gpruitt54

I love my C5 and all, but HOLY ****, there is not much if any sound deadening from exterior road noise. Last spring I added some heat insulation on and around the center console to reduce the heat that builds along the center of the car. This spring I am adding a new head unit.

I would like to reduce some of the exterior road noise. I need some budget minded solutions, along with areas in the car I should concentrate on for sound deadening where the treatment will have the most impact.

Has anyone done something like this, and what was your solution for a budget minded?

StrangelovesM6Vert

Use Frost King Duct insulation available at Home Depot





Wheelwells and trunk floors are sources of noise





Home insulation in the wheel wells

1 layer only of the duct insulation or wheelwell won't fit
back in

zone-7

I too considered the budget sound deadening route however, as I got into the project, the "while I'm in there" bug got me.

I also did a fair amount of research prior to this project and wound up augmenting the project with "FatMat". I'm really glad and happy I did. Really transformed the car.

gpruitt54

I just became aware of Frost King Duct insulation. From what I can see, it is a better solution than that tar-based peel and seal. Frost King Duct insulation seems to be based on a butyl rubber 1/8 inch pad with a foil backing, so no tar melting during the hot summer months. I plan to use the Frost King Duct insulation product.

Generally, I will be placing the duct insulation under the carpets covering the trunk floor and rear wheel wells. Is that correct? From one of the photos It looks like you are using the duct insulation on the outside of the wheel well. How will that hold up against the weather and the elements?

gpruitt54

FatMat??? Is that a Dynamat auto specific sound deadening product?

David Shiel

would seem to be an excellent sound attenuation material.
The home batt type fiberglass insulation, not so much. It has virtually no sound attenuation capacity. That is why when one wants to sound deaden a wall, special mounting clips, sound deadening materials, and various special installation methods are employed. Just adding R-value batt insulation helps very little. It is not dense enough or constructed in such a manner as to buffer sound. Nor is it attachable in such a way as to interfere with vibration induced harmonics of component surfaces.
Dave

StrangelovesM6Vert

I don't agree.
It's stuffed in pretty good and dense and worked great for me.
The Frost King duct insulation is the primary sound deadener.
The batts I had sitting around and it is fine for how much
and where I used it.
The OP wanted budget options.

zone-7

I did some shopping and found for my application, FatMat works and quite well. The product also has favourable reputation and good customer reviews.
More importantly, the product doesn't cost as much as Dynamat.

gpruitt54

Yes, effective and budget minded options are primary. I was considering Peel-n-Seal. But lots of people are reporting issues with the tar-based material smelling up their cars in addition to melting of the tar over time.

This Frost King material with its Butyl rubber base material seems much closer to a Dynamat like solution without the Peel-n-Seal problems.

gpruitt54

I am sure FatMat and Dynamat are a great products; industry standards. But, any product that is marketed specifically for car audio is going to have a fatter price tag attached. I recently added a metallic air gap insulating material under the center console in order to reduce heat from the center hump. Is it the industry prescribed material for such applications, Nope. But, it worked very well.

The C5 Corvette and its road noise issues can be improved upon if I can find an effective and price minded solution to sound deadening. So, I has to be an alternative solution or bust.

zone-7

In my research, the consensus was to stay away from asphalt based products for interior use.

gpruitt54

I would say that you are right on the money with that. I am going to visit my local Home Depot and see of this Frost King material is still carried and in stock.

SuperTom

I did the peel n seal on mine then used vettenuts precut foam kit on top of that. The peel n seal smelled a bit a first but is long gone now. I can post pics when I get home. The peel n seal did the most for sound as its a dense tar

gpruitt54

Glad to hear you had a good experience with Peel-n-Seal.

Nice looking Vette. Love those wheels. Where did you buy the headlights?

02BlownZ06

Ditto. Those are best looking headlights I have seen.

gpruitt54

I stopped into my local Home Depot. They had Frost King Adhesive Foil and Foam Insulation in stock, priced at $18.99 per roll. The rolls are 12in. X 15ft X 1/8in. I picked up a couple of rolls. I know, I will not be installing until the weather gets better here in the Mid-West. But, I bought it in order to check the stuff out and see how it sticks, handles, and cuts.

It is pretty dense material, should be perfect for sound deadening. The foil backing should be just right for keeping exhaust system heat out of the car. The price per sq ft is on point. Just over $1.25 per sq. ft. for material that will improve the stock interior sound of the Vette well over what it is now. Great deal; IMO.

Will do a video of the project.

jrprich

"I recently added a metallic air gap insulating material under the center console in order to reduce heat from the center hump"

Would you share just what material you used?

Thanks,
Jim

jrprich

Keep in mind that Frost King Adhesive Foil and Foam Insulation is made with Open Cell foam and it will absorb water if exposed to it.
Ask me how I know ;^(

gpruitt54

Good to know. I will take a bit of the material and experiment with it for the remainder of the winter to see how much water it dents to absorb.

My plan is to cover the entire rear deck and wheel wells with the material. This is not intended as a perfect solution. This is for me, a budget solution to an otherwise expensive upgrade. To the extent this solution provides deadening (and I believe it will). This will be a victory as this will improve the music listening environment inside the Corvette.

Currently, with no deadening what so ever, it is a horrible music listening space. Yeah, I know, it's a car. Not only that, it's a sport car.

gpruitt54

I got the idea of using this material for the center hump heat shield from the guy in this YouTube video. I don't have the packaging, so I cannot include in this thread. It may be identified in the video link.