Hey all,

I am thinking about having TPS add an upgraded tunnel plate and sound deadening to my 2003 C5Z. Just like the job done here:
TPS Sound Deadening Job

Just wondering - has anyone else done deadening at this level? Thoughts on experiences in the cockpit after deadening was added? Weight gain was supposedly around 30lbs...worth the weight gain? Tunnel plate a worthy addition?

Thanks for your input!

MotoJB

 

I did sound deadening throughout mine, but for audio quality issues when installing my stereo. This is VERY common; if you take a look over in the General->Audio forums section you'll see lots of examples. It makes a HUGE difference in audio quality and reduces road noise and heat transmission. The other benefit is that if you have a "droning" exhaust, this kills a lot of that drone. The tunnel plate will add some structural rigidity to the car (if you're taking it to the track this may be more significant to you than the sound deadening). GM was concerned about the weight in the C5 when designing it and didn't do a fraction of the sound deadening that they do in, for example, a Cadi.

I like TPS, have used them, and have all sorts of nice things to say about them. If Mike's giving you a good deal on this, I'm sure he'll do a great job. That said, this would normally be work for a car audio/stereo shop. They tear apart and reinstall interiors all day every day. They might also give you a different perspective on what materials to use on sound deadening as most shops have done hundreds/thousands of these jobs and have tried-and-true methods and materials for it.

 

Check out Mike Mercury's page. He has an excellent article on a sound deadening job he did on his C5. " http://www.tim-yvonne.com/mikemercury/"

 

May I ask...did you do it yourself or if not, which shop did you use? What material did you use? What did it cost for you?

I'm doing all of this out of consideration for what supposedly feels/sounds like a more solid, substantial interior/car when finished. I'd like to eliminate some of the creaks and have a substantially quieter ride inside. Heat hasn't been an issue for me.

Thanks for your help/input!

 

I just did the Frost King & Reflectix on my 2003 a couple weeks ago.
I can't say the difference for all the work involved was really worth it.
I am not an audiophile though and think the factory stereos sound fine as long as they work.
I probably would not do it again.

But its been said that GM changed some stuff in the sound department as the C5 aged. 2001-2004 was improved if I remember.

I did not yet do the inner fenderwell as Evil Twin did so that may be why I haven't seen that much difference. I am a little leery of stuffing raw R-13 inside an area where it MIGHT get wet.

I am still running Goodyear run flats as well.

 

I have done it myself on other cars, but in the case of my C5 I did not. As I've gotten older, my time has become more valuable and my back problems more frequent.

It's fairly easy to do if you're comfortable disassembling your interior, but there are a few tricks to it and if you've never done it before you should get some help so you don't create more problems (e.g. if you don't reassemble things right you're likely to have more creaking than you started with).

I take my car to Walnut Creek Customs for ANY custom work that needs to be done and they do an amazing job. Looks like you're in the Bay Area, not sure how close you are to WC. Their rate is $125/hr.; Mike's at TPS is closer to $90-$100, I believe. I'm not sure who would get it done in fewer hours, that is clearly a factor in determining the price. I can tell you from personal experience that when Walnut Creek Customs put my car back together I had NO ISSUES with creaking/rattling. Mine was done as part of a complete stereo install, so I can't give you a fair cost for just this job because mine was lumped into a larger effort. Like I said earlier, I have nothing but great things to say about TPS, I'd just never heard of them doing this sort of thing.

I personally like Dynamat. A lot of people will tell you that I'm paying too much (for a name - is the common statement) and that you can go to Home Depot and get a similar product for half the price. I argue that the quality differences are significant and that's what you're paying for. IMHO - if you're trying to improve the interior build quality of your car, why go with an inferior quality product to do so?

 

If you stuff the rear 3 compartments with fiberglass house insulation in plastic garbage bags, you will eliminate a lot of tire and exhaust noise.

Very cheap, easy, and weighs nothing.

I did this, then went to special foam sound insulation.

See this old post of mine for all the details:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...dproofing.html

 

Thanks for the input everyone...looking forward to my results upon completion.

 

I have way more sound deadening in my car than that. For the cost, weight, and time... I probably would have gone simple and got half the benefit for a fraction of the effort.

