gat474 Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 Has anyone used any car deadener sheets such as Dynamat or Stinger Road Kill. I'm struggling to hear the front speakers in my car at highway speeds at what I'd consider normal volumes. I can hear the dash mounted tweeters okay but not so much the mid bass. It's at speech volumes so not too loud. At town speeds and especially stationary I have no issue hearing at all. The dash mounted tweeters firing into the windscreen aren't ideal but that's the only option. I dropped into a car audio shop today thinking of replacing the component speakers with coaxials in the front doors but the car stereo sales guy recommended first treating the front doors on the inside of the external skin and also the inner skin to seal the doors like an enclosure and reduce road noise. He reckons with reduced road noise at highway speeds I'll hear the mid bass speakers much better. Seems to make sense and wan't overly expensive but I just want to know if anyone else has treated their car doors and was it worth it?
blybo Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 I've done this with my last 2 cars... in conjunction with speaker upgrades as well, so can't tell you how much each helped, but I'd suggest it was an honest guy you were talking to. Perhaps biggest improvement would come from installing on the inner side of floor/firewall, but not easy to get too and a lot to cover. I found on the Commodore I've recently sold the biggest noise at highway speeds was tyre roar, but it did have wide low profile rubber, a lot will depend on the vehicle.
betty boop Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 100% must do ! have used many times either the dynamat or the stinger road kill. I certainly i wouldnt upgrade any speakers in a car without getting the doors done. its a very fiddly job too and what they usually charge including materials to do including all trim removal and all that is a pittance given the benefit gained. for most car audio places its a given... ie expected to do... 1
betty boop Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 13 minutes ago, gat474 said: I can hear the dash mounted tweeters okay but not so much the mid bass. It's at speech volumes so not too loud. At town speeds and especially stationary I have no issue hearing at all. The dash mounted tweeters firing into the windscreen aren't ideal but that's the only option. in most cars what they fit for oems is woeful. seeing even the "bose" setup in last car I was appalled ! spending just 100s on split component system was a HUGE improvement on what their was existing ! it doesnt take much to improve upon. my current car does come with the upspec audio which is pretty good and its well insulated from road noise etc otherwise Id be upgrading all that too !
gat474 Posted April 27, 2019 Author Posted April 27, 2019 That’s positive news then. The sales guy did seem to be pretty honest. Hey are quoting $400 to do both front doors with Stinger Road Kill. I could do it myself but for the $150 labour I reckon $75 per door is money well spent as it looks like a bugger of a job, especially the inside of the doors. 1
betty boop Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 18 minutes ago, gat474 said: That’s positive news then. The sales guy did seem to be pretty honest. Hey are quoting $400 to do both front doors with Stinger Road Kill. I could do it myself but for the $150 labour I reckon $75 per door is money well spent as it looks like a bugger of a job, especially the inside of the doors. indeed it is money well spent. it is such a fiddly and indeed bugger of a job... . leave it to folk do this day to day .... you 100% dont want to be doing this yourself. 1
Addicted to music Posted April 27, 2019 Posted April 27, 2019 Take a photo of the trims on the doors b4 you have them done. Some places are real butches and literally destroy the door no matter how many times they have done it.... pictures of screws and clip ons are a must. I don’t trust any of these 3rd party places after I had tinting done. I had to returned a vehicle the next day complaining of scratches on every tinted window. Take photos of the seat and surrounding areas for b4 just in case. That’s why when they charge you initially to have tinting done on a brand new vehicle, do it, You can point out the damage easily and then can correct it.
