Complete new to sound deadening. Some questions.

[vtron]

As the title states, I'm completely new to sound deadening. I'm planning on putting in some new door speakers and doing the fold-down seat mod. While I had the interior apart, I though it would be smart to add some sound deadening. Any help on the questions below would be greatly appreciated.

- Is there a good sound deadening primer? Not looking for theory, but an objective summary of what makes sense and what doesn't?
- What's the best bang for the buck?
- How much would I need for the doors and rear seat area of a crew cab?

Thanks.

 

[Wolfhound]

I'll bump for you as I'm also looking to do this.

 

[Hipps2000]

I did all of the doors and backs of the panels with snake skins damplifier pro shop pack 2nds quality. Was 299 for 90sq feet. I also did the entire rear back and under seat. Makes a huge difference and my stock stero with upgraded speakers sounds amazing. I am still waiting on the kicker amp and sub. I highly recommend deadening and using good quality materials.

 

[autokraftgt]

I used butyl deadener and it's great stuff. Ordered 90 sq/ft and used all of it on back wall and rear floor of CC. Probably another 20sq/ft per door x4, another 60+ sq/ft on roof, and 40+ sq/ft on front floor including under front seats, and another 1sq/ft inside overhead console cause it was buzzing and driving me NUTS!!!!

 

[WhiteExpress]

I have used butyl sound deadner (bQuiet) with good results.
I'm not saying it's the best, I'm saying it was cheap and did what I expected.

 

[Wolfhound]

I recently saw a post where someone used elastomeric roof coating. Does this stuff work? It sure is cheap compared to the other stuff. It would be easy to paint on to every nook and cranny also.

 

[BlkRamRt]

i would stick with the sound deadening of your choice. when people use roof products it sometimes leaves you car smelling like tar. it is a cheap alternative but why go cheap on a +/- 40k $ truck. i use second skin and it works great only problem is that its kind of pricey but there is other options like dynamat rammat bquiet ect. most people do full coverage but with 25% coverage it will make a big difference.

 

[vtron]

most people do full coverage but with 25% coverage it will make a big difference.

Where's the point of diminishing returns here? I did read somewhere that 100% is kind of overkill and more of old school thinking. What should I shoot for if I'm just looking to quiet the cab and improve my sound system? 25%? 50%? I'm no audiophile and I'm not looking to turn my truck into a luxury car.

 

[WhiteExpress]

Get a small hammer and tap the sheet metal.
If it resonates, deaden it.

Or, go balls to the walls and 100% cover it.

 

[dmullen]

Talk to Rick at RAAMaudio - Automotive sound deadening products and he will take care of you. Just tell him what you are wanting to do and his products are priced right.

 

[BlkRamRt]

Where's the point of diminishing returns here? I did read somewhere that 100% is kind of overkill and more of old school thinking. What should I shoot for if I'm just looking to quiet the cab and improve my sound system? 25%? 50%? I'm no audiophile and I'm not looking to turn my truck into a luxury car.

i would shoot for around 50% and start with the doors since thats where most of the outer noise comes from. after that move to the floor back wall and the ceiling of the truck.

 

[vtron]

i would shoot for around 50% and start with the doors since thats where most of the outer noise comes from. after that move to the floor back wall and the ceiling of the truck.

Sounds like a reasonable starting point. I'll do that and go from there. Thanks.

 

[BlkRamRt]

Sure. Let us know how it goes and what brand you use.

 

[charonblk07]

I think the biggest question is how much and how well do you want to deaden. It's an important question to ask because it would determine how far you go with deadening. In my '07 I had about 75% Second Skin Damplifier Pro coverage in my truck, which is a butyl CLD tile to kill panel vibration. It's hard to say how much you need to dampen the panels because it's based on how **** you want to get with vibrations. When I apply deadener I use the roller to tap panels to see if they still vibrate (with your body weight off the panel of course) and add more if there's any resonance.

On the floor, back wall, firewall, and in the doors n top of the constrining layer I have a layer of mass loaded vinyl, I used the Second Skin Luxury Liner for this and it is seriously quiet in my cab. This layer kills a lot of the exhaust and engine noise and makes a big difference in external road noise.

The roof doesn't have a lot of external noise so it doesn't need the MLV but it defintely moves a lot when you have a decent system, so this got a layer of the normal Damplifier just because of the weight difference between the regular and the Pro. The headliner does a good job in capturing any audio vibrations.

