trunk lid for as cheap as possible... then maybe my doors later. For now I only have about $70 - $100 that can go into my trunk and trunk lid. Everything is expensive and I cannot get much for $70 - $100. I am really considering Second Skin Spectrum Sludge however. Anyone have experience with Spectrum Sludge? Should I go for the B-Stock stuff? whart's the difference? Is it a good idea to do my trunk and trunk lid with it? Can it be applied with a normal paint brush?

 

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

I used the B-Stock sludge and everything worked just fine for me. I think you would be quite pleased with the results are you can benifit from both mass and barrier loading if you use sludge. I painted my on with a brush, it's a PITA no matter how you install it, but nothing that you can't become well familiar with after a few minutes, Here's how mine came out:

 

[Patrick Simmons 10+ year member]

Nice review. I use Dynomat Xtreme but I like Raam Mat also.

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

What is the quality of second skin b stock?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

PADS - Asphalt pads such as Dynamat, Damplifier, Roadkill, etc. Need to be applied to metal. Look for a thick pad (>45mils) with a nice heatfoil sheild (>4mils).

Some manufacturer's would actually be quite upset that you classified all mat (pads) as "asphalt" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Many of the higher-quality mats on the market, such as Dynamat Extreme, SecondSkin, Raammat BXT and Hushmat, actually use butyl rubber rather than asphalt. Buytl rubber generally has better sound deadening properties as well as higher thermal limits.

SURFACE PREPARATIONAs with paints, you too must take measures to ensure proper adhesion of your deadener. A highly regarded practice is to first wipe the area down thoroughly with a degreaser to remove any oils that might lie on the surface. This is to be followed with a second wipe down of acentone to make sure the surface is bone dry. Make sure NOT to cut corners on this step!!!

Generally you can get by with nothing more than a wipe-down of the area with a clean, dry towel. Chemical use is only really necessary when there is grease or other substance on the surface that can't be simply wiped away.

 

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

What is the quality of second skin b stock?

No different. Consider B-Stock to be the older material. I have a mix of A & B Stock, and I'll be ****ed if I can tell the difference.

 

[zane 10+ year member]

I've used a majority of the deadeners listed.

None are really bad, however, some are quite a bit more costly.

I still have no issues to report with Peel N' Seal. It's been on a car of mine in the hot & humid Iowa Weather for over a year now and there is not even a hint of problem.

It does it's job just like the rest.

I've also been using another roofing product called Gutter Gaurd. It's a similar product to Peel N' Seal, except a little more rubbery. It's thicker and has white surface. Generally it comes in either 6", 8", or 12" rolls of approximately 33 ft.

So far Menards is the only store I've seen it in.

May be worth a look if you are in the market.....

 

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

How much does it take to do a trunk. I am looking at the damplifier 20 square foot. I think cost is around $36 for the B stock. Is that about enough?

 

[Spr0ket 10+ year member]

I would like to add Hushmat to your list. This stuff is a bit thicker than Dynamat Extreme for a little less cost. The material uses a butyl material like SecondSkin. There's no heating involved when applying. I've even applied this stuff in the dead of winter and it still holds strong. Exellent quality and their service is quite good. The best bang for buck is their bulk pack (30 sq ft). They also offer 1/4" to 1/2" deadening padding made of acoustic foam. That stuff is amazing for lining the floors with.

 

[MetalMaxima 10+ year member]

How much does it take to do a trunk. I am looking at the damplifier 20 square foot. I think cost is around $36 for the B stock. Is that about enough?

Negative. You will need 40sqft, unless you have a REALLY small trunk. What kind of car do you drive?