Sound Deadening

EOppie · 03-05-07, 10:56

Hey guys. I have a 06 Ford Escape Hybrid and I am looking to do some sound deadening on it. I really don't have much experience in this area and hoping someone could make a recommendation on where to start/good but not too $$$ products.

I am not looking to win an audiophile competition, just make the interior a bit quieter.

LastDetail · 03-05-07, 11:50

Since it is a pretty new car the stock sound-deadening material should be in relatively good shape.
Are you looking to decrease road noise from the undercarriage i.e. wheel/tire noise? or noise that is coming into the car from other drivers/automobiles on the road?

I have always had good experiences with Dynamat, which by itself is not ridiculously expensive, however the cost to have it installed can be significant. If this is something that you are going to do yourself you could probably pull it off on a budget. However it has been some time since I attemtped to sound deaden a car so the prices might have changed.

ZeusCGP · 03-06-07, 06:22

Pay somebody? It's easy as peel and stick.

If you go to ebay you can pick up a Dynamat Xtreme bulk pack for around $100.
Secondskinaudio.com with their Damplifier is also great.
Cheaper solutions would be Fatman, Edead, Peel&Seal...

It's really not that hard to do. But as LastDetail said, figure out what you want to quiet down first.

seracis · 03-06-07, 11:52

On the contrary, most OEM damping material is crap compared to just about anything available to the consumer. At work, we use Hushmat, but it's comparable to Dynamat. If you remove your door panels you will see a sheet of plastic which is more or less a dust barrier. If you remove the plastic sheet and replace it with Hushmat, Dynamat or any other product listed above, you will notice a huge reduction in road noise. Cover as much as you can. Get a grease pencil and trace your door panel on the door. Then when you remove the panel you will see where your "boundary" is. You don't want to see any damping when the panel is on.

kompressornsc · 03-07-07, 06:46

There's a good video on Crutchfield on how to install it in doors. I am going to tackle this project in the spring on both my Ridgeline & my wife's RSX-S - both have tons of road noise.

dgoff07 · 03-07-07, 08:09

if your on a budget, i suggest using eDead sound deadening, in the eDead line they have a closed cell foam that blocks higher frequencies like road noise. I have had nothing but great results with it. you can also pick up some Jute or something like it at home depot or lowes, which is just like carpet padding. it is already under the carpet on almost every vehicle, but you can add it other places and it really helps!

2.5RS · 03-07-07, 08:34

RAAMaudio - Quality and Value in Automotive Sound Deadening
Cheaper and better than Dynamat (Yes, I've used both) Get Some RaamMat and Ensolite foam, a few cans of his spray adhesive and you are good to go.
He has also got a good "How To" section, read through that. Its really not that hard to do, if you are comfortable popping off panels and pulling up carpet (Should be pretty easy on most vehicles)
Good luck!
- Andrew

EOppie · 03-07-07, 03:56

I have heard good things about "Brown Bread" as well. I would be doing the install myself...seems pretty straight forward, just time consuming.

I guess I am looking to make the overall cabin quieter. The noise from the engine is not really noticible, more road noise.

dmxsoulja3 · 03-07-07, 05:55

I second the Ramm mat

EOppie · 03-08-07, 11:55

Has anyone used this "Spray Undercoating with Sound Block"? I think it is made by duplicolor.

I heard that people use it in their wheel-wells...don't know how that comes out. I am sure it does some to protect the undercarriage.

tomstin · 03-08-07, 02:49

I'm VERY happy with the RAAMmat, Rick is a very helpful guy! RAAMaudio - Quality and Value in Automotive Sound Deadening

Jngrbrdman · 03-08-07, 07:20

I have a friend with a 97 Supra that he has been cleaning up, and to assist with the sound deadening we put quilt batting behind all the removable panels in the doors and rear hatch area. Basically anywhere we could stuff it we stuffed it. That car is way quiet inside now. His goal wasn't really to kill all the sound. It was just to assist in cutting down the sound without spending a ton of money on something that wasn't really a top priority.