Road Noise
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5th Gear
Joined: Apr 2014
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From: Somerset Michigan
Road Noise
Love my 04 vette convertible but would like to reduce road noise! Has anyone used the insulating products on the aftermarket? Do they help? What tires are the quietest?
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Redding California
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Instructor
Joined: Aug 2012
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From: Pinckney MI
I'm in the middle of adding an insulation/sound deadening package to my Vert. It's a bit of work, but not too bad. I also picked up a divider from one of the vendors that goes in between where the top stores and the trunk.
I picked up new tires too. Between all of that, I'm hoping to have a nice, quiet cabin, when the top is occasionally up
The Hancook V12s have a very good reputation for noise and grip. I went with the Nitto Invos because I didn't see the V12s in the tire sizes I needed.
Tires alone will probably take care of your road noise. I went with the insulation and divider as well because my exhaust has a bit of a drone that is annoying with the top up..
I picked up new tires too. Between all of that, I'm hoping to have a nice, quiet cabin, when the top is occasionally up
The Hancook V12s have a very good reputation for noise and grip. I went with the Nitto Invos because I didn't see the V12s in the tire sizes I needed.
Tires alone will probably take care of your road noise. I went with the insulation and divider as well because my exhaust has a bit of a drone that is annoying with the top up..
Drifting
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 1,517
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From: Mountain View California
[QUOTE=allred;1586630023]The quietest tires I have experienced are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S non-run-flats. The difference between non-run-flats and run-flats is night and day, non-run-flats are much quieter and much smoother, and the Michelins are one of the quietest tires out there.
I changed out my run flats with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S . Not only are they quiet, but they also make the car handle the roads a lot better. And should get you 45,000 miles on a set. That is if you don't have a lead foot. 
I changed out my run flats with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S . Not only are they quiet, but they also make the car handle the roads a lot better. And should get you 45,000 miles on a set. That is if you don't have a lead foot.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2009
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From: SW Nuh Hampsha
2018 C5 of Year Finalist
I completely insulated my 'vert with one of those foam/foil kits. This helped a little. Adding a carpeted partition and a Lloyd's cargo mat helped a little. My real gain came when I removed the rear wheel well liners and applied a layer of Second Skin dampener (I forgot which product). I can't even hear the rear tires now, and they're fairly loud (BFG KDW 2 NT). I also did as much as I could on the fronts but there isn't much of a panel to remove and cover. I also put some deadener on the door skins, opposite the speakers. This has helped with the quality of the sound from my updated system. I highly recommend the Second Skin products. If I were to do it all over again, I'd use their products throughout the car. 
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Marc at VetteNuts has a sound insulating kit that others have used. Also, I am running a set of the Hankook Ventus V12 tires and they are very quiet. The Michelins are a very good choice too.
Racer
Joined: Feb 2014
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There are three areas to attack for effective sound deadening: Resonant noise, airborne noise, and contact noise. All three require different applications. Resonant noise is solved with dynamat-like products. Rubber butyl patches applied to ~25-33% of interior surface area. Airborne noise is addressed with Mass Loaded Vinyl. This is a fairly heavy material and should be used to form a 'bubble' in the cabin. Finally, contact noise comes from parts that make contact with each other and vibrate. Address this with Closed Cell Foam. For what it's worth, the various heat shield products do a great job mitigating heat, but they're not very effective sound barriers.
If you really want to tackle the problem, you need to address all three sources of noise. I'm not an expert, I learned this from the closest thing to an expert in this arena I could find at sounddeadenershowdown.com. Don has done his homework and documents a very comprehensive case. If you're serious about addressing cabin/road noise, you should read through that site.
I have new Ventus on the way to replace stock run-flats and have high hopes for those as well. I've read enough testimonials on the benefits of moving away from run-flats to convince me.
If you really want to tackle the problem, you need to address all three sources of noise. I'm not an expert, I learned this from the closest thing to an expert in this arena I could find at sounddeadenershowdown.com. Don has done his homework and documents a very comprehensive case. If you're serious about addressing cabin/road noise, you should read through that site.
I have new Ventus on the way to replace stock run-flats and have high hopes for those as well. I've read enough testimonials on the benefits of moving away from run-flats to convince me.
