Road noise - the sounds of silence !

I drove from Sydney in rain that was one of the most intense downpours that I have ever driven in . It was a good test for the sound levels in the vehicle, as well as the the vehicle stability controls. For a bare shell, it wasn't bad. I was able to converse with my wife in one of the deluges. There was no question about the effectiveness of the vehicle stability - it was rock solid it very severe cross winds.

I did feel that it could do with a bit of deadening to muffle the drumming sound. Maybe thermal insulation and panelling would do the job sufficiently, but since I have the opportunity I felt it better to err on the sage side.

After some research, I found that all you need to do is cover about 25% of the bare panels with a butyl based membrane. A test by tapping the existing deadened panels and the none area proved the supposition without need to do it scientifically.

Butyl adhesive sound deadener purchased from the automotive aftermarket shops is quite pricey. Ebay was my friend here. I purchased some generic Eco Deadener "8M Car Butyl Rubber Sound Deadener Sound Noise Heat Proofing Self Adhesive AU" . I figured there wouldn't be a great deal of difference outside the fancy packaging and marketing.

There was a smattering of sound deadener as shown in the images below. I've increased the coverage significantly. The application was quite easy - cut to size, remove backing paper and roll on to gain a good adhesion. It wasn't hard to remove if I felt the position was wrong. The material also was able to form without creasing into the various pressed impressions on the shell.

I popped off to Bunnings to get some Earthwool to fill the voids and will do the back doors and side doors tomorrow.

There are many information web sites about sound deadening A good detailed one is by Car Builders - Sound & Heat Youtube Channel. They cover their vehicle shell almost entirely which I think is an overkill and would add unnecessary weight and cost.

The weight of an 8m x 0.5 x 2.2mm roll is about 10.8 kg.

Blog Indexes: