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I have just purchased a 2017 ZO6/ZO7 3LZ a little under 2 months ago ( my first Vette ). I had read on the forums that these cars were loud when being driven on different surfaces. I figured that people were being overly sensitive to the noise and figured I probably wouldn't mind it when I got mine. I use chainsaws every day so noise isn't much of a bother. also getting a sports car I would expect to have some road noise. I was wrong, very very wrong.
I live in Florida and like every places around the world we have different surfaces to drive on. I was fine on black top for the most part (depending on if it was new or not) but when I hit concrete well I wanted to pull off and find a different road quickly. When I bought the car I had the tires replaced with Michelin pilot super sports to replace the Cup 2s. Rain here in Florida can catch you off guard in a moments notice. I had read the the non-run flat tires were better with the noise, but chose to go with these first to see what it was like.
After driving the car for about 2 weeks I needed a solution. As I really don't plan on tracking the car competitively for the best lap times; I figured a little weight wouldn't really be a factor.
I used to install car audio for a living when I was young and we used to use a product call Dynomat. I was convinced that this would be the answer and set off looking for threads of people using it or something like it. I found a ton that were about this problem and showed kits you could buy to correct it.
I wasn't impressed, as I love over kill. most kits came with little patches of sound deadening material. When I used to install Dynomat I went for 90 percent coverage. Now you can take a panel and put just a small to medium square on it and it will make a difference, However road noise loves to travel and vibrate everything. I thought about buying the rolls of Dynomat and tearing the car apart myself. However, since the car was new to me and now a coveted piece of awesomeness; I had serious trepidation about pulling out the interior in my meager garage and trying not to destroy and plastic panels and clips buy pulling to hard. I used to love when you would get that nice white mark from over stressing a plastic panel to much ( NOT ). Also I knew the car would be apart for the better part of two weeks with my scheduled and OCD.
I had read that others had taken theirs to a Audio install place and their is nothing wrong with that. But I really wanted someone who knew Corvettes in and out to do the work. Again, I am now over protective owner over thinking and all so new to the Corvette world that this is what I wanted because I wanted it perfect.
I really am not used to letting people work on my vehicles. I have done all the work to them myself. I was, before all this technology came out very capable of completely rebuilding any car from the ground up. So to hand over my car to anyone was a challenge to say the least. The only reason I don't do much to my own work currently is because my new house has a 1.5 car garage that is mostly filled with my current business's equipment and I don't have a lot of time.
During my search for the answer to my noise problems I came across a thread on here ( wish I could find it again to reference it. It's like trying to find that picture in the magazine you just saw only three pages back. But you never can ) about one the members here having his car sound deadened by Crazy Cowboy www.exoticvette.com ( a sponsor here on the forum ). It was mentioned he was here in Oviedo FL. about 3 miles from my house!
I immediately contacted him through this forum and he got right back to me within a short time. I had a lot of annoying questions and he took the time to answer all of them on the phone. I wanted to know if I could trust him. If I could believe in the product he was selling ( remember I love Dynomat ). Finally was this guy, the one to hand my car over to. Understanding that just because he was close to me didn't mean id say yes, go ahead and work on it just out of convince. He did have one good thing going for him right from the start. A lot of forum members had trusted his product and had raved about how well it worked it in a lot of threads. So I figured he had to know something. RIGHT!
During our conversation he told me that he had a new product out called The Double Extreme kit ( Hey, I already told you I am all about overkill so this seemed like a no brainier ). Dan AKA Crazy Cowboy by this time had me completely confident in his ability and knowledge of both product and car. I was sold, when can you do it?
One thing I forgot to mention. The heat this car can produce coming from the floor and trans tunnel is like nothing I have felt in any other car ( Come to find out later Chevy really never put anything in there to keep the heat down or sound down for that matter for weight savings ). Dan assured me that it would be greatly reduced. I had asked him while he was in to my interior if he could try and combat the heat coming form the center console area. He said he would look to see what he could do. Apparently not many if any really ask about that.
I turned the car over to him 2 weeks later as that both fit our schedules. I drooped the car off to him the night before and he kindly gave me a ride home. The next day he proceeded with the 7 - 8 hour job ahead of him. Dan through out the day sent me multiple photos of the car during the process to show the progress as I asked him to do. I wanted to document the cars history ( No it wasn't to keep tabs on him ). These photos are the ones below. later that day after I got back from work Dan picked me up and drove me back to get my car.
I had asked him about his Cargo partition he had Patented for the C7. Dan had one on hand. All he had to say to me to sell it ( not that by any means he was trying to up sell me ) was that the wife's purse wouldn't slide to the back of the car during acceleration. Sold! ( because you have no idea how many times I heard her say something about that). There are many other good reasons for having the shelf but those all were an after thought to that one. I believe that it also helps with the noise coming from the back of the car, reflecting it away from your head. But that is just me sermonizing as I haven't taken it out since I he put it in. If your wondering the top does fit in the back without having to remove the Partition.
I have had the car for over 2 weeks now. I have put on just over 600 miles. I can tell you for a fact that this kit has done what was promised. The noise is down to a point that I can hear the radio without having it cranked up. Most of the time its off anyway because I want to hear the exhaust, but that's not the point. The wife has very sensitive hearing so she is extremely happy. The same roads I used to cringe driving down are now a pleasure. Highway 92 Deland to Daytona not a nightmare anymore.
The HEAT! So much fun when its already 90 outside ( yuck ). The heat has been mitigated! The center console can no longer cook hot dogs. Sad to say actually. They were a great snack on longer day trips. Dan managed to get heat block material in between the very little space beneath the center console. He also put heat shield in and around the floor pans. I am not sure if he put it in the back. I didn't see pictures of that being done and I forgot to ask if he did. So no more heat problems! I love it.
His craftsmanship in his work shows. You would never know that the entire interior was out of the car. I did look for the tell tale white stress mark on the plastic. I found None. His willingness to go out of his way for me and the time he took to answer all of my questions annoying or not will get me to tell anyone who is looking for his services to go to him. I would not hesitate for a second to buy his products in the future or have him work on my Vette.
I bought Dans Extreme Kit a few weeks ago. I installed the rear part of my GS coupe which took about 4 hours, taking my time. I decided to let an Audio Stereo shop install the rest of the kit for a number of reasons. For less than $500 and 6 hours later my car was fully insulated. I also bought a box of Dynomat for doors on Amazon and the installer also applied that to the doors.
All I can say is WOW!!!!
In my opinion it has totally transformed the car. Its now easy to talk hands free on the phone and listen to music on the freeway and actually talk to a passenger without yelling. Dans kit gave enough material to insulate the subwoofer enclosure and that really helped the sound of the stereo. I always run my exhaust in Track mode and it sounds so much better with the road noise reduced. It has been the best mod Ive ever made on any of my Corvettes. Dan is a really nice guy and very helpful - his kit isn't just some insulation - detailed instructions to do the job, thicker material than dynomat, the second silver layer of sound dampening material all cut and labeled for instal. Very happy customer here.
I bought Dans Extreme Kit a few weeks ago. I installed the rear part of my GS coupe which took about 4 hours, taking my time. I decided to let an Audio Stereo shop install the rest of the kit for a number of reasons. For less than $500 and 6 hours later my car was fully insulated. I also bought a box of Dynomat for doors on Amazon and the installer also applied that to the doors.
All I can say is WOW!!!!
In my opinion it has totally transformed the car. Its now easy to talk hands free on the phone and listen to music on the freeway and actually talk to a passenger without yelling. Dans kit gave enough material to insulate the subwoofer enclosure and that really helped the sound of the stereo. I always run my exhaust in Track mode and it sounds so much better with the road noise reduced. It has been the best mod Ive ever made on any of my Corvettes. Dan is a really nice guy and very helpful - his kit isn't just some insulation - detailed instructions to do the job, thicker material than dynomat, the second silver layer of sound dampening material all cut and labeled for instal. Very happy customer here.
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
I really appreciate you taking the time to write that elaborate review for me - and Vonfido as well. THANK YOU both. I sincerely appreciate your business and I'm really glad you were blown away with the results. The Double Extreme Kit is really the only way to go if you want the quietest C7 option available.
I have a couple kits in stock and I'm available to install if anyone is in or will be in the Central FL area.
We will actually not be open for the first 2-3 weeks of May due to medical family issues but anytime before or after please give me a call 407-221-8040
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I wish I was in Florida or was handy enough to install myself... unfortunately I am neither. Just north of NYC and two left hands when it comes to car stuff!
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Originally Posted by robertlevine
I wish I was in Florida or was handy enough to install myself... unfortunately I am neither. Just north of NYC and two left hands when it comes to car stuff!
I'm actually going to be in Rochester in a couple weeks. That's not exactly close to NYC. If you email me where you are exactly I might be able to call around and find an installer for you.
Glad to see this write up and excellent result. I will be retiring late summer and my first Corvette job is to install the sound deadening kit in the rear. Will be thinking about the kit for the seating area, but I want to try the rear area first and see/hear the sound improvement.
Glad to see this write up and excellent result. I will be retiring late summer and my first Corvette job is to install the sound deadening kit in the rear. Will be thinking about the kit for the seating area, but I want to try the rear area first and see/hear the sound improvement.
I did just the rear first and it was a BIG improvement - The following week I decided to do the rest of the interior and asked Dan if it would be a significant difference and he confirmed it would be. Because of a badly bruised elbow I decided not to do the front myself and had a local Car Audio shop do the instal of the front cabin section. WOW!!! To me the car is significantly more solid. Road noise from tires so much lessened. The car is a different car. Reminds me of a much higher end sports car and I have driven a number of them.
The C7 is an unreal bang for the buck car but its amazing how for less than $1000 it can compete with cars costing $100s of Thousands more.
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Thanks for the post Vonfido. The kit really does work well (it wouldn’t be selling for 15 years plus if it didn’t) and the new double extreme kit is a game changer on the level of noise reduction you get for a Corvette. I always feel a bit biased when I give results because it was my product but when I’ve got over 1,000 customers’ emails and posts confirming it for a decade and a half now I can feel confident when I tell others about it.
Still, every time someone takes the time to write something like you did it means as much to me as the first guy who ever gave me feedback way back then.
THANK YOU for being a customer and enjoy that beautiful C7 this summer!
Just spoke to Dan about the new double-extreme kit. What a great guy to talk to! Now I'm planning a road-trip/mini-vacation from NC to the Orlando area just so he can work his magic on the car. Looking forward to quieting-down my 2018 GS Convertible soon.
Another option for those looking to quiet things down, is replace the Michelin OEM Super Sport run flats with the Conti Extreme Sport non run flat tires. I just replaced the OEM Super Sports on my 2016 Z06 with the Conti's and the noise reduction is dramatic and the ride is more compliant on rougher surfaces. Handling is good too and not as sensitive to ruts in the road ( tram lining ) and they hook up great too. I'm a great fan of Michelin tires I've had on many of my fun performance cars, but in this case, the Conti's are the way to go (IMHO).
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Changing tires will help lower noise levels. Frost King will also lower noise levels. Neither will come remotely close to the Double Extreme Kit in noise level reduction (as well a heat) that our kit does. I’ve been insulating Corvettes for over 15 years and have seen and tried dozens of things and products. The material used in our Double Extreme kit is more than twice as thick as Dynamat Extreme. The second layer of material is more dense and has two layers of aluminum (vs one) than Frost King.
Tires will reduce noise levels considerably (not as much as our kit) but they are also more expensive than our kit (probably each rear tire is as much as the kit) and you can do them when it comes time to need tires. The Frost King is not a horrible solution especially if you’re on a budget (not maybe guys in a new C7 are on a super tight budget).
I have over 300 emails and letters from customers all over the world who installed our base level kit or had it installed. Probably 40 from customers since 2014 with the Extreme Kit. And since the Double Extreme Kit became available, I have heard back with raving reviews from almost every customer who has installed it. In just a few weeks we’ve sold dozens of Double Extreme Kits for the C6 and C7.
I just got another shipment in yesterday of 1000 lbs of material (20 kits). If you want the closest thing to a luxury touring vehicle interior environment with the windows up, this is the only way to go
Last edited by Crazy Cowboy; 04-14-2018 at 11:29 AM.
In the OP's post the eighth picture shows several areas not covered with the material. Several places around the wheel well were unprotected as was the entire electronic area. Is this normal?
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Good eye!
The extreme material covers the areas shown. It is very risky to cover the electronics area with aluminum so we cover small areas in the electronics area to deaden the thin plastic and then the entire lid that covers the electronics area is covered in extreme material except the label with all your option codes.
Keep in mind that is only the first layer. The second layer covers everything... except the electronics. All it takes is one loose power wire pulling out of a plug enough to expose it or something shorting/failing and causing an enclosure to become conductive.... to fry a bunch of electronics or worse cause a car fire is not worth that small area. I'm willing to put $100 that there will be no discernible db noise level difference inside the car between insulating under it or over it (on the lid).
The sides of the rear side trunk compartments are like a thin plastic drum. Literally when you tap on them they resonate a LOUD reverb sound. We do recommend disconnecting the battery and insulation of the extreme material on the side panels around the battery. The driver's side gets both layers but the passenger side with the battery just gets the extreme material. This is to keep more space between the battery and the material (which is aluminum and conductive).
Anything that is not covered completely by the 50 pounds of first layer in the double extreme kit is already so dense and solid that it does not need to be. The second layer is very light and amazingly effective at blocking noise, especially the higher frequencies such as wind noise and tire noise on certain surfaces.
St. Jude's Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Here are a few more pics from this car. Anything that is not covered is for a reason (usually there is no clearance/tolerance to fit the car back together properly). Nothing is neglected that would increase noise reduction by even a decibel
Changing tires will help lower noise levels. Frost King will also lower noise levels. Neither will come remotely close to the Double Extreme Kit in noise level reduction (as well a heat) that our kit does. I’ve been insulating Corvettes for over 15 years and have seen and tried dozens of things and products. The material used in our Double Extreme kit is more than twice as thick as Dynamat Extreme. The second layer of material is more dense and has two layers of aluminum (vs one) than Frost King.
Tires will reduce noise levels considerably (not as much as our kit) but they are also more expensive than our kit (probably each rear tire is as much as the kit) and you can do them when it comes time to need tires. The Frost King is not a horrible solution especially if you’re on a budget (not maybe guys in a new C7 are on a super tight budget).
I have over 300 emails and letters from customers all over the world who installed our base level kit or had it installed. Probably 40 from customers since 2014 with the Extreme Kit. And since the Double Extreme Kit became available, I have heard back with raving reviews from almost every customer who has installed it. In just a few weeks we’ve sold dozens of Double Extreme Kits for the C6 and C7.
I just got another shipment in yesterday of 1000 lbs of material (20 kits). If you want the closest thing to a luxury touring vehicle interior environment with the windows up, this is the only way to go
04-10-2018, 12:53 AM
Crazy Cowboy's sound deadening installed!!!!
