I was thinking the other day about how I could optimize my daily for my tastes and use. I really had a hard time coming up with ideas that weren't just for looks but one thing that I would like to do is cut down on road noise. So my question is would it really be worth it to go through the hassle and expense to strip the entire interior and lay down some sound deadening?
Reference Information & Guide - ResoNix Sound Solutions
I think this is the gold standard for sound deadening help. For a car with nothing laid down, stripping it completely down will definitely help. On my Grand Cherokee, just doing deadener and CCF reduced a lot of noises.
In reply to MINIzguy :
That was a good read. Thank you.
From what I've seen is best to go in with no expectations and be happy with whatever outcome you get.
I spent a full day removing the interior and door panels, and doing a fairly thorough job on my truck. I would characterize the results as not worth it. I'd like to try again on my little car because it's a hatch with no seats in the back but I can't live with the extra weight. YMMV.
We did a video over at Classic Motorsports that might help answer some questions.
Having studied acoustics as a musician, I've tried all kinds of things. Seems like all the math and theory sometimes gets thwarted by the acoustics of the car itself. You can hang as much fabric and acoustic panels as you want in a cathedral, it's still going to echo.
I had great success with Dynamat and some foam in an E30, but my 73 Impala Wagon swallowed about 150 lbs of dynamat and still sounded like a 73 Impala.
The single biggest change you can make to reduce road noise is always tires.
I notice that in Europe, tires vendors always give a decibel rating but it is almost impossible to find that info through US suppliers. That seems odd to me.
Can you identify the source of one "sound" that you want to reduce? If you can, try some form of dampening and see if it makes a difference. Then isolate the next item on the list and repeat.
Or just buy some noise cancelling headphones and be done with it.
NOHOME said:Or just buy some noise cancelling headphones and be done with it.
Depending on where this is, that's a quick road to a nasty ticket. In most states if you don't have a hearing disability, you aren't allowed to use headphones. You need to be able to hear emergency vehicles, horns, and other traffic.
Just here to say thank you to the OP for "damping" vs "dampening"
Mainly just road noise. Tires are the biggest culprit I'd say but in my experience all Mac strut equipped cars have an undesirable amount of road noise so I'm not sure that even the quietest tires will get me where I want to be.
Trent said:The single biggest change you can make to reduce road noise is always tires.
I notice that in Europe, tires vendors always give a decibel rating but it is almost impossible to find that info through US suppliers. That seems odd to me.
My understanding is that vehicle noise regulations in Europe take tire noise into account, and that such a thing may not exist in the US. Or at the very least, the US may not be as stringent which means that data may not automatically be on hand. wouldn't surprise me if Euro regs also drive that information to be made public, from what I've seen of how those regulations tend to be written. That's my guess, at least.
If you want to drastically cut down on tire noise get tire designed for high end electric cars. Also, all tires sold in Europe have noise ratings so if the same tire is sold here, ...
Damping materials are not designed to minimize road noise. They are designed to minimize harmonics in the metal panels of the car.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:Just here to say thank you to the OP for "damping" vs "dampening"
Dude, same.
From a brief internet search...
"Sound damping is the term used when a vehicle sound dampening material acts as a shock absorber and damp these vibrations."
So it reads to me that the process of "Damping" something takes "dampening materials".
In reply to 67LS1 :
Spring damper or shock absorber?
67LS1 said:From a brief internet search...
"Sound damping is the term used when a vehicle sound dampening material acts as a shock absorber and damp these vibrations."
So it reads to me that the process of "Damping" something takes "dampening materials".
As explained by my acoustics professor way back when, given that the English language has many grey (or gray) areas, both are technically correct, but only one of them can be used to describe something becoming wet, so use the other one.
It's definitely more precise to use damping when talking acoustings or vibrations in materials. Acoustic materials can damp, a wet rag damps and dampens.
Just came to say a pair of Sony noise cancelling ear buds are the best they make and set you back about $200 without blooding a single knuckle or pulling a single fastener and will probably get you the best results. I don't do road trips without them they take out so much tire noise.
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