i'm planning on doing a very simple (single amp, 10 or 12" sub, somewhere in the 2-300W neighborhood) install in my C5 coupe and was thinking about the issue of sound deadening and whether or not i wanted to do anything about it. i've already got the full front and back areas done with the C5 cowboy stuff. i know that's nothing compared to the real stuff but it did help significantly over nothing. i don't want to do the entire interior up with the real stuff, for various reasons (weight, cost, time, don't care that much, lazy... ) but i was wondering if there were any couple of areas/panels that might be the worst offenders by far and would result in best bang for the buck to do them. i was initially thinking the doors are probably the worst offenders since they are nice big resonant cavities. however, i then remembered that the entire rear trunk section is just one big molded plastic tub. the transmission of outside noise through that has got to be huge and the noise created by transmitted vibrations must be huge compared to other panels. i'm thinking maybe even just the storage bins in the back along with the doors might be a best "easy" solution
agree? disagree? should i even bother if i'm not going to do it all? besides knowing that it's good for sound quality, i also wouldn't mind having the cabin be a bit quieter so don't only look at it from the stereo sound perspective...
thanks for any input.

 

Start with the areas that are easy to get to,like the doors,hatch area,behind the seats and the footwells in the area of the firewall and see if you get the quiet you want.You will probably have the carpet up in the hatch area or behind the seat anyway to run your wiring for the amp and sub.At least that will save you from having to remove the seats.I have the CC kit to put in over the Dynamat Extreme,using the CC kit as a rough template for the Dynamat.I plan on removing the seats and doing it all as I do my new system and new wiring for it.

 

cmeflyby -

Hey man, I grew up in Alhanbra!!!

I put the Super Soundproofing Mass Loaded Vintl Mat material in the cargo area of my C6 and it really reduced the road noise and slight exhaust drone. Here's the link - http://www.soundproofing.org/infopages/flooring.htm. It's more reasonable than Dynamat and you can cut to the shape you want. Super Soundproofing Company in located down in San Marcos, CA (San Diego Co.). You can always give them a call and ask them questions. I hope this helps - good luck.

 

hey guys, thanks for the input

yeah since i really didn't get any definitive answer from anyone i think i'll do just the doors and the rear hatch area and see how that goes. i'm pulling the door panels to put in some replacement speakers so that's a no brainer, and the rear just isn't that hard and as far as i've thought this through should be the worst offender.



that stuff looks interesting but it doesn't seem to have an way to bond it as it's just a flooring material. how are you planning on sticking it to the surfaces in the car? flat surfaces are obviously no problem for just laying something down but you also won't get full vibration damping as you would from something that does bond.

so far i think i'm going to go with one of the butyl based mats (can't remember name atm) that were suggested in a comparison that somebody linked in another thread.
anyone other suggestions from anyone?