Any views on sound deadening?

[BillyW124]

hello gentlemen!

i'm thinking of one day having my entire floor pan treated to some sound deadening properties. (every inch of it, not just patches here and there)

Of course the interior will have to be stripped and carpets taken out.

Its got me thinking as i had been driving around without the sound deadening mats to dry up my front footwell. My gosh does a lot of road noise come in without these.

would you recomend doing this yay or nay? There are some professional services out there who carry out this type of work.

check out these two vids: The Sound Deadening Shop -

 

[swann]

Dynomat is the best stuff but it will add a lot of weight and cost a lot. Could be easily done with a roller yourself.

Makes a great difference but the weight and cost would bother me.

Should sound like a phantom on the motorway..... Complete silence in the cab!

 

[mattc]

Get a bigger engine

and then you wont want the sound deadened

On a serious note how much doe sthe current noise level disturb you?

 

[BillyW124]

hi Swann,

its really the weight issue i will find most disheartening. realistically would it add a lot on?

 

[BillyW124]

and then you wont want the sound deadened

On a serious note how much doe sthe current noise level disturb you?

sometimes it doesnt bother me and then sometimes it does!

i would prefer silence though...

saying that, its not too noisy in there at all, i think i need to do some window adjustments etc so i have an air tight seal, however they look tight currently. but what made me think is if those foam pad sound deadening mats in the car work so well, then doing the whole pan would be sublime!

 

[BillyW124]

talking of weight...
DYNAMAT 12 sheets SOUND DEADNING SUPERLITE BULK KIT NEW on eBay (end time 19-Feb-11 13:08:30 GMT)

 

[swann]

I did a whole e36 bm. Door card insides, floor, the lot. Stereo sounded great and there was silence on the motorway and the whole ride felt more solid. The results were worth it.

But as I say the weight was a lot and that stuff is not cheap. Some of the ones on ebay at the time when I got it were not genuine dynamat and when i bought the real stuff it was well expensive and didn't cover a great deal of area.

Why not try a cheap small halfords style pack of dynamat and do your door panels or somewhere similar and see what you think.

I did the inside of a van too and it stopped every panel moving and rattling.

Just try a small area with a £20 pack or which ever is smallest and see what you think.

 

[BillyW124]

I did a whole e36 bm. Door card insides, floor, the lot. Stereo sounded great and there was silence on the motorway and the whole ride felt more solid. The results were worth it.

But as I say the weight was a lot and that stuff is not cheap. Some of the ones on ebay at the time when I got it were not genuine dynamat and when i bought the real stuff it was well expensive and didn't cover a great deal of area.

Why not try a cheap small halfords style pack of dynamat and do your door panels or somewhere similar and see what you think.

I did the inside of a van too and it stopped every panel moving and rattling.

Just try a small area with a £20 pack or which ever is smallest and see what you think.

i think i'll try the front footwells first? Theres also this mat called Dynaliner that you put on to of the actual dynamat itself.

these Dynaliner mats come in a range of thicknesses.

when you say the weight was a lot how much more without talking numbers would you say? example did the car feel heavier i.e. reving more to pull?

also i won't be having a big fat sub in the back with amps etc, so with weight wise ive saved this much already and perhaps can afford to add as i'm sure matting the whole pan won't weigh more than a 12" sub in a box surely!

 

[swann]

In regards to weight - no it won't make any difference to the way the car drives. It's not that heavy. Just meant it adds a bit.

In regards to subs - It will make a normal stereo system sound better quality anyway, I didn't have subs etc. Just meant door speakers and the like.

And I'm not sure what the stuff is that goes over the dynomat. I just used it on it's own or in two layers sometimes.

Give it a try and see what you think and make sure to buy a little roller.

 

[bolide]

The best place to start in a W124 is with the tyres. A set of new Continentals will reduce the noise considerably, particularly if you currently have Goodyears or Pirellis

After that I'd dynamat the doors, then the front footwells and the transmission tunnel - though doing the tunnel will be a bit of a mission. If you can do any of the firewall do that too

I always thought about cutting footwell mats out of 1/2" rubber stable mats - they would do the trick pretty well, I think

Tyres & doors are the easy ones and also give the best results

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

 

[BillyW124]

The best place to start in a W124 is with the tyres. A set of new Continentals will reduce the noise considerably, particularly if you currently have Goodyears or Pirellis

After that I'd dynamat the doors, then the front footwells and the transmission tunnel - though doing the tunnel will be a bit of a mission. If you can do any of the firewall do that too

I always thought about cutting footwell mats out of 1/2" rubber stable mats - they would do the trick pretty well, I think

Tyres & doors are the easy ones and also give the best results

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

Thanks Nick,

Well..where do i start with tyres...you see im going to put my 18inch AMG monoblocks on so a 225/40 is going on from what i have been reading this i'm assuming is a big no no! by no no i mean 18's on a 124 is not good for it!

anyway so when i do this then, would this obviously increase noise levels?

i currently have hankook's on 215/45 R17's road noise is not too bad with these on currently....