gat474 Posted May 2, 2019 Author Posted May 2, 2019 I got the front doors done today with Stinger Roadkill. Not sure how that racks up against other brands but it's what they recommended. Just the front doors so the inside of the outer skin and the inside where the door trim fits. They also threw in a couple of foam trim rings to go on the face of the mid bass driver and presses up against the speaker grill on the door trim to stop leakage of sound around the door trim from the front of the speaker. Cost was $400 fitted and three hours work. Something I could do myself as the door trims are a cinch to get off but there is alot of mucking around inside the doors and making sure that the things that need to work in the door aren't compromised. The road noise is definitely reduced, I can't say for sure by how much but on freeway speeds it seems to be a fair bit quieter. Quiet enough that I can hear the noise from the tyres at freeway speeds more clearly as there's less general road noise. The speakers have definitely benefited too, more bottom end power and they seem to go a little louder at the same volume setting as prior. Definitely more drum mid bass and it's just a pair of Pioneer components powered from a aftermarket head unit. Just sounds more like a speaker in a box now rather than in a car door. I can't feel the sound pressure quite so much on the door trim now so it's obviously keeping it more enclosed. The big tell was winding down the windows, the sound and bottom end disappeared. No worries with the quality of the work and no damage to the car. A rap on the outside of the door brings a comforting thud rather than a hollow metal bang. Took them about three hours which was shorter than I'd expected. All in all I'm very happy. 4
Yummittman Posted May 2, 2019 Posted May 2, 2019 Did this to my old Forester. All 4 doors. Would get more benefit from a sedan, as there is no open back area. I used Dynamat, but I doubt there is a huge difference between the brands. Was pretty easy as a DIY project. I took it easy and did one door at a time. Very noticeable decrease in road noise, and as gat474 said, I got that "European" solid door thud. Only real negative is the extra weight that it adds. That Dynamat stuff is pretty heavy stuff, and it certainly adds a few kilos to the car. Would I do it again? Yep.
Guest niterida Posted May 2, 2019 Posted May 2, 2019 (edited) On 27/04/2019 at 12:18 PM, gat474 said: The dash mounted tweeters firing into the windscreen aren't ideal but that's the only option. Off topic but this is apparently the best way to fit tweeters - bouncing off the windscreen gives them a longer travel path and wider dispersion to create the impression they are further away. Lotus couldn't get a decent sound out of the Elise stereo until they brought in some expert and that is exactly how he overcame the problems of such a small car Edited May 2, 2019 by niterida
GregWormald Posted May 2, 2019 Posted May 2, 2019 6 hours ago, niterida said: Off topic but this is apparently the best way to fit tweeters - bouncing off the windscreen gives them a longer travel path and wider dispersion to create the impression they are further away. Lotus couldn't get a decent sound out of the Elise stereo until they brought in some expert and that is exactly how he overcame the problems of such a small car Shades of Amar Bose!?
betty boop Posted May 3, 2019 Posted May 3, 2019 17 hours ago, niterida said: Off topic but this is apparently the best way to fit tweeters - bouncing off the windscreen gives them a longer travel path and wider dispersion to create the impression they are further away. Lotus couldn't get a decent sound out of the Elise stereo until they brought in some expert and that is exactly how he overcame the problems of such a small car I've done this before on a couple of systems and its worked fine on current car on the mirror pods works fine but it also has central speaker to help centrally locate and add some mid bass.
Stump Posted May 3, 2019 Posted May 3, 2019 I used Dynamat to great affect and would recommend.I did myself before I painted the cab. Dynamat went on the floor door back front and roof.Floor also added sound proof rubber. Stump 1
gat474 Posted May 3, 2019 Author Posted May 3, 2019 Drove the car on a four hour trip today. Best $400 I reckon I’ve spent on a car. It’s so much quieter and the audio sounds heap better. Going to do the rear doors too as I can now hear the road noise coming through them. 2
betty boop Posted May 3, 2019 Posted May 3, 2019 7 hours ago, Stump said: I used Dynamat to great affect and would recommend.I did myself before I painted the cab. Dynamat went on the floor door back front and roof.Floor also added sound proof rubber. Stump yep... back in the day... when doing a serious install... everything in the car came out...dynamat on floor pan... cars these days are lot better insulated sound wise... many already come lined.... but many dont especially doors and such and well worth doing not only keeping out sound but also minimising ringing and resonance... that typically get with road noise and sound systems
~Spyne~ Posted June 28, 2019 Posted June 28, 2019 Dynamat/Roadkill (and the many varieties from other brands) is one of the best things you can do in a car if you want to improve the audio experience. The added advantage is reduced road noise, too. Front doors > roof > boot (if you drive a hatch/wagon) > front footwells & arches > firewall > everything else (eg. floor, rear doors and footwells, etc). Obviously if you do a whole car, that's a lot of added weight, so for a small or sporty car you might only consider the front doors and maybe wheel arches.
