ZZ3.5

I took delivery of a 6MT Touring car on 10/28. Car is flawless, thus far (1250 miles) except for the road noise and, of course, the Blose. I am sensitive to road noise, after too many years in front of tall guitar amplifiers, and have lost 35% of my hearing in the upper frequencies (plus wicked ringing in the ears). Needless to say, the combination of the Z's road noise and the abysmal stereo was giving me fits. I decided to go the Dynamat (Extreme) route and shopped around for an installation. Bids ranged from $150 (Circuit City at $30/hour) for a rudimentary job all the way up to $2,500 from a shop that typically works on Modena's and the like. I finally selected an auto upholstery specialist with experience in sound insualtion. Bid was for $800 ($78/hr). The shop removed the seats and all carpeting in the car, and the flimsy plastic partitions around the back deck and spare tire. The Extreme was then applied to virtually the entire interior body pan, including the transmission hump. They also added jute (carpet padding) in most areas between the Dynamant and the carpet. Some other material (sorry can't remeber the brand) was installed in the doors as well. It took 6 sheets of Dynamat which the installer guessed weighed between 35-40 lbs.

Results:

Following installation, road noise and vibration were markedly reduced to near zero at lower speeds and moderate at freeway speeds (the sweet engine sounds were not affected). The car has a much more solid feel (weight will do that I guess, but less vibration helps too). But here's the surprising thing... I switched on the Bose (CD), adjusted the settings Bass (1) Treble (5) and Fade (2) and I could actually hear, and enjoy listening to, the sound system. Plus, the automatic volume control, which was completely beserk previously, actually behaved in a semi-rational way. I think there was so much vibrating metal in the car that almost any system would be challenged, absent the sound insulation. Anyway, the Bose still sucks, but much less so. The car feels smooth and solid. The extra weight is at a low center of gravity and, if anything, seems to have improved the ride (I weigh 157) in terms of the front-to-back weight ratio. My next step is to insulate the wheel wells from without (you can still hear every pebble hit the insider fender). Well, that's the report from a partially deaf, but mighty content, Z driver.

Cheers,
ZZ3.5

droideka

Thanks for the write-up. I'm trying to figure out who you are... From Cali, 157 lbs., guitarist. Warren DeMartini? Jake E. Lee? Alex Skolnick? Paul Gilbert?

MacGuru

I like the write up. I'm looking to do the same and wasn't sure if I was the only one that felt this would be a viable solution. Were the materials and labor included in the $800 total? Is it a waste to even considering applying Dynamat the headliner/roof? -m

mwaller

Which shop performed the work for you? Are you completely satisfied with their work? I'm in Cali, too, and I'm considering doing the same thing. I use this car as a daily driver, not a track car. Could care less about 50lbs here or there...
Thanks,
Mika

ZZ3.5

Droidekus: never made it famous, so you won't find me in the Cleveland museum.

MacGuru: the $800 included all materials and labor, but not tax. I think the roofliner would be the last (and probably most expensive) place to put the Dynamat. I would start with the doors and the floor pan, the rear deck and spare tire well. Then, move onto the exterior rear wheel wells- can't cover them from inside the car.

Mika: I went to European/American Auto Upholstery in San Rafael (Marin County). Yes I am satisfied with the work. Some of the auto stereo stores were up for the work, but I was concerned that the interior be put back together perfectly. The official Dynamat web site will provide some leads on installers. Ask them if they have a job in progress. My guy showed me an old Porsche Boxster that was being restored from the ground up. They had the Dynamat on the floor throughout the passenger compartment. Very clean.

Rock on...

MacGuru

Thanks. Hopefully that will be a good guage for pricing here on the east coast. I'll check their web site to see who's reputable in the nyc area. That is unless anyone can recommmend a place. What would you use to reduce road noise in the fender wheel well. Would that really reduce general road noise, or only when you're moving through lose gravel/terrain? Cheers. -m

Autobahn

Glad to hear it worked. This is similar to a post I made a couple of days ago regarding the use of Brown Bread instead of Dynomat Extreme. Brown Bread makes a similar product to the Extreme version but I just used the regular type. I spent about $150 for 35 sq ft of material which went under the seats and in the hatch area below the spare tire. Could have used more material but I didn’t want to take the whole interior apart. I also applied a hood insulation material ($50). I agree completely with the comment about the car “feeling more solid". It does and it is a little quieter too. My next step is undercoating for the underside and the wheel wells to quiet things down further. The rocks “pinging” makes the car sound cheap. I found a shop in El Segundo, CA that is willing to apply undercoating and I should be getting an estimate tomorrow. We’ll see if they try to gouge me. If anyone knows of a place in the Los Angeles area that does undercoating please let me know.

DIGItonium

iTrader: (1)

Hmm... now i wonder about that.

I used the whole Dynomat Extreme door kit for the sub compartment area.

The 10" JL is powered by a mono V series Alpine amp.

It pounds nicely after making a few adjustments, and there's hardly any rattle in the rear or anywhere.

It worked as I had hoped... the bass was pretty much "contained" to just that compartment so it wasn't ratttling everything.

The bass sound, itself, was distributed nicely in the cabin.