Door sound proofing.... Wow

R.Taylor · 11-06-2009, 10:27 PM

So,
I was bored the other day and wanted to tinker around on the rig. I remembered a product called Dynamat sound absorber / deadener. They use it on cars with high power sound systems to deaden and tighten up the sound. Anyways, Dynamat cost an arm and a leg.. About $80 to $90 each door on our Dodge rigs. Well, Some searching and googling got me sorted properly. Dynamat is the EXACT SAME product as the Peel & Seal type foil backed weather proofing stuff found an your local hardware store, It's in a roll and usually 6" x 25ft. Heavy foil on the top with about 2 to 3mm of black tar like rubber in the middle and strong adhesive on the backside. A trip to Home Depot and $16.99 later I have a roll of it and my front door panels off the new rig. I peeled the factory plastic sheet halfway up the door and laid the peel and seal, overlapping it by about 3/4" and rolling the flat sections with a veneer roller.... Stuck the factory liner back down and then did the upper half. All in all it was about 45 minutes on each door. The difference is night and day! The door has a nice solid feel and sound when you close it, The speakers sound 100% better... Much tighter with solid bass (Factory Infinity system), The road noise is 30% less... My 35"s go waa waa waa waa while going down the freeway but now you mostly hear them through the firewall and not the doors. This weekend I am going to do the rear doors, I'll take some pictures and post them up. It took almost a roll to do both fronts, Left me with about 3 feet extra which I am sure the rear doors will need on the new mega. 2 Rolls peel & seal $34...... Enough Dynamat to do the same job.... $320 to $360!!!

Adventure Bob · 11-06-2009, 11:15 PM

Be interesting to put an SPL meter in yours and one with Dynamat to quantify "the exact same." Not saying it isnt, and I understand the marketing chain associated with car stereo products.

Pistazie · 11-06-2009, 11:25 PM

Thanks for the tip...look forward to pics.

"35s go waa waa waa", LMAO!!!

Andres · 11-07-2009, 01:29 AM

I put rolls of that stuff in my Humvee (a real one, not one of those H2 POS).
It works real well.

Imagine the rattle from hitting an old metal garbage can with a hammer. After installing Dynamat it's like hitting a pile of roofing shingles with a hammer. Just a dull thud. (there are other less known names as the OP suggested). If you tear apart a 2500 (I did that too) you'll find a lot of soundproofing in the front, almost none in the rear. Inside the door panels should make a big difference. Also, under the carpet against the firewall and over the tranny tunnel.

JBloom · 11-07-2009, 04:32 PM

I had mine done with all my stereo work and I like the sound and feel of it.

R.Taylor · 11-08-2009, 03:38 AM

Here's the pictures, I finished the 2 rear doors today. I used the last 3 feet of the roll from the front doors and have about 4 feet left of the second roll I used for the rears. It's a pretty decent decrease in road noise and the doors feel more solid and close with a soft thud.... Like an 80's Mercedes 500sel. As for now.. I am pleased with it. Check it out, Research it and if you have the time it's time well spent to put it on.

seafish · 11-08-2009, 03:44 AM

Good info...sounds great...do you have pics after the install, but before you put the panels back on??

R.Taylor · 11-08-2009, 03:51 AM

And the last 5 pics..... The one picture that shows the white plastic part... Do not cover it, It moves with the door lock assembly. If you have a veneer roller it makes it a lot easier on the fingers plus you can really seal the factory plastic liner back down better then the factory did! After you get the factory plastic liner back down you will see where the holes go for the hooks that are on the door panel itself... That's where you cut, Like an upside down T, Stick your finger's in and make it a flush flat surface for the bottom of the hook. Fanagle the panel back on... The bottom hooks start first, Get the door lock knob poking through the hole, Push in and down. A few bumps here and there and it's on. You'll need a 10mm socket to take off and on the inside door handle and a phillips screwdriver for the three screws that hold the door panle on. I did not put the material behind the door handle mechanism nor behind the mating surface of the speakers as shown.

R.Taylor · 11-08-2009, 03:58 AM

I also noticed that inside the doors... Stuck to the door skin side is a VERY similar product that dodge has applied at the factory, Not much though... two 6" x 9" pieces. One's up high and the other is down low inside the door.