FWIW, what I'm using is a viscoelastic liquid, topped with a viscoelastic butyl damping mat with foil, on top of that I use a barrier (1/4" foam with 1lb/square foot vinyl barrier.)

Every plastic panel in the car is backed with noise absorbing foam.

The inside of the (rear) wheel wells and tub have generous amounts of viscoelastic deadening...

And the car is still much, much louder than my subaru with no deadening in it. =)

PS: wrt to dynamat - You can get similar quality for much less, but NOT from home depot. Get it from Raamaudio. www.raamaudio.com

Rick is a hell of a guy (and a forum vendor) with a real personal touch with his business and is a straight shooter.

if I was to redo my car from scratch I would take this plan:

Cover center 50% of panels iwth RAAMAT BXT (50% coverage will give you 90%+ of the benefit of the material.)
Cover entire interior with Ensolite (New stuff is peel and stick.)
Double up on ensolite in problem areas (behind seats, on wheel wells.)

As you can tell, I'm a big faan of the BXT material. I know in the past that Fatmat was asphalt - stay far away from asphalt products. I do not know if this is currently true. If you decide to get Fatmat, you should definitely do your research with the company and press them. You want high quality butyl with a rigid foil (not mylar) backing.


PS- Ancient ninja secret for getting rid of squeaks and creaks: Use clear household silicone glue to glue panels together. they won't rub, and the glue can be peeled off later!

 

I did my sound deadening project using Second Skin Audio products. I am very pleased with the outcome. I added at least 50-60 lbs to my car. With an FI car, the added weight didn't bother me at all.

Here is the thread I wrote up on mine,

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...os-photos.html

 

Plus 1 for Second Skin.
had great success with these products, price competitive. Anthony is a great guy to do business with.

 

Plus 2 for Second Skin. I installed sound deadener and sound absorber throughout my 99 Vert with great results. It took 45 MH but it allows me to enjoy the audio at 80 in the Vert with top up.

 

Dynamat and other similar products are worth the extra expense IMO. But added weight of these dense products doesn't always fit the needs/wants of the specific persons goals.

I don't know of any person that claims you can get a smiliar product for half at Home Depot. Frost King is not as dense/effective as Dynamat type products. I''ve made that clear from the beginning.

Again, it all depends on a persons goals/wants/needs. There are a wide range of products available to fit everyones own specifics. They're all good when properly chosen to the particular task and car owners own specifics.

One size does not fit all

 

Well said! It's all about what you are trying to achieve.

 

We'll see fellas...my sound deadening job is being completed today. Lots of pics being taken and DB measurements before and after. I'll make a nice post in the coming week detailing the job and results for all interested. Thanks for all of those that chimed in and helped!

 

Subscribed.

I hate the idea of adding weight because I am generally a minimalist but I can barely have a conversation in my car without shouting. If it truly is only 30 pounds and your before/after decibel reading difference is significant I may take on the project.

 

decibel reading won't really give you a good picture. Any sound deadening will reduce high frequency sound (some tire noise), but could have no impact at all on the road noise region under 500hz. - yet you might see a significant drop on the dbmeter.

You would have to replicate exact conditions and use something like a real time analyzer that shows the whole frequency range.

 

Does anyone remember or have the link to the CF thread where the owner stuffed bags of attic insulation into the wheel wells? I can't imagine how this was performed? Doesn't the plastic external wheel well cover fit flat against the internal whell well cover?

 

I'm not racing my car...so +40lbs to me (for sound deadening and tunnel plate) is no big deal if I get a fairly significant improvement in sound deadening and other potential benefits (like less heat in the interior, improved stiffness in chassis, possibly less creaks/rattles, and improved audio quality).

To me, the expected/sold benefits will far outweigh any weight gain. I've already lost weight on the car in other areas - after market seats, driver (lost 30lbs) LOL, etc, so I'm not worried one bit.


Understood and well-corrected...the only concern I have is that there are significant improvements measured by my true real time analyzer - my ears.

Will let you all know the truth about the results when the project is complete and I get some cabin time!

 

You might be referring to my thread, check out post #7 on the first page. BUT, I stuffed plastic bags using fiberglass house insulation into the 3 rear compartments, NOT the wheel wells. These compartments pick up and amplify both tire/road noise and exhaust noise because of their location.


http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...dproofing.html