gat474 Posted July 7, 2020 Author Posted July 7, 2020 Just to add to this thread I leased a new car last year. It's a Japanese mid range wagon and pretty quiet on the road. The standard audio system was pretty average let down by crap speakers and eq eq that was a feeble attempt to make the speakers half okay. First job was to get advice from a car audio fitter for different options. The first step was to treat front and rear doors and fit Morel component speakers in the front. Although this new $44000 car was very quiet on the road I was quite surprised what a difference door treatments on the inner skins and the the inner side of the door trim side of the door made. The added bonus was making life for the speakers so much easier with a better enclosure. Part two of the upgrade was an Audio Control DSP 4ch amp unit. System sounds terrific now apart from maybe the radio section. No one seems to be able to make a decent FM radio section now like in the good old days.
Jeffwbrown Posted August 22, 2020 Posted August 22, 2020 Dynamatted the doors of my early model MX-5 while I was fitting a pair of Morel component speakers. Overall, more bass. In saying that at highway speeds in an opened top car there is impressive midrange, but most of the the lower register is lost. Would do it again in a heartbeat.
audiofeline Posted June 22, 2024 Posted June 22, 2024 In my previous car the speakers were mounted in the rear (metal) parcel shelf, which vibrated a lot when the music played. After I put Dynamat on the parcel shelf the sound was much clearer and defined.
sloper Posted June 22, 2024 Posted June 22, 2024 Hello l got a commercial box of Dynamat and did the 57 Wagon including the doors the sound quility of the stereo improved greatly. After the recent retrim and rebuild with thicker underlay and lush carpet things may improve again. Finished putting dynamat higher on the inside firewall yesterday. Will be applying new underside bitumen deadening in a couple of weeks. Stereo will be finished today. A pioneer head unit and 6 speakers with a JVC amp Or maybe because you can hear the thing. The Grp3 is done a bit differently a 6mm rubber mat including under the parcel shelf speakers. Doors are dynomatted. Huge sound difference, and a much more pleasent driving experience. No speakers in the doors just the kick panels and rear parcel shelf. Floor has the bitumised felt as does the boot. Original refurbished Eurovox headunit and 4 Alpine speakers that had to fit under the original Holden grilles. Sloper has the floor dynomatted only, cant hear the driveline noise anymore. Pioneer unit hidden in the glove box. Hate driving loud cars, powerful rumble and induction noise is ok. My son used the cheap chinese dynomat copy in his Gemini, doesnt stick very well and is falling off. regards Bruce 1
betty boop Posted June 24, 2024 Posted June 24, 2024 amazing amount of effort.. i am glad paid off all this stuff does make a difference but yep takes some effort and buying the good stuff
Administrator StereoNET Posted June 24, 2024 Administrator Posted June 24, 2024 Not sure if it's been mentioned already in this thread, but two tools that make sound deadening vehicles MUCH easier and more effective overall are: Heat Gun - gently heating it up before applying, and then even while applying to confirm to body curves and recesses. Rollers - such as this. The stuff is super sticky but it's important to get all the air bubbles and pockets out from behind it. 2
sloper Posted June 25, 2024 Posted June 25, 2024 Yep a good roller not the chinese one , never used the heat gun but makes sense. Heated garage. Will be using the spray on deadner in a few weeks, plan to crank up the heater and place cartridges in boiling water before going into the gun, regards Bruce
audiofeline Posted June 25, 2024 Posted June 25, 2024 Another benefit of Dynamat - your leftovers can be used to dampen your turntable, speaker cabinets, CD players, valve amps, shelves, etc. Be wary of using too much, it can suck the life out of the component. Fortunately, it can be removed easily so you can get the tuning right. 1
Steever Posted January 4 Posted January 4 (edited) My new car has no larger speaker drivers in its doors like most cars (just a 3” Mark Audio wideband driver). Adding 3 sheets of “Dynamat” style product and a closed cell memory foam product though, dropped the external road/tyre noise noticeably. It’s easier to listen and speak at quieter levels now. Edited January 4 by Steever 1
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