Motorhead · 11-08-2009, 04:40 PM

R.Taylor, How hard is it to get the door panels off without screwing up either the panel or the fasteners? I remember trying to get the door panel off of my second gen and having to cut the clips.
THANKS FOR THE WRITE UP!!!

R.Taylor · 11-08-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Motorhead

R.Taylor, How hard is it to get the door panels off without screwing up either the panel or the fasteners? I remember trying to get the door panel off of my second gen and having to cut the clips.
THANKS FOR THE WRITE UP!!!

It's really easy, They must have redesigned the panel on the 3rd gen trucks as there are no push in type clips or such. The 3rd gen door panels have hooks molded into them... Like a finger that sticks out and points downward. To remove the panel you remove the 2 small phillips screws at the bottom of the panel, The 1 big phillips screw thats right behind the door panel and a 10mm bolt that holds the door opening handle. Once that's all off you simply grab the grab handle and pull straight up, it will come up about 4 inches.. Then pull it towards you and it's off, Be careful as you only have about 5 inches of slack on the power window wiring that runs to the switch.... It's easy to unclip the power connector from the switch on the panel. The front door panels have 2 small phillips at the bottom and 2 big phillps... The second being up next to the side view mirrors. Since I had the panel off I checked all the other 10mm nuts and bolts that hold the window rails and such... A few here and there were an 1/8 to a 1/4 turn loose from the factory! So far I am pleased, It just makes it feel more solid and sound like a $52k truck should. For you cold cold weather people it may even help your cab retain heat a little better as the foil will act as a radiant barrier. My winters here are in the low 40's and summers are in the high 80's to 90's. I'm not worried about the summers as I always park it with the windows open a few inches and or the sunroof / rear slider opened a bit.... No need to bake my interior!

seafish · 11-08-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R.Taylor

I also noticed that inside the doors... Stuck to the door skin side is a VERY similar product that dodge has applied at the factory, Not much though... two 6" x 9" pieces. One's up high and the other is down low inside the door.

Do you think that it would be possible and useful to actually line the inside of the door (either the exterior or interior panel) by patching together smaller pieces that you could fit through the openings??? TIA

R.Taylor · 11-08-2009, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seafish

Do you think that it would be possible and useful to actually line the inside of the door (either the exterior or interior panel) by patching together smaller pieces that you could fit through the openings??? TIA

Not sure... One roll is about 8 or 9 pounds, If you did both what I did and what you are wondering about would add that weight to the door itself. I'm not sure if it would add any undue wear to the door hinges. The way I have done it is how I have seen it applied before... Be it the Dynamat product or the Home Depot product, Plus sealing up the panel as I did creates a nice dead air space for insulation. I did think about running a strip diagonal from top to bottom on the inside as you mention just to add some dampening effect to the door but... I didn't.

Bob4x4 · 11-08-2009, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seafish

Do you think that it would be possible and useful to actually line the inside of the door (either the exterior or interior panel) by patching together smaller pieces that you could fit through the openings??? TIA

Yes it would dampen harmonics of the door skin

JBonpua · 11-08-2009, 11:07 PM

Good job on your quest to quiet that noisy CR keep it up. I just love to see these kind of project as I am crazy about a quiet truck. However, I will have to respectfully disagree. I've done a lot of comparison and IMO the top two dampening materials is the Dynamat Extreme and Second Skin Damplifier Pro. Most of the hardware variety have thin aluminum backing and will not stay on vertical surfaces during extreme temperatures. They are good at what they are designed to do and that is for houses and not vehicles. There are no acoustic properties designed into these products therefore they will not work "as good" as one intended for sound dampening. I know they real Dynamat and Second Skin are very expensive but IMO well worth the price. Ive done all kinds of sound deadening on my rig including ATP acoustic blankets on the valve cover and oil pan post #6 Sound deadening/Sound Proofing... and post #1 & #6 Quiet Your CTD With ATP! The inside and outside skins on all the doors, back of the cab, inside and floor and underside of the hood are totally sound proofed. Yes my truck is as almost quiet as a Lexus. For those that have attended May Madness this year (it won Best 3rd Gen and Best of Show 2009) and last might have seen a grey Mega Cab with insulated hood. If you tap on the doors it will sound like it is full of water as there is no metal reverv at all. Here's a pic of the underside of my hood with Second Skin Motor Mat Pro on top of Dyanmat Extreme on post #2: