Guess I outta throw some dampening stuff in my car...

[alanizgod]

I have a bad habit of buying $100 speakers, not liking them because they don't give enough thump, and buy newer stronger ones. I figured before I even consider buying another set of speakers I might want to consider lacing my interior with dampening material. This is completely new to me and I'd hate to pay someone to put the stuff in for me ( I like to do everything myself). So I have a couple of issues with this that I'd like some insight on.

1. What type of dampening works best (regardless of cost)
2. Does it actually make a difference?
3. Is it easy to install?
4. If someone were to recommend something like Dynamat....does that stuff smell like shit or what?
5. If I put it in my door and it has a limited permanent hold, if I were to ohhh break a window or something would it be hard to remove it in order to fix a problem like that....

[Hans]

1. I would def recommend Dynamat. It's what they're know for and that's all that I've ever really considered.
2. It reduces road noise and eliminates/greatly reduces body and panel vibrations. It def works.
3. Relatively easy. Take off interior panels, clean area, spray adhesive, then lay down matting.
4. I have no clue.
5. I don't know about that either.
Keep in mind that it will def add weight though, but since you're getting a sound system I doubt you'll be concerned about performance.

[alanizgod]

Yea performance isn't my thing. I figure once I inherit my dad's '03 Cobra I'll definitely have my performance vehicle

Well I ordered some of that cascade stuff (since it was cheaper I figured I'd give that a go first) but if I don't like it I'll switch to the dynaliner.

[frantik]

if you need more thump you might just need a bigger amp

[alanizgod]

^^That's definitely not a problem. Problem is as soon as I start driving my system sounds like shit...listening to it while parked is a different story though.

[MessyHonda]

most of the noice comes thru the wheels and door seals.... i would get the big pack of dynamat and start packing up the wheel wheels from the inside.... maybe the trunk if you have alot left over.

[2ndGenGuy]

Cascade audio has a HUGE range of sound dampening and stereo enhancing materials. All sorts of stuff for different applications. Shit you'd never even thought about. Cool stuff!

http://www.cascadeaudio.com/

[Ichiban]

...

Dampening- The act of making something wet.

Damping-Resistance to movement or sound.

[alanizgod]

^^^Bah

Anyway I'll post again to let everyone know how the cascade holds up.

[ghettogeddy]

^^That's definitely not a problem. Problem is as soon as I start driving my system sounds like shit...listening to it while parked is a different story though.

well thats got nothing to do with Damping but with power consumption i have the same prob the radio sounds good parked but when in motion it dosent sound as good

[Civic Accord Honda]

umm yeah my antena fucked up too

[Kelvin]

most of the noice comes thru the wheels and door seals.... i would get the big pack of dynamat and start packing up the wheel wheels from the inside.... maybe the trunk if you have alot left over.

Except the noise isn't coming though the wheel wells, it's being transmitted through the chassis by all the suspension mounting points. How are your suspension bushings? Maybe they're shot and that's what's making your car noisy.

[MessyHonda]

Except the noise isn't coming though the wheel wells, it's being transmitted through the chassis by all the suspension mounting points. How are your suspension bushings? Maybe they're shot and that's what's making your car noisy.

my car is fine....i was just saying that most of it comes by the wheel wells area cuz that is where the wheels located....also tires have a impact...i know this guy with a 4x4 truck and his tires are loud as fuck.


my next upgrade would be to upgrade most of the suspension points...i already got lower ball jonts...next on the list would be more bushings.

[Vanilla Sky]

Second Skin Damplifier. It's the absolute best product for sound damping I've ever gotten my hands on. If you join their forum, you get a discount on your first order.

No, I'm not a salesman. I've just had more than one awesome experience working with the stuff in friends' cars. It's priced around Dynamat pro, but tends to hold up better and seems to offer more of a noise reduction when used in the same vehicle (side by side, two Nissan Harbdody trucks).

[Kelvin]

Harbdodies? :P

[Vanilla Sky]

It's the name for the Nissan pickup trucks built during the 1986.5 and 1997 model years.

[Kelvin]

Harb-dodies is a name?

[Vanilla Sky]

Crap. Hardbody. My mistake.

[Kelvin]

hehehe. I think Harb-dodies sounds funnier.

[Sabz5150]

Dynamat offers a spray on damper which works rather well and is great for odd shaped places where you can't fold a sheet without coming out with something resembling origami.

I'd also recommend stripping the old damper material. I've heard that dry ice is the trick to that.

[HostileJava]

well thats got nothing to do with Damping but with power consumption i have the same prob the radio sounds good parked but when in motion it dosent sound as good

Power consumption? I'm confused. When your sitting parked or idling your going to have less power because the alternater either won't be on or will be at idle rpms. Or did I misunderstand what your saying?

[Kelvin]

I think he means, if you had higher power amps, you'd be able to driver speakers at louder volumes without distortion. At low volumes, you really don't need much power for distortion free sound.

[2ndGenGuy]

I think he's actually referring to road-noise cancelling out the lower frequency sounds in the stereo. The tire-on-pavement noise, wind noise, etc is sometimes just about the same frequency as most bass frequencies coming from your speakers. It can easily overpower your bass. I think the only solution is to crank up the bass to make it louder than the noise and kinda balance it out, or figure out how to get rid of the road noise by damping the sound (thanks guyhatesmycar ).

[Kelvin]

But what would that have to do with power consumption? That's just road noise.

[alanizgod]

^^^Well my main concern was the road noise.