[Grandpa_Chris]

Its a shame that those pics dont show up anymore, would have been an even-more interesting read otherwise.

 

[tomenugen]

any Raamaudio coupon codes floating around?

 

[tomenugen]

i just purchased an 04 XT and jumped into this project. before i purchase materials can someone confirm if this is oem or aftermarket insulation/sound deadening material from the previous owner?

 

[nicol]

Newster - need to find out how to get the plastic trim off - seat belt mount on pillar has to come off - I'm stumped.

 

[djfranks]

I just ordered dynamat starter pack x2 for front doors...have you gone that route with dynamat yourself ?If so how much did you put on ?Any notcieable improvements ? Cheers

 

[chrishigh]

I did the Raamaudio kit in my 14 XT - first, I was surprised to find the XT Touring already had similar materials in the door and on top of the weatherseal. So I didn't even need ANY of the soft material. It wasn't a bad project, but I wish I'd done a sound test beforehand because I'm not convinced it did more than psychological improvement. Seems like there's plenty of noise coming in through places you simply can't reach without fully tearing the car apart. I even did the full spare area. Meanwhile I DO know it added some weight to the car which is a shame considering how hawkeye-ish I'm being with the MPGs right now. I mean, yeah, it's only 20 pounds maybe.

 

[Brandontw]

Just wanted to drop in and say thanks for all the info in this thread. I just finished phase 1 of my sound deadening project in my 05.

I used materials from amazon, and around the house... specifically 2 old memory foam pillows, 3 old regular pillows for polyfill, and a package of "Noico" deadener and closed cell foam from amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URUIKAK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00URV8MFC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I was fairly impressed with the materials for the price compared to other brands ive tried. The deadener was thick and sticky with a nice foil layer, and the foam was sticky enough, and fairly user friendly to work with.

I started with the hatch door. I tried to cover as much of the outer skin as i could with deadener, then stuffed the voids with polyfil towards the edges, held in with hunks of the memory foam pillow. Then i did the inner skin, and cut an old camping mat to fit much like sea scooby.

Then i put that back together and tore into the rear quarter panels. disassembly was a bit of a pain, but i only broke 2 of the clips, so i call it a win.

I went pretty heavy in/around the wheelwells and fenders with the deadener then stuffed polyfill in as far as i could, and topped off with more foam around the pockets. put all the side carpet and trim pieces back, then filled in the spots on the floor that didn't have factory deadener, and put the sticky foam sheets everywhere i could that wouldnt interfere with the factory styrofoam floor pieces. mostly in the spare tire cavity, and under the back seats.

VERDICT so far:

Massive improvement!

This combined with the tubing mod for the windows, and a latch adjustment/electrical tape addition for the rear hatch latch has already made the car a much nicer place to be. Rattles and reverb are significantly reduced in the back, and the overall noise levels in the car are much less. Enough that even my wife noticed a big difference.

Phase 2 will be doing the rear doors and installing new rear speakers.

Phase 3 will be doing the front doors, with installing component speakers/crossovers in the doors, running new speaker wire, installing a KTP-445u amp somewhere behind the glovebox, and installing a new stereo. I already have all the gear, i just need the time.

Phase 4 may or may not happen, and would be deadening the front of the floor and installing a sub/amp under the front seats.

 

[bluedot]

Curious why this thread didn't include any MLV - Mass Loaded Vinyl? I've had excellent luck with it in recording studios, and used it in my car builds. Thin (1/8") and with a deadener, it's amazing.

I'll be putting some in my '15 Forester next week when the speaker adapters show. Is anyone familiar with it?

Sound Dampening Guide

 

[Blown5pnt4]

I need to start looking into doing some of this in my 2012....whats this hatch and window trim mod?

