Silence (sound deadening)

[Munrab]

Hello,

I have a 97 Civic EX Coupe, that has seen better days but is still a great car and one that I want to outfit to make my own unique car. I find it is much cheaper to build what I want in an older car than it is to deal with buying a new car at much more expensive prices.

I want to eventually get new body panels and have the car repainted, I want to rip out the moon roof (I am tall and I want the extra headroom and I do not like moon roofs) During all of this I want to really sound proof the vehicle. I want as little noise as humanly possible in the cabin. I am a high end home audio representative, and while this vehicle will most likely have a very nice audio system, at some point, I am looking mostly for a dead quiet cabin since I take long trips and am on the phone (bluetooth) for the greater portion of those drives.

What do you guys recommend? I am open to all kinds of suggestions.

 

[s_crowley 17]

Dynamat. should be around 30 dollars for like 4 sq. ft. you can get bigger sizes too....

 

[R3dline]

you got the wrong car if u want quiet man, not matter what you do its not gonna be silent

 

[s_crowley 17]

^Very, very true.

 

[DraggeR]

yup, better find another car for that bro.

 

[Takiyon]

Try This.

You can use carpet insulation to deaden the sound a little. that is what I did. The door panels and the trunk would be your areas of concern. Although this car was not really made to be quiet there is no reason you cannot make it so. For myself I was thinking about adding some dynamat to deaded the sound even more on the pillars and doors to cut down on road noise but It is quiet enough for me now. 10 times better than stock. Although it seems ghetto carpet insulation/padding works pretty good you can get it at home depot or lowes. If not try Dynamat.

 

[Munrab]

Thanks

Thanks guys. I was looking into going full on with the Dynamat and their products. I wanted to go overboard on the floor, hood, roof, rear deck. firewall. doors, wheel wells etc.

I am very tired of noise. I know I may not be able to make the Civic as quiet as some but man I am going to try:-)!

thanks for the feedback again.

 

[eskateboarding7]

My friend and I are both car audio installers, and he is just like you: in pursuit of an impossibly silent car. Over the last two days we have been working on soundproofing the firewall. We personally used 2 layers of dynamat and 3/8" neoprene closed cell foam. Also dynmat'd the entire car of course. My suggestion for you would be Second Skin Audio spectrum or sludge as an undercoat and also to line the entire floor, dynamat and foam over it, dynamat and foam your doors (inner and outer door skins), dynamat the roof and A pillars, coat the firewall with Second Skin firewall sludge. You would pretty much be set.

 

[Munrab]

Silience (eskateboarding7)

Eskateboarding7,

Thanks! That is what I wanted to hear. Can you give me an idea of the cost of the materials and is this something I can do myself? Just curious as to what I am going to get myself into:-)

Thanks!

 

[civic99coupe]

Don't use Dynamat. It is effective, however there are several alternatives to it that will work just as well. Like Eskateboarding7 said, just put down about 2 layers of sound deadener and a closed cell foam. I recommend Raammat & Ensolite.

Click me.

 

[BEAR_times]

Dynamat is very expensive. Try to find bargains by buying bulk or try cutting out the middle men distributors. My EJ8 will be needing a sound deadening DIY someday. Good luck. Post your results.

 

[eskateboarding7]

True, I forgot how expensive dynamat was retail It's nice to work for a dynamat retailer. Anyway, yeah, ensolite is a great product in addition to some sort of butyl based deadening product. As long as you get a deadener that is butyl based and not asphalt, you are fine.

 

[Munrab]

Silence

Thanks again, guys.

I am hoping to make this vehicle into something that is purely unique and mine. The prices of new cars are nuts (here I am talking about the pricing of new cars and I sell home audio with speakers that cost 2-5 times what a new car cost - ironic) I figure I can take something I already have and turn it into what I want.

I will probably be asking lots of questions during this, I have enough knowledge to barely be dangerous. Please bear with me and thanks for your feedback. I hope to have made progress and finished in about 18 months, we will see:-) I will do my best to document the changes.

 

[Takiyon]

Awsome Munrab. I am looking forward to seeing your project. Please post pics, and any results you may have. I am definately in the pursuit of the same quiet car. I am happy with it now but I am sure there is room for improvement.

PS that foam in a can stuff that you buy in the auto parts store is it any good at sound deadening?

 

[Bheims]

I put sound deadening material in my car (EJ8) and although it was noticeable, the decibel decrease probably wasn't worth the 4-5 hours of work installing it. I did read about a cement sort of substance that you can paint onto the bottom of your car...sorry i can't think of the name of it argh. It added alot of weight but it was the most effective material to reduce road noise.