 

[Power247]

I recently saw a post where someone used elastomeric roof coating. Does this stuff work? It sure is cheap compared to the other stuff. It would be easy to paint on to every nook and cranny also.

I did this on my truck and it works great. There is a link to my build in my sig. The white type paints on real easy with a brush and does not smell like tar. Its especially good if you use the cheaper deadening mat that is mostly asphalt based. That stuff can really smell but after painting over it with the roof coating you can't smell it at all. I painted the whole back of my CC and still have 3 quarts left. I plan to use the rest on the firewall and the doors when I get time.

Sent from my LG 8.3 GPe

 

[charonblk07]

If you've ever had the chance to sit in a vehicle that was done properly with butyl tiles and compare it to the roof tar/elastomeric coating it's a very noticible difference in quality. It's cheap and it does work to an extent for vibration dampening, but it doesn't work as well as a proper butyl constraint layer because you can't control the thickness properly. If I was to ever use this it would be as an underbody coating in conjunction with the internal butyl constraint layer.

 

[Power247]

If you've ever had the chance to sit in a vehicle that was done properly with butyl tiles and compare it to the roof tar/elastomeric coating it's a very noticible difference in quality. It's cheap and it does work to an extent for vibration dampening, but it doesn't work as well as a proper butyl constraint layer because you can't control the thickness properly. If I was to ever use this it would be as an underbody coating in conjunction with the internal butyl constraint layer.

No doubt there is a difference. And if I was still in the audio competition scene then maybe. But my goal was to make the cab quieter. I drive a straight-piped diesel and wanted the cab quieter when on family road trips or pulling our camper. I can no longer hear the exhaust on my truck when the windows are roll up. This in turn made the audio better in the truck... Which was also part of the goal.

Believe me, I'm not saying you're wrong... Just trying to point out that there is more than one way to quiet the cab and that it doesn't have to cost hundreds of dollars to be a good solution.

Like everything else with these trucks... You can spend as much as you want and more. If its worth it to you then it was worth it

Sent from my LG 8.3 GPe

 

[vtron]

I ended up using FatMat. It had solid reviews, was just as thick as Second Skin, and was way cheaper. I did the doors yesterday with about 75% coverage. It ended up being about 40 sq.ft. The difference is pretty amazing. The cab is much quieter and sound system is greatly improved.

It went pretty smoothly once I figured out how to get the inner door panel removed. So the first door was a giant pain in the ass and the other three were quick and easy.

 

[Kelli25]

To those who have installed any kind of sound deadening material to the inside of their trucks, how much room is there to add whatever material in? And if someone were to go overkill on it, what would be recommended? I ask not as much for stereo enhancement (though that will be an added benefit), but because after an entire exhaust system change, the truck is simply louder than I like on the interior.

I would love to just go nuts and cram as much sound deadening material in the space as will fit. This way I make the truck as quite as possible. So, perhaps a couple of quality brands of material and a recommended amount as well?

I hope Im not thread jacking here, just figured it was close enough to the original thread to ask.

Thanks for any help or advise.

 

[charonblk07]

There is lots of room for material to be installed. To really upgrade the deadening you can go as crazy as your desire and wallet will allow. I quoted my post from above. You can do just vibration dampening, or you can start going for a true sound deadening and if you're not liking the new exhaust noise in the cab then I'd go for real deadening with the vibration constraint layer with a MLV on top of it.

I think the biggest question is how much and how well do you want to deaden. It's an important question to ask because it would determine how far you go with deadening. In my '07 I had about 75% Second Skin Damplifier Pro coverage in my truck, which is a butyl CLD tile to kill panel vibration. It's hard to say how much you need to dampen the panels because it's based on how **** you want to get with vibrations. When I apply deadener I use the roller to tap panels to see if they still vibrate (with your body weight off the panel of course) and add more if there's any resonance.

On the floor, back wall, firewall, and in the doors n top of the constrining layer I have a layer of mass loaded vinyl, I used the Second Skin Luxury Liner for this and it is seriously quiet in my cab. This layer kills a lot of the exhaust and engine noise and makes a big difference in external road noise.

The roof doesn't have a lot of external noise so it doesn't need the MLV but it defintely moves a lot when you have a decent system, so this got a layer of the normal Damplifier just because of the weight difference between the regular and the Pro. The headliner does a good job in capturing any audio vibrations.