 

[rocketjones]

I installed 100ft of noico 80mil, 4 yards of ensolite, x2 1/8" yoga mats from walmart, like 10-12 bags of polyfill. 100"x1" of melamine foam will be going on top of the mlv in the doors behind speakers + 1" acoustic foam on top of that. Should be finished by the end of January.:rock:

 

[Green Darter]

Sound deadener experience

An informative if lengthy thread! After reading through it and doing sound deadening research, here is my take;

1. More is not necessarily better

2. The four components that work together are vibration dampeners, barriers, absorbers and isolators. Each having a specific purpose related to the other components. Used properly, they will perform well. Used improperly they are a waste of time and money.

3. One or more components may already be applied to various parts of the interior. Adding the "missing" components in the proper order is more efficient than just adding more of the same.

GD

 

[benjamino]

Isn't it annoying when you visit a thread and all the pictures have been replaced by photobucket logos - such a shame - someone needs to get image hosting in forums sorted out!

 

[tlheinz]

Isn't it annoying when you visit a thread and all the pictures have been replaced by photobucket logos - such a shame - someone needs to get image hosting in forums sorted out!

It WAS figured out, until PhotoBucket bent everyone over prison style.

 

[Hatteroo]

Hi all,

I've followed this awesome guide about 7 months ago and the results were amazing! Double layers on all 4 doors, rear hatch, trunk area, and roof skin as well. I want to make it even quieter and plan to do the floor pans eventually once I get some other projects out of the way.

Has anyone else notice that the front doors don't "thud" as nicely as the rear doors? Would anyone have any suggestions to make the front doors "thud" and not sound as rickety? Thanks!

 

[rocketjones]

I installed 100ft of noico 80mil, 4 yards of ensolite, x2 1/8" yoga mats from walmart, like 10-12 bags of polyfill. 100"x1" of melamine foam will be going on top of the mlv in the doors behind speakers + 1" acoustic foam on top of that. Should be finished by the end of January.:rock:

Got all of this done and it sounds great. My front doors have 270 watts RMS/side. There has been some rattling coming from the door cards. I lined the outside edge of the door frame, where the door card rests, with felt then reapplied the door cards. No more rattles!
I added ccf weather stripping in the door jambs which has helped with some of the wind noise while driving at speed.
Next up I plan to bolt up HDPE sheets under the floor pan and load up the empty space with fiberglass. I will also be pulling out all of the polyfill and replace it with fiberglass. Heading out to California for work in a few months. Once I get settled in my new place, I will be starting on glassing 8" subs into the rear quarter panels. More deadening to come...

 

[Wangta]

Curious why this thread didn't include any MLV - Mass Loaded Vinyl? I've had excellent luck with it in recording studios, and used it in my car builds. Thin (1/8") and with a deadener, it's amazing.

I'll be putting some in my '15 Forester next week when the speaker adapters show. Is anyone familiar with it?

Sound Dampening Guide

I just got done doing my hatch area and 4 doors with MLV. I know why it’s probably not used - it’s a total PITA to use. First off - it’s freaking heavy. One roll weighed 110 lbs. Two - it’s very inflexible. 3 - it makes fitting the panels back very difficult. My cargo cover doesn’t fit anymore!

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[Wangta]

When doing the doors - de most people leaving the plastic sheet on? I wasn’t sure if it was really necessary.


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[Wangta]

I may have already read this and forgotten, but what is the "tubing mod"?

Putting tubing around the door seals to help bulstor them and make a better seal to reduce wind noise.


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[Shaw]

Posting to remind myself in a couple months. Nice write up!

 

[markinaustin]

2006 normally aspirated Forester with 175K mi -

Finished 4 doors and hatch. Down 4-5 db at idle and 6-7 db at 65 mph on smooth highway. I did not test before or after on a rough road.

Used Raamat as instructed. Only used Ensolite in 8" circles behind the speakers, but over the Raamat.

My Pioneer AVH-x3600BHS with Polk door speakers is more listenable cranked to "15" now then it was at "20" at 65 MPH.

Used some hobbyist pillow foam in the cavities around the hatch as well as Raamat.
----
In August when I replace the carpets I will do the kick panels and the rear by the wheel wells.


This project was well worth the time and effort but I did hurt my back working on each door! So I took 2 weeks to do the five doors. I am retired, and could afford the time. YMMV.