soundproofing?

[Lufbramatt 0]

couple of layers of normal rubber carpet underlay cut to the same shape as the oem stuff and double sided taped together?

 

should be some nice offcuts in teh skip round the back of your local carpet store :D

 

or if you want the proper stuff:

 

http://www.automobiletrim.com/sound-proofing.html

[boost monkey 0]

awesome,

 

cheers for the link!

 

:clap:

[boost monkey 0]

Also, does anyone know what those little grey bags of crack are for?

 

One of mine split and threw a few grams of the white stuff all over the floor... :(

[Lufbramatt 0]

those little baggies are actually really good (expensive) sound deadening. Basically it works by converting the vibrations in the panel into small amounts of heat energy because of the friction from the particles rubbing against each other.

 

i wanted some for a loudspeaker project i did at uni, in the audio community its much sought after as theres actually some science behind how it works, but was put off by the price! I'd leave it there if i were you, tbh it probably works better than most aftermarket sound deadening.

[boost monkey 0]

those little baggies are actually really good (expensive) sound deadening. Basically it works by converting the vibrations in the panel into small amounts of heat energy because of the friction from the particles rubbing against each other.

 

i wanted some for a loudspeaker project i did at uni, in the audio community its much sought after as theres actually some science behind how it works, but was put off by the price! I'd leave it there if i were you, tbh it probably works better than most aftermarket sound deadening.

 

ah ok cool, cheers!

 

I have a few more bags from the scrapper shell if you ever need some again.

[ivor Fastun 0]

I recently did the same thing with my C after my heat exchanger split so while I was throwing the old soaking sound proofing away I decided to do the rest. I had a thread on here somewhere but I didn’t get round to updating it. I was surprised by the result as I used the ghetto-style flashing tape!

 

I got two rolls from BnQ for about £20, one wide one and a thin one. Basically it is thick tar layer with a sticky back and an aluminium film on top. It is very similar to the old school sound proofing called brownbread. Essentially it is just the weight of the stuff which makes it a good sound proofing and it has to have an extremely good contact for it to work. It only cuts out road noise and exhaust rumblings so its not sound proofing as such. Leaving gaps is perfectly fine and the job of it is just to dampen the vibrations through the panel/floor. If you want to test it out get a metal sheet and do a rolf harris esk wobble, then stick the stuff on, you should have to work harder to make the same sheet wobble in the same way. Sadly it only reduces the road noise etc so it needs proper sound insulation on top of it just like in the original setup.

 

One tip if you do use flashing tape is heat it up with a hair drying when applying it. This helps it mould to the right shape. I also found scoring the aluminium film helps form it, this doesn’t effect the performance of the stuff . Some mentioned you cant use this on doors, that’s simply cos the stickyness isn’t good enough to use on vertical surfaces.

 

The second thing I used was sound insulaton foam from RS (rswww.com) supplies. You can buy if by the sheet and it too is aluminium coated and stick backed. The only downside is it was 1inch thick. The other possible problems I might face with it is wear, will the foam collapse under constant use and the be useless? The positives are that it wont degrade if it does get wet and shouldn’t absorbe water like the old cotton stuff. It too went on easily and was super sticky, the only problem was carving a shape out the footwells so the crossmembers didn’t make it stick up. Even then it raised the carpet up by half and inch so the wasn’t much room under the seats.

 

The best impovement was from using the foam to cover the boot, the really reduced exhaust noise.

 

The only problem now is sorting out all the rattling! I used 5mm foam tape on all dashboard joints when putting it back together but that did nothing! : (

 

I can upload some pics if anyone is interested? Its not a difficult job but it takes time as you have to take the full insides out

[djmac56 0]

Some pics would be great. I've got a week off work soon and I fancied getting all the coolant out of my carpets and underlay stuff. Now the wetaher is improving I thought this could be a nice job to do prior to Stanford Hall.

 

Cheers,

 

Mark

[fla 9]

There are some pics of the door membrances being replaced by soundproofing. Does this have a significant effect on outside noise? My concern is if you ever need to get to the window mechanism or anything else inside te door. Any suggestions and experience to date?

[fla 9]

How much improvement have you noiced with the new soundproofing? Ive used some in my boot, under the rear seats, under the front carpets (then replaced the original greay plastic and foamy stuff) but its not great tbh. I've got some flashing in the doors from a few years ago when i first did this which will need to come out and will be done properly with the real stuff. Apart from that, its still a bit too noisy for me, not hugely quieter at any speed or on any rougher road. I've used one layer, in some areas doubled up.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

You know how I went balls out a couple of years ago, by dynamtting the roof (LOL!), boot floor, arches, doors, rear arches, double layered under the rear seats etc etc? Well, I ripped it all out recently in an effort to save a bit of weight and I was surprised to find the car was no noisier at all....and that was the proper 4mm thick bitumen stuff!!

 

I think after you install all this dynamat stuff, your mind fools you into thinking it's quieter, but it's now apparent to me just how effective the Corrado's floor deadening and soft furnishings really are!

 

It's also obvious to me now that the dynamat is just for stopping panel vibration, it doesn't actually "absorb" noise at all.

 

What really makes a Rado 10 times more bearable, is trim parts not rattling and squeaking......but that's easily solvable, just takes time.

[fla 9]

Useful comment and observation Kev. I've got a rattle at the back that is driving me bonkers - everyhting is fitted down properly, it looks like its the seat back retaining brackets (under the black pull handles to lift them up). Might try some felt padding there. also the rear seat backs seems to have a few rattles too. Not sure how to get at them though, perhaps dismantle the seat back?