 

[Niks]

Mate, dont change your alloys to 18" ones! I thought of doing this too and to be honest it messes up the look of the car. Ive seen your car with the 17" ones on it looks perfect!

I currently have the Toyo T1Rs, 225/45/17 up front and 235/40/17 in the rear. Would recommend them thoroughly for grip in dry and wet weather, especially against aqua planning. Wouldnt recommend them much for noise levels though.

 

[BillyW124]

Mate, dont change your alloys to 18" ones! I thought of doing this too and to be honest it messes up the look of the car. Ive seen your car with the 17" ones on it looks perfect!

I currently have the Toyo T1Rs, 225/45/17 up front and 235/40/17 in the rear. Would recommend them thoroughly for grip in dry and wet weather, especially against aqua planning. Wouldnt recommend them much for noise levels though.

Hi Niks,

i'm going to try these out in summer, will be putting on brand new tyres on these. if i dont like them i'll be selling the set with the new tyres on.

ive decided to go sportline springs on the rear and mess about with the shims, the 17's AMG II just doesnt have the look im trying to achieve with the 18's.

so after ive put these on im going to experiment and see how it fairs. if it turns out to be a pile of sh$£t then i'l consider going back to the 8 hole stock rims and selling all 2 sets!

 

[Wheelnut]

I used Dynamat on my E240 Classic in the boot lid, under the OE insulation panel on the bonnet, door panels and the foot wells. Results were excellent and as far as the weight went yes the stuff is heavy but made no appreciable difference to the cars performance or (already poor) consumption.

 

[bolide]

As you have a Coupe don't go mad with sound-deadening in the doors. They're heavy enough already

The rear quarter interior trims beside the back seat are a bit of a swine to take out and, in my experience, they don't go back as well as you might like. So I'd avoid taking them out unless you're feeling particularly gung-ho

Nick Froome
the independent Mercedes Estate specialists

 

[rascalmaster]

i just stick in an extra set of footmats!!
cheep n cheerful; and it does make a difference!

 

[BillyW124]

forget removing the quaters for a laugh! wouldn't even attempt that, just hope the regulators in there hold up till world end!

i know what you mean about the doors, its the window that weighs a lot, i replaced the RH regulator with a brand new one and those windows are no joke trying to hold them up!

i would reckon the best places with out too much dismantling would be the footwells, doors, boot and boot lid. that should suffice. But would love to do the entire floor pan!

with regards to the firewall, it has a rubberised mat material stuck on already.

 

[BillyW124]

i just stick in an extra set of footmats!!
cheep n cheerful; and it does make a difference!

of course i was thinking that aswel! i have loads of rubber mats lying around and they weigh quite a bit too!

 

[prc]

have been using dynamat for some cars now..

On my old seat made loads of difference, guessing because car had a higher noise floor to begin with.

On the w203.
Using dynamat extreme in doors (outer door skin) and boot lid.
dynaliner 1/8" on doors, A & B pillars
dynaliner 1/4" on headliner

Noticed a bid difference but probably due to headliner application.

Step 2: was dynaliner 1/4" on underside of bonnet (under OE liner). Again a big difference on the diesel.

Hopefully will get around to step 3 which is heavy linear under carpet and in boot, but pretty happy as is.

TBH: was happy with car in original form. Added for some benefit on ICE install but mostly to keep it as quiet as possible for phone calls. I spend 5hrs a day in car and a the xtra level of quiet helps when I'm on the phone.

 

[BillyW124]

have been using dynamat for some cars now..

On my old seat made loads of difference, guessing because car had a higher noise floor to begin with.

On the w203.
Using dynamat extreme in doors (outer door skin) and boot lid.
dynaliner 1/8" on doors, A & B pillars
dynaliner 1/4" on headliner

Noticed a bid difference but probably due to headliner application.

Step 2: was dynaliner 1/4" on underside of bonnet (under OE liner). Again a big difference on the diesel.

Hopefully will get around to step 3 which is heavy linear under carpet and in boot, but pretty happy as is.

TBH: was happy with car in original form. Added for some benefit on ICE install but mostly to keep it as quiet as possible for phone calls. I spend 5hrs a day in car and a the xtra level of quiet helps when I'm on the phone.

cheers mate,

is it advisable to put the dynamat inside of the door panel or on the outside skin i.e. having to make cut outs for the access holes etc. or a combo of both inside of the door and outter skin?