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Have you made sure the catches for the rear seats are firmly screwed in? And do they have the original black plastic tubes on them still? I found mine kept vibrating loose, so I've threadlocked them in now.

 

Most of the noise from the rear I find comes from the brittle plastic trims on the tailgate and the rattly, loose tailgate wiper cover. The speaker shelves can also rattle around. You need to get in there and felt it all up and replace any missing / broken clips etc.

 

The seats themselves shouldn't rattle mate, they're pretty solid, but if you need to, you can "untuck" (if that's a word) the material from the back to release the hard back panel. That might be knocking on the seat frame internally or something.

[dinkus 10]

Although I won't agree with Kev to say it doesn't make any difference - if you're expecting new-car quiet from an ancient thing like the Corrado just by adding some sound deadening, you're going to be disappointed.

 

Having said that, the Damplifier Pro stuff I used on mine has significantly quietened down the cabin.

 

I've got a single layer of Damplifier in the doors (didn't want to put too much weight in there) then a single layer of Damplifier Pro under the rear seats, boot floor, boot sides and quite importantly - rear 1/4s as that seemed to be where a lot of the road noise was coming from.

 

TBH, there's already a lot of sound deadening down under the front carpets, so I doubt that will have made much of a difference.

 

Again, as Kev says - it stops vibration and does kill sound coming into the car, but it doesn't absorb sound inside the cabin to give you a tomb-like deadness.

 

One thing I have noticed is that leather interiors seem quieter than cloth and I think that's because all the door cards are padded and perhaps the leather soaks up the noise better? 'tis odd. I certainly think a fair bit of the cabin noise is to do with the plastics used as they reflect sound rather than absorb it like modern dashboards and such do.

 

I was going to go complete overkill and put some Luxury Liner Pro down behind the rear 1/4s too, but I was just running out of space and the will to live. :lol: That may well dampen it down a fair bit in the car though, so you never know, I might get around to fitting it one day...

[colinstubbs 0]

I was going to go complete overkill and put some Luxury Liner Pro down behind the rear 1/4s too, but I was just running out of space and the will to live. :lol: That may well dampen it down a fair bit in the car though, so you never know, I might get around to fitting it one day...

 

You gave up then?

 

I overkilled the boot a bit with 2 layers of Damplifier up the sides and 3-3of coats of Spectrum with about 4-5 coats on the floor over the old Dynamat that was on there. It really improved the sub response, I was worried it might be pointless :lol: . Under the rear seats got a layer of damplifier and spectrum while the sides got a couple of damplifier and 3 coats of spectrum, also had some rock wool loft insulation kicking about so stuffed it in the void between inner and out rear quarter skins. Passenger door had a layer of damplifier and 3 coats of spectrum over old dynamat, driver's got 2 layers of damplifier and 3 spectrums and i put big multiple layers of spectrum under the front seats. Didn't bother in the footwells as they're sorted. As thre headliner's out i've damplifiered the roof a bit and i'll prob get some spectrum up there as there's some left.

 

40sq ft of damplifier and 40sq ft spectrum is plenty! 8) 8)

[dinkus 10]

Good god man, you're a lunatic! :lol:

[fla 9]

Had a good ol' drive today, and the main issues are wind noise (above 50 ish) and road noise. TBH, i dont think you can do much about the road noise unless you oad the car up like Kev, and then even then taking his recent comments on board this may not do too much. What can be done about wind noise? Seems to be around the top of the windscreen (corners) and from the rear quarters.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I don't get wind noise problems with mine. Are all the seals in good condition and tight onto the metal work?

 

As Dinkus says though, you can't expect Bentley refinement levels from a 15 year old VW. Maybe it's time to move on mate? Get something quieter and more modern? :D

[fla 9]

I don't get wind noise problems with mine. Are all the seals in good condition and tight onto the metal work?

 

Get something quieter and more modern? :D

LOL Kev. No chance, if i can help it! Although there was a nice S3 on the forum a little while back - bit out of my price range though.

 

Re the seals, i'll have a look - would be good to have a drive in someone elses car to see what it sounds like, might get some pointers too.

[colinstubbs 0]

Good god man, you're a lunatic! :lol:

 

OVERKILL gets the job done!! :lol: 8) :lol:

 

Got my Audioscape pods fitted too, now just need a better amp for the front components. A mate of mine had a old ppi amp that he got for £30, but after 15 minutes running it smelt of fish and the right channel dropped out :shock: but it was awesomely loud and clear through my 12 year old misson freeways!! If he can get it fixed i'll have it in a jiffy.

[Whitedog 0]

Soundproofing.........just turn the stereo up!!

[fla 9]

I think Cheese has the right idea - i've got some 12-15mm thick acoustic foam which i'll be using behind the rear doorcards and in the boot area and perhaps under the rear seats. Its light, so added advantages there. Its too thick to be used behind teh front door cards - i tried but couldnt get the cards to fit back properly so pulled it all off again. Might see if there is enough space behind the windows to apply it directly to the door without jamming the window.

On the fronts, i've lined the cards with roofing felt and tehn reused teh old foam, just stuck back on top. I made the mistake of not clipping the plastic trim across the top of teh card first so some noise is 'leaking' out of the top of the card. Need to remove the old crap inside the door skins and replce with damplifier. Whilst i take your point Dinks, i am using my wifes 2003 Corolla as a reference point in terms of silence, this should be easily achievable. Lets see what happens...